This Week In Rideshare: Walmart Delivery, Uber Fares and Deactivation Lawsuit.

Walmart gets sued, the same rides for different prices and Instacart fights back. LegalRideshare breaks it down.

WALMART ILLEGALLY OPENED ACCOUNTS

Walmart is in trouble for opening up millions of deposit accounts for delivery drivers. CBS news reported:

More than one million delivery drivers collectively paid more than $10 million in fees after Walmart and Branch Messenger illegally opened costly deposit accounts in their names without consent, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau alleges in a lawsuit filed Monday against the retailer and payments platform.

The federal agency claims drivers were forced to use the accounts to get paid and were deceived about how to access their earnings, with Walmart threatening to fire workers who did not comply. Drivers had to follow a complicated process to get their pay, and then faced further delays or fees if they needed to transfer the money into another account.

As a result, workers forked over more than $10 million in fees to transfer their earnings into accounts of their choosing, the CFPB claims.

SAME UBER FARES COST DIFFERENT PRICES

Why do the same Uber rides cost different prices? Economic Times reported:

A recent viral post on social media has reignited concerns among Uber users about the fare disparity when booking rides from different devices. Sudhir, a regular Uber user, shared his experience on X (formerly known as Twitter), where he noticed a significant price difference for the same trip on his phone and his daughter’s phone.

Uber was quick to respond, clarifying that there are various factors that can lead to different fares for the same trip. “Hi there, multiple differences in these two rides impact the prices. The pick-up point, ETA, and drop-off point on these requests vary, which will cause different fares. Uber does not personalise trip pricing based on a rider’s cell phone manufacturer,” the company explained.

While Uber insists that the device itself does not influence the pricing, users remain divided. Some believe that Uber might be charging higher fares for iPhone users compared to Android users, while others speculate that the differences could be attributed to Uber’s dynamic pricing model, which fluctuates based on real-time factors like traffic and demand.

INSTACART/UBER FIGHT DEACTIVATION LAW

Instacart joins Uber in fighting Seattle’s deactivation law. GeekWire reported:

Instacart is joining Uber in an attempt to block a new ordinance in Seattle that regulates how companies can deactivate workers who deliver food, shop for groceries, and complete other tasks via on-demand apps.

The law, originally passed by the Seattle City Council in August 2023 and signed at the time by Mayor Bruce Harrell, was designed to provide more job security to app-based couriers, delivery drivers, and other service providers.

But Instacart said that the ordinance infringes on constitutional rights and federal laws. The grocery giant alleges that the ordinance contradicts its views on safety and efficiency, and poses risk to customer safety and worker privacy given data disclosure requirements.

The legislation was the first of its kind at the time, and goes further than efforts by other municipalities to regulate deactivations.

Under the law, companies must give workers a 14-day notice of deactivation, base deactivations on “reasonable” policies, ensure human review of all deactivations, and provide workers with records behind the decision.

The law does not apply to drivers who transport passengers, who are covered under Washington state law.