Uber is expanding its female drivers. Bloomberg reported:
Uber Technologies Inc. said that a feature designed to match female riders and drivers will be available nationwide, expanding access to a safety measure as it seeks to resolve thousands of sexual assault complaints from passengers in the US.
The option will be available in markets like New York, Philadelphia and DC, following a pilot and subsequent launches in more than two dozen other US cities last year, the company said in a statement Monday. Riders will see a new on-demand booking option called “Women Drivers” alongside the existing UberX, Comfort, UberXL and Black offerings. Customers can reserve such a trip in advance, or set their preference in the app settings to increase the likelihood of being matched with a woman. The feature is also offered in cities where teen accounts are available.
The move comes as Uber is fighting thousands of pending legal cases in the US that question if the company is responsible for the misconduct of drivers, who are classified as contractors rather than employees. In February, a jury returned a verdict that found Uber liable for not preventing an alleged sexual assault of a female passenger, who claimed that she was raped by her driver in Arizona in 2023. The company was ordered to pay $8.5 million in damages, raising its risk of a costly settlement to resolve other cases.
Grubhub is testing food delivery via drones. Bloomberg reported:
Customers must be located within 2.5 miles of Grubhub parent Wonder Group Inc.'s restaurant location in suburban Green Brook, New Jersey. Items must also weigh under four pounds. After placing an order through the Grubhub app, users will see real-time GPS tracking, estimated arrival notifications and order confirmations.
It aims to complete drone deliveries 5 to 8 minutes after the food is loaded into the autonomous carrier, and within 30 minutes after the order is placed, PJ Poykayil, senior vice president of customer delivery operations at Wonder and Grubhub, said in an interview.
A service dog sparked a national debate. ABC new reported:
College student Tori Andres turned to the Minnesota Department of Human Rights after several Lyft drivers refused to let her service dog, Alfred, ride along with her. The agency investigated and determined that the company was violating the state's Human Rights Act. Both sides then negotiated a settlement that includes changes in driver training, and updates to the Lyft app that will make the agreement apply nationwide, not just in Minnesota.
The terms require Lyft to train its drivers on the rights of passengers with disabilities, and warn them that they could be “deactivated” and lose their ability to drive for Lyft if they violate the law, state Human Rights Commissioner Rebecca Lucero told reporters. Drivers can't cancel or refuse a ride because a passenger has a service animal or wheelchair, or because they have low or no vision, she said. The state will monitor Lyft's compliance for three years, she added, and Andres will get a $63,000 monetary settlement.
Changes to the Lyft app include giving riders the option of updating their accessibility settings to notify a driver that they're traveling with a service animal, and to report if they're denied service. Some of those features were already in place. Lyft agreed to follow up on every report it gets of driver refusals.
Drivers who try to cancel or refuse a ride to a passenger who has disclosed their service animal in the app will immediately receive an in-app message reminding them, “It's against the law to refuse service animals,” and that they risk getting fired.
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