The LegalRideshare Podcast LegalRideshare

$44 million awarded, riders get checked, and robotaxis get confused. LegalRideshare breaks it down.
$44 MILLION LAWSUIT



The family of a murdered Lyft driver has been rewarded $44 million. Chicago Sun Times reported:

Kristian Philpotts, 29, accepted a request for a ride in Urbana on Jan. 12, 2022. During the ride, Philpotts was shot by the passenger, Tyjohn Williams of Champaign, according to criminal charges.
Williams, now 18, is accused of requesting the ride using his mother's account. He allegedly got inside the vehicle with two other people, pulled out a gun and shot Philpotts in the back. Philpotts died shortly after.
Champaign County Circuit Court Judge Benjamin W. Dyer awarded the family $44,724,193 at a hearing on damages Friday. The family now will seek to collect on that award from Williams and his mother.
“Criminals must be held accountable when they destroy lives, families and communities,” said attorney Bryant Greening, of LegalRideshare LLC. “KP and his family suffered an unimaginable loss. While this award does not bring KP back, it does serve as a source of justice.”

RIDER VERIFCATION HITS CHICAGO
Riders will now be “verified” in 12 cities, including Chicago. ABC 7 Chicago reported:

Riders will now be “verified” to make sure they are who they claim to be. Uber said this is in response to security and safety concerns that drivers have in Chicago and other cities.
Uber says most people will automatically get verified without doing a thing. Uber will cross reference personal information that they already have in your account, no ID required. That completes the verification process for the vast majority of people.
The verification process is a pilot program. It will not perform criminal background checks on riders.

WAYMO TAXIS BLOCK TRAFFIC



Traffic cones caused confusion for robotaxis. TechCrunch reported:

Six Waymo robotaxis blocked traffic moving onto the Potrero Avenue 101 on-ramp in San Francisco on Tuesday at 9:30 p.m., according to video of the incident posted to Reddit and confirmation from Waymo.
After hitting the road closure, the first Waymo vehicle in the lineup then pulled over out of the traffic lane that was blocked by cones, followed by six other Waymo robotaxis. Human-driven cars were then stuck behind some of the robotaxis; a video posted online shows fed-up drivers getting out of their cars to physically move the cones out of the way so they could pass both the road closure and the stalled Waymos.
It's not the first time Waymo vehicles have caused a road blockage, but this is the first documented incident involving a freeway.








LegalRideshare is the first law firm in the United States to focus exclusively on Uber®, Lyft®, gig workers, delivery and e-scooter accidents and injuries. Consultations are always free.

High pay myths, AV food delivery and the future of rideshare. LegalRideshare breaks it down.
PAYING DRIVERS MORE =/= HIGHER FARES
Uber's classic threat has turned out to be false. Truthout.org reported:

Our team analyzed over a billion rideshare trips, comparing four years of data in Chicago and New York. These are two of the biggest rideshare markets in the U.S.
If Uber's argument was true, fares should have gone up more in New York after the pay standard took effect. In fact, the opposite happened. Over the four years we studied, Uber and Lyft raised fares by 54% in Chicago, where drivers have no pay protections. In New York, they only increased fares by 36%. The reality just doesn't match Uber's scare tactics.

UBER EATS GOES AV
Food delivery in Phoenix gets a lot more automated. Fast Company reported:

Uber Eats will start delivering some orders in the Phoenix area via Waymo's autonomous vehicles on Wednesday, expanding on a multiyear partnership that already includes the self-driving cars shepherding passengers around town.
Customers who have their food delivered by a Waymo will receive an in-app notification to take their phone outside to unlock the vehicle and pick up the items ordered. Users, who place an order where autonomous delivery is available, will be able to opt out of the tech at checkout if they prefer to have a courier deliver their food.

MINNEAPOLIS AFTER UBER
What does Minneapolis look like after Uber leaves? MPR news reported:

Uber and Lyft have promised to end service in Minneapolis on May 1 because of a dispute with the city over driver pay. The situation leaves drivers with uncertainty over how to make a living and what comes next.
One of those drivers is Farhan Badel, who has been driving for Uber and Lyft in Minneapolis since 2018.
His work for Uber and Lyft helps him support his three children and wife and has allowed him the freedom to be able to choose his hours to better juggle life and work.
If Uber and Lyft leave Minneapolis within weeks, Badel and other drivers may explore roads less traveled — driving for startup rideshare apps.
At his home office in Woodbury, Murid Amini has been working around the clock since early March developing MOOV, a rideshare app which he says has around 900 users signed up so far — around 600 are drivers.
Other rideshare companies are also looking for ways to fill the possible void, including HICH and The Drivers Cooperative, a driver-owned organization in New York, interested in signing up Minnesota drivers.








LegalRideshare is the first law firm in the United States to focus exclusively on Uber®, Lyft®, gig workers, delivery and e-scooter accidents and injuries. Consultations are always free.

We chat with LegalRideshare's co-founder & lead attorney Bryant Greening about accidents and deactivations caused by accidents.

Drivers protest, companies step up and the facts about minimum wage. LegalRideshare breaks it down.
LOUISVILLE DRIVERS GO ON STRIKE



Drivers step up in Kentucky. Spectrum News reported:

Around 60 drivers went on strike starting at the Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport. They said they chose the location because they don't make enough on rides from the airport to downtown hotels.
Solomon Tamene has been driving for Uber and Lyft for six-and-a-half years, but he went on strike for the first time Monday.
Lyft recently announced drivers will earn 70% or more of rider payments each week. If they don't, they will be paid the difference.
“They say drivers make 70%,” Tamene said. “I'll show you; I have my evidence. Drivers say they make 70%, but we never make 70%.”

UBER LEAVES. COMPANIES STEP UP.



With Uber planning to leave, other rideshare companies are stepping up. KARE 11 reported:

Rideshare companies Uber and Lyft said they will leave Minneapolis on May 1 if a new ordinance, passed by the city council, takes effect.But several companies said they are ready to come in if Uber and Lyft make good on their promise.
Steve Wright, founder and CEO of Wridz, said their rideshare company can now be found in 20 cities across the country. But they started in Austin, Texas after Uber and Lyft left the city in 2016 under different circumstances. A new Texas law then eventually superseded the Austin ordinance, leading to Uber and Lyft returning a year later.
Joshua Sear, founder and CEO of Empower, said their main market is in the Washington, D.C., metro area. But they also provide service to drivers in Winston-Salem/Greensboro, North Carolina and are beta testing the service in New York City.
To date, no new company has submitted an application for a TNC license. Once the city of Minneapolis receives a license application from a TNC, it takes approximately two to six weeks for approval. Hill said any new companies will need to follow the city's permit and licensing process.

15 FACTS ABOUT MINIMUM WAGE



With a win in Minnesota for the drivers, reporters break down the facts. Minnesota Reformer adds:

1. Minnesota has more than 10,000 app-based drivers2. Uber and Lyft drivers earned an average of $30.27 per hour3. The state report was written by two labor-friendly economists4. The Minneapolis City Council approved the ordinance before they saw the state report6. Higher prices could impact drivers' overall income13. Other companies will struggle to scale up if Uber and Lyft leave








LegalRideshare is the first law firm in the United States to focus exclusively on Uber®, Lyft®, gig workers, delivery and e-scooter accidents and injuries. Consultations are always free.

NEW GIG WORKER RULES

New rules have just taken place. The Dispatch reported:
A new Biden administration rule that changes the criteria for determining who is considered an independent contractor under the Federal Labor Standards Act went into effect Monday, potentially redefining “gig work” as we know it. Advocates of the new rule say it will expand the benefits of full employment — federal minimum wage, unemployment insurance, overtime, and Social Security benefits — to millions of independent contractors, particularly those who are “misclassified” as such. Opponents, however, worry the change will have a chilling effect on hiring contractors, undermining the independent contracting model and forcing genuine contract workers out of the market.
Though estimates for how many people engage in contract-based and independent work can vary widely, workforce surveys suggest that at least 25 percent of U.S. workers engage in some form of gig work — as independent contractors, freelancers, or through other non-standard work arrangements — and that roughly 10 percent of the workforce rely exclusively on gig work as their primary source of income
AMAZON'S ZENBOOTHS ARE A “SLAP IN THE FACE”

Stressed working for Amazon? Just think happy thoughts. NY Post adds:
Amazon has sought to improve the morale of its stressed-out warehouse workers and reduce injuries by setting up so-called “ZenBooths” — interactive kiosks that are billed as “mindful practice rooms,” according to reports.
A warehouse employee at the Seattle-based e-tailing giant founded by billionaire Jeff Bezos leaked a screenshot of a meditation and wellness guide from the company that encourages workers to “close your eyes and think about something that makes you happy.”
The screenshot — which also shows a timer at the top right corner of the screen, saying “Repeat until timer ends” and showing 10 seconds left — was leaked by a worker at one of the company's fulfillment centers, where pay was recently increased to between $17 and $28 an hour.
But the company deleted a promotional video announcing the rollout of the booths after it elicited scathing reaction on social media, where critics noted that Amazon has been accused of subjecting employees to poor workplace conditions and heavy workloads.
MINNESOTA DRIVERS CLAIM VICTORY. UBER LEAVES.

After a historic win for drivers, Uber announced it's leaving the city. Star Tribune reported:
Rideshare giants Uber and Lyft said they will leave Minneapolis on May 1 after the City Council voted Thursday to enact a pay raise for drivers.
The council voted 10 to 3 to override Mayor Jacob Frey's veto of the ordinance, which sets drivers' minimum pay for rides in the city starting May 1.
Uber and Lyft are Minneapolis' only licensed rideshare companies, although several entities — both local startups and existing companies — have said they would be eager to fill the void. None have formally applied for a license, and it's unclear if any could scale up operations in a matter of weeks.
On Thursday, Uber competitor Empower announced it could do so — and would — before May 1. That could open a new legal fight; Empower's business model is different, and CEO Joshua Sear told the Star Tribune he doesn't believe the company needs any special licensing. However, in December, Washington, D.C., accused Empower of operating illegally there, according to local media reports. The irony: A decade ago, Uber burst into many markets, including the Twin Cities, illegally before cities created a licensing regimen.







LegalRideshare is the first law firm in the United States to focus exclusively on Uber®, Lyft®, gig workers, delivery and e-scooter accidents and injuries. Consultations are always free.

The revolution that wasn't, more threats from Uber and teens get a lift. LegalRideshare breaks it down.
THE SELF-DRIVING REVOULTION THAT WASN'T
Self-driving was basically “promised” in 2016. So what happened? The Week reported:

There are a whole host of reasons that the dream of a self-driving revolution hasn't yet come to pass: cost, the slow evolution of the required technology, and a lack of public trust to name but a few. Perhaps the biggest, however, is safety. Humans are generally good at dealing with the unexpected; but machines must be “taught” to behave in certain ways in certain situations. How should a car with no driver respond if it sees, say, a rock in the road that may or may not be a paper bag?
The industry says that self-driving cars are up to seven times less likely to get into crashes leading to injury than normal cars. After all, AI isn't susceptible to a temptation to drink and drive, and won't get tired. But a series of high-profile accidents have dented confidence in such claims.

UBER/LYFT THREATEN TO LEAVE MINNEAPOLIS
Here we go again. Star Tribune reported:

The Minneapolis City Council has resurrected plans to raise wages and expand the rights of Uber and Lyft drivers — and the companies have resurrected their threats to leave town if those plans move forward.
The battle, strikingly similar to one that played out last year, sprang anew before a Minneapolis City Council committee Tuesday. The subject of a public hearing was a proposed ordinance that would pay drivers a minimum of $1.40 per mile and 51 cents per minute while transporting riders on any trip within the city limits, among other guarantees.
Since the battle played out last year, both Uber and Lyft have instituted a $5 minimum payment to drivers for all rides and have committed to other standards. They've also upped their local lobbying and PR campaigns. Uber, for example, hired a local PR firm and the firm circulated a letter this week signed by nearly 150 local drivers supporting not the Minneapolis proposal, but a New York settlement that set minimum pay and other protections, such as paid sick leave.

UBER TEEN ACCOUNTS IN CA
Uber has rolled out teen accounts in California with added safety. NBC Bay Area reported:

When a teen requests an Uber, the parent or guardian will get a notification and will be able to track the car in real-time.Only the highest-rated, most experienced drivers are allowed to accept teen requests, and Uber does annual background checks on all drivers.
Teens will get a PIN that they'll have to provide to the driver in order to make sure they're getting into the right car. And there will be an audio recording of all rides, encrypted for their privacy but available in case the teen or parent needs to file a report of any kind.








LegalRideshare is the first law firm in the United States to focus exclusively on Uber®, Lyft®, gig workers, delivery and e-scooter accidents and injuries. Consultations are always free.