This Week in Rideshare: Safety, Data, and Arrests.
Drivers demand more, data comes into play, and a passenger attacks a driver. LegalRideshare breaks it down.
MONDAY 3/8/21
After 6 months, the head of Uber Eats left the company. Restaurant Dive explains:
Stephane Ficaja, head of Uber Eats’ U.S. and Canada divisions, is departing the delivery platform after just six months, Uber confirmed in an email.
When Ficaja assumed his role late last summer, Uber Eats had just become Uber’s most lucrative business thanks to depressed rides bookings and the meteoric rise of its delivery sales, both caused by pandemic disruption.
TUESDAY 3/9/21
As carjackings continue to be a serious problem in Chicago, drivers are demanding change. CBS Chicago reported:
On Tuesday night, rideshare drivers said they have had enough of the carjackings. CBS 2’s Charlie De Mar met up with some drivers who took their safety demands right to Uber and Lyft.
The drivers taped their list of demands on the doors at Uber and Lyft in Chicago — asking for serious changes to the app that they say will put drivers safety first.
“About 10 seconds, and you know, they pulled the gun,” said rideshare driver Mustafa Alawsi. “They asked me out. They took my phone.”
Alawsi said he was carjacked last year.
“They think it’s funny, the way they toy with our lives,” he said.
WEDNESDAY 3/10/21
Unions took a victory lap Wednesday after the passage of a new bill. Wall Street Journal reported:
The House late Tuesday passed legislation that would represent the most significant change to labor law in decades, advancing a priority for unions that are pressuring President Biden and Democrats to deliver legislative victories.
The bill also makes it easier for gig workers — including independent contractors and online platform workers — to unionize unless their employer meets certain requirements. It would codify into law a decision made by the National Labor Relations Board under former President Barack Obama and reversed under former President Donald Trump that could have paved the way for contractors and workers at franchised businesses to form unions.
THURSDAY 3/11/21
Uber drivers who defeated the company in court, are now asking for their data. Bloomberg explains:
The court will require the ride-hailing giant to provide drivers with anonymous ratings information from riders, and additional information on two drivers whose accounts were deactivated. But the court wouldn’t give them information about how prices are calculated, notes that Uber staff add to their profiles, or require the company to pay compensation.
The App Drivers & Couriers Union wanted Uber to give drivers access to the data, which was used to suspend some of its drivers, who weren’t satisfied with the company’s explanation on why they were blocked from the app, Farrar said. While Uber offers drivers access to some personal data, the scope is limited and often incomplete, said the claimants’ lawyer Anton Ekker. The court rejected the claimants request for compensation from Uber.
FRIDAY 3/12/21
In another horrific act against a driver, a woman was arrested for coughing on and pepper spraying a driver. WGNTV reported:
The victim reported that he picked up three passengers around 12:45 p.m. A few minutes into the drive, the victim noticed a passenger was not wearing a mask and stopped the ride.
When the driver said he could not continue the ride until all passengers were wearing a mask, that is when an altercation occurred, which was caught on camera, according to police.
The passengers eventually exited the vehicle and one of them reached into the window and sprayed what was believed to be pepper spray at the driver. They then fled the scene.
Malaysia King was arrested on a warrant for assault with a caustic chemical, assault and battery, conspiracy, and violation of health and safety code.
LegalRideshare is the first law firm in the United States to focus exclusively on Uber®, Lyft®, gig workers, delivery and e-scooter accidents and injuries.
