This Week in Rideshare: Scooters, Australia, and robots.
Scooters return to Chicago, drivers can turn down rides, and delivery robots are here. LegalRideshare breaks it down.
MONDAY 5/9/22
The mother of a slain Lyft driver demands changes to Lyft’s emergency features. Fox Illinois reported:
Rice believes it would’ve been impossible for him to respond since he was hit by a bullet.
“When they sent that text, my son was already shot on the ground dying,” Rice said.
A screenshot of the message sent by Lyft reads, “Lyft here, just checking in. It looks like your ride is taking longer than expected. Check your route and let us know if you need help.”
Rice says Lyft should be more urgent with sending help.
“They are tracking drivers way too late by they giving them 30 minutes to respond back,” Rice explained. “People in an emergency don’t have 30 minutes to respond.”
TUESDAY 5/10/22
Scooters have returned to Chicago. WBEZ reported:
Electric scooters will return to Chicago streets on Tuesday, but the rollout will be limited to the “greater downtown area” because of a recent challenge that created a speed bump for Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s plan to provide “affordable ways to travel in Chicago without needing a car.”
Divvy scooters, which can be docked at 230 retrofitted Divvy stations, will be allowed between Armitage Avenue and Pershing Road and from the lakefront to Damen Avenue. They will not be allowed on sidewalks, the Lakefront Trail, Riverwalk, The 606 or Navy Pier.
WEDNESDAY 5/11/22
Female drivers in Australia can now turn down male passengers. Daily Mail added:
Female and non-binary Uber drivers have been given the power to refuse to take male passengers.
The rideshare service’s ‘women rider preference’ policy came into effect on Wednesday in a bid to encourage a higher number of female drivers.
Uber says the policy will provide drivers with ‘peace of mind’ about who is getting in the car.
She said the policy also covered non-binary people because ‘they’re quite often discriminated against as a driver’.
Ms Pirozzi insisted the policy was ‘unlikely’ to result in a lesser service for men.
‘There is actually an excessive amount of drivers, so I don’t believe it would actually impact them,’ she said.
THURSDAY 5/12/22
Uber is looking to cut back spending. Engadget reported:
First up on the chopping block are marketing and incentives, also known as Uber’s various perks for customers and drivers that include sign-up bonuses and ride discounts. Although Khosrowshahi didn’t mention lay-offs in the e-mail, he made clear that any new hiring at the company would be treated as “a privilege.”
“We have to make sure our unit economics work before we go big. The least efficient marketing and incentive spend will be pulled back. We will treat hiring as a privilege and be deliberate about when and where we add headcount. We will be even more hardcore about costs across the board,” wrote Khosrowshahi.
FRIDAY 5/13/22
Uber is testing food delivery via robots. CNN reported:
Starting Monday Uber Eats customers will be given the option to have their meals delivered by one of the robots, rather than a traditional human delivery. Customers will receive instructions in the Uber app for how to retrieve their food from inside the robot. The Serve robot resembles a colorful cooler on wheels, with a lid that flips open to reveal a delivery inside. The robot, which will operate in West Hollywood, has headlights that resemble eyes, making it look like something out of a cartoon.
Uber’s robot deliveries will account for “a very, very small number of our deliveries” in the near future, according to Noah Zych, who leads autonomous mobility and delivery at the company.
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.
