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Lyft Plays Hardball in New York City

Join us for our August YouTube live on Tuesday August 13th at 4:00 pm PT!  You can subscribe to our Youtube channel here and be sure to turn on notifications (instructions here) so you know when we go live.

It was a busy week and weekend for Uber and Lyft, from earnings calls to TLC crackdowns in New York City. RSG contributor Sergio Avedian breaks down how Lyft, in particular, is handling these new regulations below.

Drive with Uber 1

A lot is happening right now in New York City and the implications could impact rideshare regulations across the entire country. But for now, what you need to know is that back in June, Lyft instituted a new policy that prevents drivers from logging on to the company’s app during periods of low demand. Now, drivers have to wait until ride requests pick up, or drive to a busier neighborhood like Midtown, Brooklyn or Manhattan.

On August 7, 2019, N.Y. TLC (Taxi Limousine Commission) extended the cap on Uber and Lyft vehicles and instituted new rules on “cruising”. If you remember, almost a year ago to the day, the New York TLC made the historic move to cap and freeze the number of rideshare vehicles in order to reduce congestion. Lyft did not actually challenge the cap itself in court, but rather focused its litigation on the TLC’s approach to setting the pay formula. Specifically, Lyft challenged the company-specific utilization rates, which they argued would lead to lower earnings over time. Of course, that’s not necessarily how drivers saw it.

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ZumTriple your ridesharing pay. Zūm drivers average $32/hour and many make $750+ a week. Work when you want. Get repeat rides and drive only on weekday mornings and afternoons. Apply to drive here.

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How Micromobility Could Be Double Trouble for Uber and Lyft’s Profitability

As scooters become more ubiquitous and noticeable in many cities, we wondered how “scooternomics” fit in with profitability for Uber and Lyft. Are Uber and Lyft making more with scooters? How do other scooter companies play a role? RSG contributor Sergio Avedian dug in to see how Uber/Lyft profit from short rides, how scooter rides have cut into that profitability and what that means for rideshare and scooter companies.

As per recent Uber and Lyft data, most Uber and Lyft rides are around 6 miles, but the most profitable are the short ones (2-3 miles). For drivers, those minimum fare rides can be rough and sometimes the distance driven to the pick-up location is longer than the actual ride itself.

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The Battle for AB5 Heats Up in California

The battle over AB5 in California, which could turn drivers from independent contractors to employees, is heating up. RSG contributor Sergio Avedian visited the competing protests (for and against AB5), spoke to drivers, and shares his impressions below.

We’ve been covering the AB5 debate closely over the past few months, and this week we saw some big news out of Sacramento. There were two rallies, one against AB5 put on by Uber on Tuesday and one for AB5 put on by driver advocates on Wednesday.

The bill itself, which would codify a widely used workplace standard known as the “ABC” test to determine workers’ employment status into California Law was voted out of the Senate Labor, Public Employment and Retirement Committee on Wednesday afternoon. It will be moved to the Appropriations Committee in early August, after which it will be up for debate in the CA Senate and up for a final vote towards the end of the month.

This bill would only affect California drivers to start, but it could set a precedent for other states around the country.

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Are Uber Drivers Really Capable of Manipulating Surge?

Can Uber (and Lyft) drivers really manipulate the surge, increasing prices on passengers? RSG contributor Sergio Avedian looked into this claim: how it could be done, if it’s being done, and why drivers are even considering this. Let us know what you think about ‘surge club’ in the comments below!

Recently, we started hearing more about the so-called “Surge Club”. A few drivers craving for attention and their fifteen minutes of fame had the guts to be interviewed by reporters explaining in detail how by simply coordinating their efforts, they were able to trigger higher fares for themselves. Now, quoting from Forrest Gump “Stupid is stupid does”.

What does this brazen act accomplish other than turn the ire of Uber onto them? Possibly get deactivated due to Uber calling this act “fraudulent”. Is it really fraud or is it necessary for drivers to band together in order to scrape a living wage?

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Drivers Participate in Lyft ‘Flash’ Protest Against PPZ

On July 2, Rideshare Drivers United emailed drivers in Los Angeles about a ‘flash protest’ at the Lyft Drivers Hub in downtown LA. The protest was against changes to Lyft Prime Time (from Prime Time to Personal Power Zones). RSG contributor Sergio Avedian attended the LA protest and shares his thoughts about the protest and its impact on Lyft below.

About a week ago I received the following email from RDU (Rideshare Drivers United). I had signed up as a member of this group a while back and periodically they send out notices of upcoming events such as the twenty-four hour Uber driver strike that took place in Los Angeles and many other cities across the U.S. on May 8, 2019.

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