Uber and Lyft pricing algorithms charge more in non-white areas
The algorithms that ride-hailing companies, such as Uber and Lyft, use to determine fares appear to create a racial bias.
By analysing transport and census data in Chicago, Aylin Caliskan and Akshat Pandey at The George Washington University in Washington DC have found that ride-hailing companies charge a higher price per mile for a trip if the pick-up point or destination is a neighbourhood with a higher proportion of ethnic minority residents than for those with predominantly white residents.
“Basically, if you’re going to a neighbourhood where there’s a large African-American population, you’re going to pay a higher fare price for your ride,” says Caliskan.
http://newscientist.com/article/2246202-uber-and-lyft-pricing-algorithms-charge-more-in-non-white-areas/
#uber #lyft
The algorithms that ride-hailing companies, such as Uber and Lyft, use to determine fares appear to create a racial bias.
By analysing transport and census data in Chicago, Aylin Caliskan and Akshat Pandey at The George Washington University in Washington DC have found that ride-hailing companies charge a higher price per mile for a trip if the pick-up point or destination is a neighbourhood with a higher proportion of ethnic minority residents than for those with predominantly white residents.
“Basically, if you’re going to a neighbourhood where there’s a large African-American population, you’re going to pay a higher fare price for your ride,” says Caliskan.
http://newscientist.com/article/2246202-uber-and-lyft-pricing-algorithms-charge-more-in-non-white-areas/
#uber #lyft
Judge blocks Uber, Lyft from classifying drivers as contractors in California
(Reuters) - A California judge on Monday granted the state’s request for a preliminary injunction blocking Uber Technologies Inc (UBER.N) and Lyft Inc (LYFT.O) from classifying their drivers as independent contractors rather than employees.
The ruling by Judge Ethan Schulman of San Francisco Superior Court is a defeat for the ride-hailing companies, as they defend against a May 5 lawsuit by state Attorney General Xavier Becerra and the cities of Los Angeles, San Diego and San Francisco.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-uber-california/judge-blocks-uber-lyft-from-classifying-drivers-as-contractors-in-california-idUSKCN2562J6
#US #California #Lyft #Uber
(Reuters) - A California judge on Monday granted the state’s request for a preliminary injunction blocking Uber Technologies Inc (UBER.N) and Lyft Inc (LYFT.O) from classifying their drivers as independent contractors rather than employees.
The ruling by Judge Ethan Schulman of San Francisco Superior Court is a defeat for the ride-hailing companies, as they defend against a May 5 lawsuit by state Attorney General Xavier Becerra and the cities of Los Angeles, San Diego and San Francisco.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-uber-california/judge-blocks-uber-lyft-from-classifying-drivers-as-contractors-in-california-idUSKCN2562J6
#US #California #Lyft #Uber
Lyft may suspend service in California if court requires it to classify drivers as employees
Lyft may suspend services in California if the state does not overturn a recent ruling requiring it to classify its drivers as full-time employees, Lyft co-founder and President John Zimmer said on the company’s second-quarter earnings call.
Shares of Lyft were as high as 6% after hours, but went negative when Zimmer said Lyft might suspend service in the state.
Uber would also likely pause its service in California if the ruling is not overturned, CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said in an MSNBC interview Wednesday. Khosrowshahi said a suspension would likely last until November when voters would decide on the ballot measure, Proposition 22, which would exempt drivers for app-based transportation and delivery companies from being considered employees.
https://www.cnbc.com/2020/08/12/lyft-president-says-it-may-have-to-suspend-service-in-california.html
#US #California #Lyft #Uber
Lyft may suspend services in California if the state does not overturn a recent ruling requiring it to classify its drivers as full-time employees, Lyft co-founder and President John Zimmer said on the company’s second-quarter earnings call.
Shares of Lyft were as high as 6% after hours, but went negative when Zimmer said Lyft might suspend service in the state.
Uber would also likely pause its service in California if the ruling is not overturned, CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said in an MSNBC interview Wednesday. Khosrowshahi said a suspension would likely last until November when voters would decide on the ballot measure, Proposition 22, which would exempt drivers for app-based transportation and delivery companies from being considered employees.
https://www.cnbc.com/2020/08/12/lyft-president-says-it-may-have-to-suspend-service-in-california.html
#US #California #Lyft #Uber
What Happens If Uber and Lyft Flee California? Look at Austin
The ride-hail services are threatening to stop service in the Golden State to protest a judge's ruling. They did something similar in Texas in 2016.
Rafael Rodriguez remembers the moment he learned Uber and Lyft were leaving Austin. “It was Mother’s Day, and I was with my girl in a restaurant,” he says. “I said, ‘Now I’m not paying for that piña colada.’” Today, he laughs about it. But in 2016, the situation was worrying. Rodriguez was a full-time driver for the ride-hail companies. Just two days later, the platforms ditched the Texas capital, frustrated that they had lost a ballot measure that forced them to fingerprint potential drivers for background checks. Rodriguez was out of a job.
https://www.wired.com/story/uber-lyft-flee-california-austin/
#US #California #Uber #Lyft
The ride-hail services are threatening to stop service in the Golden State to protest a judge's ruling. They did something similar in Texas in 2016.
Rafael Rodriguez remembers the moment he learned Uber and Lyft were leaving Austin. “It was Mother’s Day, and I was with my girl in a restaurant,” he says. “I said, ‘Now I’m not paying for that piña colada.’” Today, he laughs about it. But in 2016, the situation was worrying. Rodriguez was a full-time driver for the ride-hail companies. Just two days later, the platforms ditched the Texas capital, frustrated that they had lost a ballot measure that forced them to fingerprint potential drivers for background checks. Rodriguez was out of a job.
https://www.wired.com/story/uber-lyft-flee-california-austin/
#US #California #Uber #Lyft
Why Uber's business model is doomed
Like other ridesharing companies, it made a big bet on an automated future that has failed to materialise
Having threatened to pull out of California completely, Uber and Lyft recently won a temporary reprieve from orders to reclassify their drivers as employees rather than independent contractors. The companies argued they could not come up with a plan for doing so overnight, even though more than two years have passed since California’s supreme court ordered them to change their ways. The Californian labour law AB5 was supposed to end their non-compliance.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/aug/24/gig-economy-uber-lyft-insecurity-crisis
#Uber #Lyft #hail #ride
Like other ridesharing companies, it made a big bet on an automated future that has failed to materialise
Having threatened to pull out of California completely, Uber and Lyft recently won a temporary reprieve from orders to reclassify their drivers as employees rather than independent contractors. The companies argued they could not come up with a plan for doing so overnight, even though more than two years have passed since California’s supreme court ordered them to change their ways. The Californian labour law AB5 was supposed to end their non-compliance.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/aug/24/gig-economy-uber-lyft-insecurity-crisis
#Uber #Lyft #hail #ride