AI changes wages, a win for drivers, and new features drop in NYC. LegalRideshare breaks it down.
An Uber Eats driver tries to “game” the system. Business Insider reported:
The 56-year-old, who drives an elderly Subaru, told The New York Times that he focuses on affluent parts of Los Angeles such as Pacific Palisades, where high-value orders are more common. So are big tips — in theory, at least.
He recalled waiting in an alley next to a dumpster in Pacific Palisades one Saturday evening when he nabbed three orders from a high-end sushi restaurant, with one worth $388.
The $388 order tipped just $20, or about 5%, $10 from the first delivery — and nothing from the other order. “It's hard to fathom how people could have so much money and tip so little,” he added.
Uber steps up to stop deadly battery fires. The Verge reported:
Uber says it will fund an e-bike buy-back program for delivery workers in New York City in a bid to get fire-prone batteries off the streets. The company also said it would support an additional fee on food deliveries to help workers afford safer options.
The announcement comes amid a worrisome rise in e-bike fires in New York City that have resulted in at least a dozen deaths. Two children were killed last night in Astoria, Queens, in a fire that authorities say was the result of an exploding lithium-ion battery, according to multiple news outlets.
The New York City Council recently passed legislation prohibiting the sale of uncertified e-bikes and other micromobility devices, while Mayor Eric Adams has called on the private companies that profit from e-bike deliveries to do more.
Uber and Amazon use AI to pay people with the same job, different wages. Business Insider reported:
According to Dubal, companies like Amazon and Uber have “massive data sets” on the contract workers using their delivery or rideshare platforms, including when they work, for how long, and what kind of pay they've taken for past jobs. These companies are able to utilize this data to “calculate the exact wage rates necessary to incentivize desired behaviors,” she told the Los Angeles Times, a practice she calls “algorithmic wage discrimination.”
“From Amazon to Uber to the healthcare sector, workers are being paid different amounts for the same amount of work that is conducted for the same amount of time,” said Dubal, whose research was published in the Social Science Research Network in January and will be included in a forthcoming Columbia Law Review.
Dubal said these instances could take the form of a food delivery driver being offered a lower rate than another driver would have been — because the AI algorithm predicted the first driver would be more likely to accept that rate. If a driver tends to work until they hit a certain daily mark, say $100, she said the algorithm might offer them lower rates to keep the driver working longer.
There's a big win for drivers in Washington. KIRO7 reported:
Uber and Lyft drivers in Washington state will be the first in the United States to get Paid Family and Medical Leave benefits.
“Today is a landmark in the fight for worker rights nationwide,” said Peter Kuel, Drivers Union President, in a news release Wednesday. “Washington Uber and Lyft drivers are the first in the nation to win the right to Paid Family and Medical Leave and now have their right to unemployment benefits — a lifeline at the height of the Covid pandemic — enshrined in state law. In the State of Washington, drivers must no longer choose between caring for unwell loved ones and putting food on the table.”
In addition to the change in benefits, the cost of a driver's premiums for Paid Family and Medical Leave will be fully paid by Uber and Lyft. Paid Family and Medical Leave access will come online for drivers in July 2024.
New safety features from Uber roll out in NYC. NBC4 reported:
Starting Wednesday, an in-app feature will allow drivers and riders to record audio during trips. Uber said that the feature can be initiated either before or during the trip, and is aimed to encourage safe and comfortable interactions.
So does the new feature simply allow the company to listen in whenever you're taking a ride? Not so much, Sivaram explained — no one will supposedly be able to listen to the recording (including Uber) unless a safety report is submitted.
Uber said that it plans to extend the feature to New Jersey by the end of 2023.
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