Uber is quietly making anyone who sues it reveal who is paying for the lawsuit. A former top labor official says driver flexibility is a myth built to keep Uber and Lyft profitable. Nearly 20,000 New York drivers just won a $140 million payout two decades in the making. Border agents are warning Texas drivers that cartels are booking rides through their apps. Lyft’s CEO explains how he took the company from near-collapse to robotaxis. We break it all down for you.
Uber Now Forces Anyone Who Sues It to Reveal Their Funding
Source: Bloomberg Law
Uber added a clause to its rider and driver agreements requiring anyone who sues the company to disclose whether an outside investor is funding the case and to hand over copies of the funding agreements. Legal experts say the move is designed to scare off the investors who bankroll lawsuits against big companies.
- The language is identical for drivers and riders. Suing parties also waive attorney-client privilege over documents they share with a litigation funder, which one Georgetown law professor said no rational funder would accept.
- It fits a broader push. Uber and more than 50 other companies have lobbied Congress and statehouses to tax or restrict lawsuit funding, and Uber backs an advocacy group that helped pass a Georgia law making funding deals discoverable in court.
- The clause lands as Uber faces thousands of passenger sexual-assault cases. It lost its first federal bellwether trial in February with an $8.5 million verdict, and its board was sued in June over the company’s safety record.
A Former Labor Official Calls Driver Flexibility a Myth
Source: The American Prospect
David Weil, who ran the U.S. Labor Department division that sets wage standards and served as the lead expert witness in Massachusetts’ case against Uber and Lyft, argues that drivers do not have flexibility because they want it. They have it because it is the core of how the companies make money.
- Uber and Lyft “decouple” the two prices in a ride, setting what riders pay and what drivers earn separately so they can control the margin on every trip. Weil says AI and real-time data let them charge each rider close to the most they will pay and pay each driver close to the least they will accept.
- Drivers earn nothing while logged on but unmatched, and because adding another driver costs the companies almost nothing, the road stays crowded enough to hold pay down. Weil calls uncompensated waiting a main reason average hourly earnings are low and, by some measures, falling.
- He rejects the comparison to Airbnb or eBay. Those platforms let hosts and sellers set their own prices; Uber and Lyft set both sides themselves, which he says makes them management systems, not neutral marketplaces.
Nearly 20,000 NYC Drivers Win a $140 Million Settlement After 20 Years
Source: amNewYork
A federal appeals judge approved a settlement of up to $140 million for about 19,500 New York taxi, livery, and rideshare drivers whose licenses were suspended based on an arrest, not a conviction, often with no real chance to appeal. The case ran for nearly two decades.
- The class covers drivers suspended between 2003 and 2020. Payouts reach up to $36,000 per person, with $15,000 more for named plaintiffs, and one-quarter of the fund, about $35 million, goes to attorneys.
- The judge called it likely the largest due-process settlement ever reached by New York City and one of the largest in the country.
- The Taxi and Limousine Commission says it changed the practice in 2020. The drivers’ union welcomed the outcome but said it will only relax once checks are actually in drivers’ hands.
Border Agents Warn Texas Drivers About Cartel Ride Requests
Source: NewsNation
Border Patrol officials in El Paso are warning rideshare drivers that Mexican cartels are using Uber and Lyft accounts to arrange pickups for migrants smuggled across the border, often in remote desert spots or along highway shoulders near the border wall.
- Agents listed warning signs: passengers in heavily soiled clothing, groups trying to exceed a vehicle’s seat limit, bookings where the account holder is not the rider, and passengers who seem stressed and unsure where they are.
- Drivers who take these trips risk detention and asset forfeiture at checkpoints, and under federal law can face felony smuggling charges.
- Texas has seen more residents charged under smuggling laws, many after answering social media ads offering $1,000 to $1,500 per passenger without realizing it was illegal. Uber and Lyft did not respond to requests for comment.
How Lyft’s CEO Went From Tossing Newspapers to Driverless Cars
Source: Yahoo Finance
Lyft CEO David Risher took over in early 2023 with the company in crisis, its stock down from a $72 IPO price to single digits and losing hundreds of millions of dollars. He has since cut costs, rebuilt driver relationships, and pushed Lyft to its first stretch of consistent profit.
- Before Lyft, Risher spent a decade at Microsoft, was an early Amazon executive, and then spent years running Worldreader, a nonprofit that brings digital books to children in the developing world.
- He is betting on robotaxis, rolling out a fleet in markets like Nashville and building an 80,000-square-foot warehouse to service and manage the cars. Lyft’s stock now trades around $15.
- Waymo is Lyft’s partner in Nashville. Over the coming months riders will be able to book a Waymo through the Lyft app, and Lyft will handle fleet management even for rides booked in Waymo’s own app. Lyft also bought Europe’s FreeNow last year to expand overseas.
QUICK HITS
- Ford is testing a new self-driving delivery vehicle in collaboration with Postmates. – Trucking Info
- Atlanta rideshare drivers rallied against Waymo and other autonomous driving programs and demanded protections for drivers. – 11ALIVE
- Lyft is welcoming Senthil Padmanabhan as Chief Technology Officer, joining July 20, 2026. – Business Wire
- For more coverage of the autonomous-vehicle industry, subscribe to The Driverless Digest, Harry’s newsletter and podcast covering robotaxis and AVs.
Must Listen Or Watch RSG Content
Here are this week’s featured podcast episode and YouTube videos:
- RSG269: This $12K EV Could Change Uber Driving Forever With Bingo Tech
- Lyft CEO Responds to Drivers Worried About Robotaxis
- Same Driver. Same Trip. Completely Different Uber Fees.
- Why Great Uber Drivers And Great Traders Think Alike
- Make sure you Subscribe so you don’t miss out on future conversations and interviews!
