We file a lawsuit against Lyft, California court favors Uber and the best speed to save money. LegalRideshare breaks it down.
The mother of a Lyft driver who was tragically killed on the job, is suing the company. ABC 20 reported:
According to the lawsuit, Williams' mother, Tia Williams, and Lyft supposedly knew Williams was using the app to target rideshare drivers but failed to take action.
“The family has reason to believe that this was not the first time in which the suspect used a rideshare application to target a rideshare driver for some malfeasance or criminal act,” said LegalRideshare attorney and co-founder Bryant Greening.
California court sides with Uber. NPR added:
App-based ride hailing and delivery companies like Uber and Lyft can continue to treat their California drivers as independent contractors, a state appeals court ruled Monday, allowing the tech giants to bypass other state laws requiring worker protections and benefits.
The ruling mostly upholds a voter-approved law, called Proposition 22, that said drivers for companies like Uber and Lyft are independent contractors and are not entitled to benefits like paid sick leave and unemployment insurance. A lower court ruling in 2021 had said Proposition 22 was illegal, but Monday's ruling reversed that decision.
Uber's biggest obstacle? Gig workers. Reuters reported:
Uber Technologies (UBER.N) and Lyft (LYFT.O) dodged a pothole, but bigger roadblocks may be on the horizon. A California court on Monday found in favor of letting the ride-sharing companies classify their drivers as independent contractors. That doesn't eliminate risks from recent unionization drives and plentiful jobs elsewhere, though.
Keeping workers off permanent payroll will help tamp down potential costs. Jefferies estimates Uber, Lyft and food delivery service DoorDash (DASH.N) will avoid a $20 million to $170 million knock on next year's earnings thanks to the ruling. Shares in all three companies were up around 6% in late-morning trading on Tuesday.
Is there an optimal speed to save gas and money? Wired explains:
Here is the dilemma: If you drive fast, it takes more gas, which costs more money. If you drive slower, it takes less gas, so you will save money. But you will also sacrifice time — time you could spend on the clock at work, earning money.
Let's say that you have a car with an EPA-listed highway mileage of 33 mpg. According to this, driving at 50 mph would give you 47.6 miles per gallon and driving at 70 mph would get you only 36.1 mpg.
You can see that with these values, the best commuting speed is 66 mph for a distance cost of 48 cents per mile. Each trip of 30 miles would cost $14.41. Ouch.
Even with a fuel efficiency of over 45 mpg, you still shouldn't drive faster than 70 mph if you want to save money.
As Uber rolls out “Record My ride” features, some have concerns about privacy. FOX 8 reported:
Here's how it works: riders and drivers can add the safety feature in the app's Safety Toolkit section. After it's enabled, the option to “record audio” can be initiated by hitting “start.” Both parties can begin or end a recording at any time during a trip. The feature automatically shuts off after a trip is completed.
Uber says audio files are encrypted and stored on the device of the person who enabled it. The company explains that “no one can listen to the audio — including Uber, the rider or the driver” while the recording is on a device.
Uber does not have access to it unless one of the parties submits an issue and attaches it. Only at this time will the audio file be decrypted and heard by a safety agent for review, Uber says.
“… if a driver chooses to enable this feature, it sends a message to the rider, alerting them that audio may be recorded during their trip,” said Uber's Head of Privacy and Security Public Policy Uttara Sivaram.
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.