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Are Uber Drivers Employees? Cloud Looms Over Rideshare Industry

As drivers, we are expected to do a lot of things for our “job.” While we can choose the hours we work, pay can be inconsistent and some drivers are incentivized to drive at hours they may not prefer, all for the lure of extra pay. So what does this actually make drivers – true independent contractors, or something else? Senior RSG contributor John Ince tackles this question below.

If you’re interested in signing up to drive for Uber, Uber Eats, Lyft, Postmates, or Doordash, click here to sign up

New Lyft Driver - Earn 1500:week

Should Uber & Lyft Drivers Be Employees or Independent Contractors?

A cloud hangs over the entire ridesharing industry. It’s a legal cloud of ambiguity as to what exactly drivers are.  Are drivers independent contractors as Uber and Lyft would have the world believe? Or are drivers employees – as two important legal bodies have ruled within the last six months?  Further adding to the confusion, Recently, the 9th Circuit of San Francisco ruled that a major lawsuit on this issue could not proceed because driver’s signed away their rights when the signed up to drive for Uber and agreed to arbitration on these issues. So the issue remains in legal limbo and likely will for the foreseeable future.

It’s a legal issue that affects everything in this new space called the gig economy. Labor advocates argue that this gig labor development has set back labor rights fifty years.  Those on the other side argue that it’s brought flexibility and income opportunities to countless people that otherwise would be wanting.

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How the New GOP Tax Bill Affects Uber and Lyft Drivers

We’ve been getting a lot of questions on our Facebook page and via email about the latest tax bill, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, and how it will affect rideshare drivers. As rideshare drivers are independent contractors, taxes can be slightly more complicated than an average salary worker (you can learn more about taxes for rideshare drivers here!) Today, senior RSG contributor Christian Perea breaks down how the new tax plan could impact drivers and what you need to know about it.

The ink is still drying on the final Republican tax bill known as the Tax Cuts & Jobs Act and we’ve been getting ALL KINDS of questions on how the new tax bill will affect us as Uber and Lyft drivers.

Disclaimer: I’m not a tax professional and you shouldn’t take this article as tax advice.

Broadly, the bill should benefit rideshare drivers, since it strongly favors small businesses and as you already know, we are all small businesses. That being said, this bill is still brand new and very complex. It’s likely to take several months before the experts hash out the best tax strategies.

Today, senior RSG contributor Christian Perea breaks down how the new tax plan could impact drivers and what you need to know about it.

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Would Uber and Lyft Really Pull Out of Chicago?

Update (6/20/16): Looks like Uber and Lyft may be safe for now.  Ald. Beale has agreed to ‘study’ the fingerprinting issue for 6 months and will not require rideshare services to fingerprint their drivers – for now.

This Wednesday, the Chicago City Council will vote on an ordinance that could force Uber and Lyft to pull out of the city indefinitely.  If this story sounds familiar, it should.  Over the past year, Uber and Lyft have waged regulatory battles in several high profile locales (New York, Broward County, etc), and neither company is currently operating in Austin due to a recent fingerprinting requirement imposed by the city council.

We actually traveled to Austin a couple weeks ago to see the situation first-hand, and now it looks like Chicago might be next.  Many municipalities have tried to impose stricter taxi-like regulations over the past year, and it’s been a huge sticking point for the TNCs.  In fact, anything that involves fingerprinting of drivers or impediments to on-boarding is likely to elicit pull-out threats from Uber and Lyft since these companies rely on being able to churn and burn through their workforce.  By Uber’s own admission, they lose half of all drivers after just 12 months and, when you factor in their growth, they need to hire at least 60,000 new drivers every single month (according to my calculations) just to run efficiently.

We've heard this before - would Uber and Lyft really leave Chicago? We cover the regulations in Chicago here.

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7 Things I Learned From Our Week In Austin

When Uber and Lyft pulled out of Austin last month, they made it seem like the world was going to end without them.  And while there was tumult in the few weeks after their departure, no less than seven eight nine rideshare start-ups have since moved in to Austin to try and fill that void.

Last week, Christian and I headed to the capital of Texas to talk with local politicians, meet with some of the start-ups looking to take Uber/Lyft’s place and, of course, hear from drivers.  We learned a lot about the situation on the ground, and today I’m going to summarize it all.

Christian and I meeting with Austin Councilman Don Zimmerman

Christian and I meeting with Austin Councilman Don Zimmerman (photo cred: RSG Reader Anthony N)

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RSG Special Report: How’s Austin Doing Without Uber And Lyft?

Harry here.  The battle in Austin has been a huge story over the past month, so Christian and I decided to head to the city that ‘Keeps it Weird’ for four days to see what life is like now that Uber and Lyft are gone.  It turns out that there are a slew of rideshare companies looking to take Uber/Lyft’s place, and they’re doing a lot better than we expected.

Today, RSG senior contributor Christian Perea breaks down what it takes for these companies to make a name for themselves and reviews seven of the biggest options in Austin: Wingz, Get Me, Fare, Arcade City, RideAustin, Fasten and InstaRyde.

Austin rideshare is on fire right now. The Big Two are gone and watching from the sidelines with a nervous glance as new companies rampage through a market that they have spent tens of millions of dollars to build. Also, after a month without any real options, passengers and drivers alike are being presented with a bevy of rideshare apps seeking to fill the void. It’s all quite exciting.

The Rideshare Guy Goes to Texas

We went to find out for ourselves EXACTLY what is going on with rideshare in Austin, Texas.

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