Teamsters Union-backed Lyft drivers are rejecting a proposed $27 million settlement with Lyft:
The objectors have written to U.S. District Court Judge Vince Chhabria in recent days, saying the payout and contractual concessions to drivers are insufficient. They also expressed concern that the deal doesn't address the most important issue: whether drivers for ride-hailing companies such as Lyft and Uber should remain independent contractors or be treated as employees, eligible for healthcare benefits and paid time off, among other provisions. The union-backed objectors acknowledged that trying to resolve that question once and for all carries significant risks -- namely losing in trial. But they told the court that "the stakes for the state, the economy and the drivers themselves are much higher."
Uber is partnering with a General Motors company to rent vehicles to Uber drivers on a weekly basis starting at $179. GM has a similar arrangement with Lyft... and recently invested $500 million in Lyft.
Researchers have found that African Americans face longer wait times and more cancellations when using ride-hailing services like Uber and Lyft:
The two-year study by researchers at MIT, Stanford and the University of Washington tracked discrimination of Uber, Lyft and Flywheel passengers in Boston and Seattle—showing that black riders of UberX wait between 29 and 35 percent longer than white riders. The study, which involved nearly 1,500 rides, also found that women were routinely taken on longer rides than necessary by drivers and were frequently overcharged. [...] As well as wait times and elongated routes, passengers with "African-American sounding" names were disproportionately canceled by Uber drivers compared to riders with "white sounding" names, the study found.
Racial and Gender Discrimination in Transportation Network Companies (DOI: 10.3386/w22776) (DX)
Finally, Toyota has invested in yet another ride-hailing startup, Getaround, and is piloting "Smart Key Box" software in some of its vehicles. The software would allow drivers to unlock the doors and start the engines using a smartphone while in Bluetooth range:
Drivers can unlock their loaned cars using their smartphones while in Bluetooth range, as the system shares an encrypted code in order to securely give access to the vehicle and push-button ignition. The said encrypted code will be valid only for the duration of the loan, but users will presumably be able to extend their loan if needed.
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Lyft and Waymo have signed a deal to bring autonomous cars into mainstream use:
As the race to bring self-driving vehicles to the public intensifies, two of Silicon Valley's most prominent players are teaming up. Waymo, the self-driving car unit that operates under Google's parent company, has signed a deal with the ride-hailing start-up Lyft, according to two people familiar with the agreement who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly. The deal calls for the companies to work together to bring autonomous vehicle technology into the mainstream through pilot projects and product development efforts, these people said.
[...] The deal between Waymo and Lyft has competitive implications for Uber, the world's biggest ride-hailing company, which has recently had to confront a spate of workplace and legal problems. Lyft is a distant No. 2 to Uber among ride-hailing services in the United States, and the two companies are bitter rivals. Waymo is also competing fiercely with Uber in the creation of technology for autonomous cars and is embroiled in a lawsuit over what it says is Uber's use of stolen Waymo trade secrets to develop such technology.
Details about the deal between Waymo and Lyft were scant. The companies declined to comment on what types of products would be brought to market as a result of it or when the public might see the fruits of the collaboration.
Also at The Verge.
Previously: Uber and Lyft: Settlements, Racism, and Auto Partnerships
Google Waymo Vehicles to Hit the Road This Month
GM and Lyft to Test Thousands of Self-Driving Electric Cars in 2018
Google Spin-Off Waymo Accuses Uber of Stealing Self-Driving Tech
Lyft Pays $27M to Settle Driver Classification Suit
Uber Tracked Lyft Drivers
Uber Engineer Must Reveal Reason for Pleading the Fifth to Judge
Uber Could Face Injunction Stopping It From Testing Driverless Cars
(Score: -1, Offtopic) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 03 2016, @07:30AM
feel the force!
(Score: -1, Offtopic) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 03 2016, @08:06AM
i feel it. it feels good.
i want to feel it more. feel it harder.
(Score: 2, Troll) by FatPhil on Thursday November 03 2016, @11:58AM
The black riders were probably 2.8s or below, and the whites were probably 3.2s or above. They need to work on their reputelligence.
Black Mirror S03E01 "Nose Dive" (available on Netflix)
Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 03 2016, @01:35PM
Oh, great, so now keeping someone waiting for a few extra minutes is racist! And apparently nothing at all to do with going from/to less accessible places or bad neighborhoods.
Is there anything any more that is not not "racist"? Around here, even farting wrong may be considered "racist" and will get you lynched by a mob of angry blacks. But oh, no, stating the facts might be racist!
(Score: 0, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 03 2016, @02:43PM
keeping someone waiting for a few extra minutes is racist
If the only criteria for making someone wait longer is their race then yes, it is racist.
The study also found increased cancellation rates:
For all passengers on UberX, those using African American-sounding names face more than double the cancellation rate than when the same passengers use white-sounding names (10.1% vs. 4.9%)
nothing at all to do with going from/to less accessible places or bad neighborhoods
Try reading the paper. The starting points, destination, and profiles were identical except for the first name.
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 03 2016, @03:13PM
do uber drivers work for tips? if they do, that may explain their evil racism. blackards use all their available money for the service and purposely don't have any money for the tip. it's either their way of sticking it to "the man"(all cracker ass crackers) or their way of getting their owed reparations. just go to any fancy restaurant and sit near some negros and eavesdrop. they will order whatever expensive food they want, get all the refills and free stuff they can, then either not tip at all or tip very little, all with a frown on their face like the restaurant and all of society owes them something. ghetto blacks anyways. maybe not blacks that have assimilated over generations. Assimilation is resisted by blacks and seen as being an "uncle tom ass nigga", understandably though.
uber drivers don't want to go to some shithole to get robbed or pick up some entitled, cheap skate with an attitude problem? I don't blame them. Maybe they don't want Soulglow on their upholstery? It's also their right (to be racist bastards), despite what the TV and all the useful idiots have to say. It's also blacks' right to start their own ride/cab service and discriminate against honkeys.