This Week In Rideshare: Uber Unions, GM Robotaxis and NYC Insurance.

Drivers form a union, GM kills its robotaxi and Uber at odds with insurance. LegalRideshare breaks it down.

MASS. DRIVERS FOR A UNION

Drivers in Massachusetts can officially form a union. WGBH reported:

Rodriguez and thousands of other ride-hailing service drivers in Massachusetts have signed cards indicating their support to join a union, less than one month after voters passed a ballot question that would make unionizing a possibility.

Around 100 Uber and Lyft drivers chanted union songs and held up signs indicating their support for a future coalition known as the App Drivers Union at Wednesday’s rally, an event supported by local organizers from the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers and the Building Service Employees International Union.

GM SCRAPS ROBOTAXI PROGRAM

General Motors scraps their robotaxi program. Wall Street Journal reported:

General Motors has scrapped its Cruise robotaxi program, citing the time and costs needed to scale the business and rising competition from other autonomous driving competitors.

GM on Tuesday said it plans to realign its autonomous driving strategy and give priority to development of advanced driver assistance systems.

The automaker said it would pursue a path for fully autonomous personal vehicles, and build on the progress of its Super Cruise hands-off, eyes-on driving feature.

UBER HAS CONCERNS OVER NYC INSURANCE

Uber is asking NYC to change its insurance requirements. Bloomberg reported:

Uber Technologies Inc. is asking New York City’s taxi regulator to reconsider proposed changes to commercial auto insurance requirements, saying they may unintentionally leave thousands of drivers in one of the company’s largest markets unable to insure their vehicles.

New York City officials are weighing tighter insurance rules after Bloomberg reported that American Transit Insurance Co., which covers 60% of the city’s roughly 120,000 for-hire vehicles, is insolvent and posted more than $700 million in net losses in the second quarter.

The rideshare giant argues the TLC has not clearly defined the terms “solvent” and “responsible” and asks for leniency on the adoption deadline. It also asked to allow existing policies to remain valid until they expire. In addition, the firm is urging the TLC to consider lowering personal injury protection limits to control insurance costs, in line with legislation the City Council proposed in September.

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