DoorDash continues to expand with a partnership with Albertsons Companies. Also, Revel says it will launch its line of Tesla taxis despite clashes with the city of New York. All this and more in this week’s roundup by senior RSG contributor Paula Gibbins.
DoorDash and Albertsons Companies Partner to Launch Unprecedented Access to On-Demand Grocery Delivery (PR Newswire)
Summary: DoorDash (NYSE: DASH), the nation’s leading last-mile logistics platform, and Albertsons Companies (NYSE: ACI), one of the nation’s top grocers, are announcing a new partnership to offer on-demand grocery delivery from nearly 2,000 well-known Albertsons banner stores across the country including Safeway, Vons, Jewel-Osco, and more from the DoorDash marketplace app.
As expectations for convenience, speed and ease continue to grow, consumers can now order groceries and essentials on-demand for delivery within an hour through DoorDash’s top-rated marketplace with no time slot, queues or minimum order size required. Albertsons will offer more than 40,000 grocery items from stores for delivery via DoorDash, including fresh and prepared food, core grocery, floral and convenience items at select stores….
My Take: It does surprise me that Albertsons is partnering with DoorDash as opposed to Instacart for grocery deliveries. Good for DoorDash to continue expanding into more markets, but how will this change for their drivers?
Will drivers have the opportunity to see that they will be essentially grocery shopping for their customers as opposed to picking up a pre-made meal? Or will Albertsons’ employees be doing the grocery shopping and DoorDash will just deliver? I’ll be curious to see how this pans out.
Uber, DoorDash silent as San Francisco becomes the first US city to cap delivery app fees for good (SF Gate)
Summary: San Francisco became the first city in America to limit the fees that delivery apps such as Uber, DoorDash and Postmates can charge restaurants.
The Board of Supervisors’ Tuesday vote was unanimous, reported Eater SF, with all 11 present supervisors voting in favor for the limitations, including Supervisor Aaron Peskin, who co-sponsored the bill. (Peskin was in attendance for the vote despite issuing a formal apology and entering alcohol treatment earlier this month.)…
My Take: Just like with anything, there’s a good side to this and a bad side to it. It’s great for the restaurants, but what about the delivery drivers? Some went on Reddit to comment on this very article. Here’s what a few had to say:
In this thread, they basically state that the delivery app companies will find a way to add that cost to the customer’s bill so they will get their money no matter what. Another responded that it’ll likely come out of drivers’ pay first.
On the same page, someone posted, “If all these gig services didn’t take so damn much this would have never been an issue .. now they opened pandora’s box .. bring back surges and bonuses and instead of taking 45 to 60 percent take less.. Damn.”
Another person pointed out that this might help restaurants realize they are better off without the delivery services of Uber and DoorDash. They said, “Reality will set in now. That reality is the the Restaurants can provide a cheaper delivery service themselves that doesn’t cost the consumer more and pays the drivers better. Uber’s overheads kill them.”
Gig workers in Mass. escalate fight with Uber, Lyft, and other companies (Boston Globe)
Summary: Tensions over how Massachusetts state law treats gig-economy workers could rise this week, as a new coalition has formed to combat efforts by some big technology companies to exempt their workers from benefits such as a minimum wage and health care coverage.
The group, called the Coalition to Protect Workers’ Rights, is launching its effort Tuesday morning with a rally outside the State House. The move comes as Attorney General Maura Healey sues Uber and Lyft for allegedly misclassifying its workers as independent contractors and denying them legally entitled benefits.
It also comes 3½ months after an opposing coalition was formed in Massachusetts to advocate that gig-economy workers should remain as independent contractors, in order to maintain the flexibility of their work hours and to reduce their chances of facing discrimination in hiring….
My Take: Things seem to be gearing up in Massachusetts as it sets the stage to become the new California, at least in terms of gig worker legislation. And much like California, it sounds like Massachusetts is split on the idea of employee versus independent contractor for rideshare drivers. I doubt this will bring about a similar initiative from Uber and Lyft, or if it does, it likely won’t cost the $220 million that Prop 22 did.
New York City votes to block new licenses for electric taxis, snubbing Revel’s Tesla plans (The Verge)
Summary: New York City’s Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC) voted to block the issuance of new for-hire vehicle licenses for electric vehicles. The move was widely perceived as a snub toward Revel, the company best known for its electric moped-sharing service, which was planning to launch a ride-hailing service using a fleet of Tesla vehicles.
Revel announced last April that it planned to launch a ride-hail service in Manhattan with a fleet of 50 Tesla Model Ys. The company had been hoping to exploit a loophole in the city’s current rules, which caps the number of new FHV licenses but exempts wheelchair-accessible and electric vehicles. The cap was originally enacted as a way to stem the tide of new Uber and Lyft vehicles that were flooding the streets. On Tuesday, the TLC voted 5-to-1 remove the exemption for electric vehicles, effectively closing off that pathway for Revel.
Anyone who wants to acquire a new FHV license for an electric vehicle will be subjected to the same semi-annual review process as those with gas-powered cars. And those who already own an FHV license for a gas car are still allowed to transfer those licenses to an electric vehicle if they so choose….
My Take: See the next article, a follow-up to this one, for my take on both.
Revel says it will launch ‘Tesla taxis’ in spite of NYC ban (NY Post)
Summary: The battle over putting Tesla taxis on the streets of New York is kicking into high gear.
Electric transportation startup Revel said late Wednesday it will launch its all-Tesla ride-share service soon — despite the fact that the city’s Taxi and Limousine Commission voted this week to bar new for-hire licenses for electric vehicles.
“You can’t stop the future and you definitely can’t stop my team,” said Revel CEO Frank Reig in a late-night Tweet on Wednesday. “We’ll be launching shortly and I can’t wait to show New Yorkers the future of rideshare!”
Under the TLC’s revised rules, the agency says Revel can only launch its electric taxi fleet if the company buys 50 for-hire gas cars and swaps their licenses out for Teslas. But Reig has slammed this requirement as “the very definition of limiting market competition.”
It’s unclear if Reig has had a change of heart and plans to buy the gas cars — or if Revel plans to launch without the TLC’s blessing….
My Take: Sounds like NYC is in a pickle. They created this rule with a loophole specific to electric vehicles and now that someone is planning on going around it, they change their mind and try to close up the hole?
Electric vehicles are going to be a new norm within the next 10 years or so. Uber and Lyft both have initiatives to transition to zero-emissions and to be all EV platforms. Closing up the loophole specifically because of Revel would harm the industry that is already well established.
Do you think Revel should be allowed to establish a fleet in NYC? What do you think of this week’s roundup?
-Paula @ RSG
