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takyon [soylentnews.org] writes:

Teamsters Union-backed Lyft drivers are rejecting a proposed $27 million settlement [latimes.com] with Lyft [wikipedia.org]:

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 [latimes.com] 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 [techcrunch.com] starting at $179. GM has a similar arrangement with Lyft... and recently invested $500 million in Lyft [autonews.com].

Researchers have found that African Americans face longer wait times and more cancellations [newsweek.com] 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 [nber.org] (DOI: 10.3386/w22776) (DX [doi.org])

Finally, Toyota has invested in yet another ride-hailing startup, Getaround [wikipedia.org], and is piloting "Smart Key Box" software [reuters.com] 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 [androidheadlines.com]:

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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