ReportWire

Tag: Lyft

  • Arrest Made in Fatal Shooting of Lyft Driver in Cleveland

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    Source: General / Radio One

    Cleveland police arrested a 20-year-old man from Garfield Heights in the fatal shooting of a Lyft driver Sunday night, authorities said.

    Charges are pending against the suspect in the death of 56-year-old Antoine Latham, who was shot while working as a rideshare driver.

    Officers responded shortly before 9:50 p.m. Sunday to a call near East 103rd Street and Rosehill Avenue. When first responders arrived, they found Latham inside his vehicle suffering from a gunshot wound to the head. He was taken to a hospital but later died.

    Police executed a search warrant on Wednesday and took the 20-year-old into custody. Multiple firearms were recovered, according to authorities.

    Investigators said this shooting is part of two fatal incidents involving Lyft drivers within about 27 hours, but they are currently treating them as separate investigations. The second victim, 27-year-old Vasyl Shvets of Parma, was found shot early Tuesday morning and later pronounced dead. Police have made no arrest in that case.

    Police asked anyone with information about either incident to contact the Homicide Unit.

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    Matty Willz

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  • Link Alaska Atmos Rewards and Lyft Accounts, Get $15 Ride Credit

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    Link Alaska Atmos Rewards and Lyft Accounts

    If you have not linked your Atmos account with Lyft yet, then this is a good time to do it as you can earn a $15 Lyft ride credit. Check out more details below.

    Offer Details

    Link your Lyft and Atmos™ Rewards accounts by January 14, 2026 to receive a $15 Lyft ride credit. Lyft ride credit will be delivered after the promo period and must be used by January 31, 2026. See offer here.

    Once your accounts are linked, make sure you have Atmos selected as your active rewards partner in the Rewards section of your Lyft App to start earning points on all eligible rides.

    • Earn 2 points per $1 spent on everyday Lyft rides including Standard, Priority Pickup, and XL rides.
    • Earn 3 points per $1 spent on airport rides and elevated Lyft rides including Extra Comfort, Black, and Black SUV rides.
    • Work rides earn double points With Lyft Business Rewards, eligible riders can earn 4-6 points per $1 spent on business profile rides vs. 2-3 points on personal rides.

    Important Terms

    • Members who linked their Atmos Rewards and Lyft accounts prior to the Promotional Period are not eligible for a $15 retroactive ride credit.
    • Lyft ride credits will be awarded within 5 days of the end of the Promotional Period and expire on January 31, 2026 at 11:59PM PT.

    HT: FM

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    DDG

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  • City Council approves ‘unfair deactivations’ safeguards for rideshare drivers, delivery workers – amNewYork

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    Drivers with the New York Taxi Workers Alliance rally in support of legislation that would add job protections for app-based for-hire-vehicle drivers. Thursday, Dec. 18, 2025.

    Credit: Gerardo Romo / NYC Council

    The City Council approved on Thursday a pair of measures designed to bolster protections for app-based rideshare drivers and delivery workers against firings without recourse — known as “unfair deactivations.”

    The body passed a measure that would add protections against unfair deactivations for for-hire vehicle drivers, Intro. 0276, by 40 to 7 votes with one abstention. It also approved legislation that would add safeguards for food delivery workers, Intro. 1332, by 40 to 8 votes.

    Both bills aim to prevent unfair deactivations — a practice that drivers and delivery workers describe as sudden terminations without a stated reason or an independent appeals process in place.

    The bills were passed during the final City Council stated meeting of the current session. Should outgoing Mayor Eric Adams veto the legislation, City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams — who is also leaving office at the end of the year — said it will be up to the likely next speaker, Council Member Julie Menin, to override the mayor’s vetoes. Menin is expected to be elected speaker in early January, soon after the next session of the council is sworn in.

    “This is just another step in trying to in trying to take care of the human beings behind this technology,” said outgoing Council Member Justin Brannan (D-Brooklyn), the prime sponsor of the delivery worker bill.

    “These are billion-dollar app companies, and the reason why they’re billion-dollar app companies is because of the workers that bring in these profits for them,” he added. “So I don’t think we’re asking much to treat them fairly, and that if someone is going to get fired, that there needs to be some sort of recourse.”

    The legislation affecting for-hire-vehicle drivers — backed by the New York Taxi Workers’ Alliance — would place far more restrictions on how the companies that employ them, such as Uber and Lyft, can go about deactivating their accounts. It is designed to prevent drivers from being removed from the app without a clear reason, advance notice, or a means to appeal the decision.

    During a news conference before the votes, City Council Member Shekar Krishnan (D-Queens), the lead sponsor of the for-hire-vehicle bill, said app companies can currently fire drivers “at any time, for any reason, and with no notice, cause or appeal process.” He added his bill “puts an end to unfair firings.”

    queens lawmaker speaks against Uber and Lyft driver deactivation
    City Council Member Shekar Krishnan rallied with Uber and Lyft drivers for his legislation aimed at strengthening their job protections. Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025.Photo by Lloyd Mitchell

    The legislation would require app companies to give a stated reason for deactivating a driver — known as “just cause” place the burden of proof on them, mandate the firms give drivers 14 days’ notice before kicking them off the app, and institute an independent appeals process for drivers. The 14-day notice would apply to all drivers, except for those alleged to have committed account sharing, fraud, or gross misconduct — such as violence or sexual harassment.

    Proponents of the bill also argue a new appeals process is needed because the only way for drivers to appeal the apps’ decisions currently is through the Independent Driver’s Guild, a group funded by Uber.

    Uber spokesperson Josh Gold, in a statement, said the company opposes the for-hire-vehicle bill because it could have “devastating impacts on passenger safety.”

    “Among other things, it forces rideshare apps to keep sending rides to drivers for up to 14 more days after a driver has already been told they’re being terminated, meaning New Yorkers could unknowingly get picked up by someone the company has already fired,” Gold said.

    Lyft spokesperson CJ Macklin expressed a similar sentiment.

    “It makes it harder for us to keep unsafe drivers off the platform, requires public sharing of sensitive victim information that will have a chilling effect on complaints, and places the city in the untenable position of defending individuals accused of misconduct against those they may have harmed,” Macklin said.

    The other bill passed by the council would provide many of the same safeguards for deliveristas, who work for apps including Uber, DoorDash, Grubhub, Seamless, and Relay. It would also require app companies to provide a reason when reactivating deliveristas; give 120 days’ notice before permanently removing them; and institute an appeals process.

    Gold said Uber does not oppose the legislation. Grubhub — which owns Relay and Seamless, DoorDash, and Instacart did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

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    Ethan Stark-Miller

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  • Citi Bike surge: Ridership increases, showing ‘critical’ need in NYC transit deserts, says advocacy group

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    A major transit advocacy group reported on Sunday that NYC’s bikeshare system, Citi Bike, is gaining popularity, especially in neighborhoods with limited transportation options.

    Staff at Transportation Alternatives told amNewYork that they “crunched the numbers” and found that Citi Bike rides are becoming more abundant, even surging in areas traditionally considered “transit deserts” with limited public transportation options.

    The researchers’ data show that Citi Bike is “especially critical” in subway transit deserts. Ridership at existing bike stations grew 58% faster in these dry hubs; it also grew by an average of 4.1% within a quarter mile of a subway station and 6.5% outside of that area, according to the research.

    Transportation Alternatives, which tracks trends in various methods of travel, compared Cit Bike ridership in the first half of last year to ridership during the same period in 2025. One caveat is that the data did not include stations added after Dec. 31, 2023.

    Ben Furnas, executive director of Transportation Alternatives, described Citi Bike as a key part of transit in the Big Apple.

    “Citi Bike is a central part of New York City’s transportation system, with an annual ridership twice that of the Staten Island Ferry,” he said. “It’s a critical option for New Yorkers in transit deserts, whether it’s to get around their neighborhoods or to get to a far away subway station.” 

    According to the NYC Department of Transportation, which runs the Staten Island Ferry, the boats carry about 16 million passengers on the 5.2-mile run between the borough and Lower Manhattan each year. Meanwhile, Lyft, which owns City Bike, reported 45 million bikeshare trips in 2025. 

    “Ridership is booming, despite Citi Bike being the only bikeshare program in the world to function without public funding,” Furnas said. “The next administration should allocate city funding to the program for the first time, and draw up a three-year plan to improve service and expand citywide, so New Yorkers across the city can benefit from bikeshare.”

    Electric vs. traditional Citi Bikes: Which is more popular?

    According to the Transportation Alternatives research, electric Citi Bike ridership has doubled between 2023 and 2025, while non-electric ridership dropped by 27%.

    The reported increase in ridership comes just a month after Mayor Eric Adams implemented a 15 mph speed limit for all Citi Bike e-bikes, down from the previously allowed 20 to 25 mph limit. 

    Adams implemented the rule to address a growing number of complaints about speeding e-bikes. 

    “Lowering the speed limit will protect e-bike riders, pedestrians, and everyone who shares our streets,” Adams said when enforcement of the speed limit went into effect on Oct. 24. “As New Yorkers adjust to this new law, our focus will be on education first and enforcement second — this includes installing new signage in key cycling corridors and issuing warnings to first time offenders.”

    Meanwhile, amNewYork spoke to several New Yorkers about why they use – or do not use – Citi Bikes.

    “I love Citi Bike,” Lori Skopp of the Upper West Side said, adding that she uses it to get to work in the morning. “One thing I personally like is that I bike to work and it’s very fast. But I walk home because I have a little more time, I’m a little less rushed in the afternoon. It’s a pleasant walk home.”

    Bill Swersey, also of the Upper West Side, said he has seen “transportation transformed” by the spread of Citi Bike and bike lanes.

    “There’s a Citi Bike station right outside my building on 89th and Columbus and I use it all the time to get around the neighborhood, across town and Midtown,” the cyclist explained. “It’s a speedy, healthy and affordable option.I also have my own bike which I use for longer riders and exercise.”

    Like many other cyclists, he also said that NYC needs more enforcement to stop reckless riding.

    “We need more enforcement to control wrong-way riders and speeders, especially the new very fast e-bikes, and there are often problems with availability and broken CitiBikes, but compared to years ago, NYC is undeniably a great bicycle city.”

    However, some New Yorkers expressed concerns about Citi Bike safety. One New Yorker noted that the program does not provide helmets. 

    Another person from Queens, who preferred to remain anonymous, said he is concerned about the bikes “taking up space” for parking.

    “I have three bike docks in my neighborhood, and they never get used,” he said. “That is a lot less parking available for cars.”

    amNewYork contacted Lyft for comment on this story and is awaiting a response. 

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    Barbara Russo-Lennon

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  • Lyft and United Team Up to Offer New Rewards, Plus 1,000 Miles Bonus – Danny the Deal Guru

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    Lyft and United Partnership

    Lyft riders within the United States can now earn airline miles every time they book an eligible ride, thanks to a new collaboration with United Airlines.

    Lyft users who are also members of United’s loyalty program, MileagePlus, can link their accounts within the Lyft app, and earn:

    • Four miles for every dollar spent on pre-scheduled rides to and from the airport;
    • Three miles for every dollar spent on Extra Comfort, Lyft Black, and Black SUV rides; and non-scheduled rides to and from the airport;
    • Two miles for every dollar spent on Standard, Priority Pickup, and XL rides with your company business profile; and
    • One mile for every dollar spent on Standard, Priority Pickup, and XL rides.

    Plus, new riders receive 1,000 bonus miles after signing up for Lyft, linking their MileagePlus account, selecting “United MileagePlus” as their rewards partner, and completing two rides within 30 days. Signup for MileagePlus is free.

    Expected in early 2026, MileagePlus members will be able to redeem miles directly for rides through the Lyft app and will receive automated flight alerts and ride reminders for United travelers.

    Lyft users that link their MileagePlus account can take advantage of MileagePlus benefits including miles that never expire, no blackout dates, ticket purchasing with miles or a combination of miles and cash, no change fees on flight award tickets, and even pool miles with family and friends.

    For more information and instructions on how to link existing MileagePlus and Lyft accounts, visit lyft.com/united or united.com/lyft.

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    DDG

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  • Lyft Launches New Lyft Cash Rewards Program for Select Riders

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    New Lyft Cash Rewards Program

    Lyft today launched a new program called Lyft Cash Rewards, letting riders turn car rides into cash back and enjoy the perks of a membership, without paying a fee.

    Here’s how it works:

    • Riders can set up Lyft Cash auto reload and start earning rewards on rides they’re already taking with 2% cash back for a $25 reload, 4% for $50, and 5% for $100
    • Riders who choose the $50 level will also receive two relaxed cancellation fees each month, and those at $100 or more will get two free XL upgrades per month

    Lyft says that frequent riders could save up to $450 annually. Your balance will automatically refill the amount of your selected tier when it drops to $15 or below. Earned Lyft Cash expires exactly 60 days from the time it is earned. Purchased Lyft Cash doesn’t expire

    Lyft Cash Rewards applies to all ride types except Wait & Save, bikes, and scooters. It can also be combined with existing memberships, such as Lyft Pink or Price Lock.

    This program will be available to select riders nationwide, especially to those riders who have been riding with Lyft for at least 10 years. It’s no surprise that many of them reside in Lyft’s birthplace of San Francisco, so ALL riders there will have early access. Join the waitlist.

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    DDG

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  • Program aims to eliminate this ‘significant barrier’ for women battling breast cancer – WTOP News

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    Andrea Sweetney, of D.C., is one of the thousands of women who have benefited from the Wheels for Women initiative, which through Lyft, offers free rides to and from breast cancer screenings.

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    Program aims to eliminate this ‘significant barrier’ for women battling breast cancer

    Almost a year ago, Andrea Sweetney, of D.C., was frozen with fear. Who would give her rides to and from her appointments for breast cancer treatments?

    Sweetney, who lives in Southeast, was diagnosed with breast cancer last October. She was nervous and started looking for things to give away, and she worried about the impact of the diagnosis on her family and friends.

    Then someone pointed her to the Ralph Lauren Center for Cancer Prevention, a partner of the Wheels for Women program. Some of her stress was alleviated when she learned she wouldn’t have to rely on her family for rides to and from appointments.

    With a quick phone call, Sweetney has been able to arrange to be picked up from her home and taken to MedStar Washington Hospital Center. Another call when the appointment is finished arranges her transportation home.

    Sweetney is one of the thousands of women who have benefited from the Wheels for Women initiative, which through Lyft, offers free rides to and from breast cancer screenings or other related appointments. And now, the Brem Foundation to Defeat Breast Cancer has partnered with D.C.’s Department of Health, expanding its reach.

    “I just hope and pray that everybody can get the help that I was able to get, and get the transportation back and forth,” Sweetney said.

    For Sweetney, the free rides meant her daughter didn’t have to rearrange her schedule or take time off from work. It also meant her other daughter, who lives in Atlanta, didn’t have to fly to D.C. to get her to appointments.

    Since 2019, the Brem Foundation has provided more than 4,800 free rides to patients, according to CEO Clare Dougherty. So far this year, it’s provided almost 1,400, surpassing the organization’s goal for the year.

    “Transportation, unfortunately for many women, is a significant barrier to accessing their breast cancer screening,” Dougherty said.

    The group has 18 partners in the D.C. region and in Baltimore, and it works with health care providers “that have skilled patient navigators who can help us identify the women most at risk in their practices for potentially missing a screening appointment due to transportation limitations,” Dougherty said.

    The Brem Foundation provides grants to cover the rides and collects data on who is taking them. Dougherty said 70% of riders are “Latina women who often just are struggling with limited insurance and limited health care.”

    Ride costs have fluctuated, and Dougherty said it’s $27 on average one way, and $35 roundtrip.

    “But if you have to go for several appointments, for some women, that truly can be the difference between, ‘am I going to get groceries this week or cover the cost of dinner tonight for my family, or go for my screening appointment?’” Dougherty said. “We feel very strongly that women should not have to make such tradeoffs.”

    The new partnership with D.C. Health enables the organization to cover the cost of the rides for patients using them, so the local health agency doesn’t have to pay, Dougherty said,

    D.C. Health has seen a rising need for transit services to screening appointments, she said.

    Sweetney, meanwhile, is hoping to pay it forward.

    “There are some women scared to go to the hospital, scared to reach out, because they have nobody there for them,” Sweetney said. “I’m willing to help you. I really am because it was a scary situation for me.”

    Get breaking news and daily headlines delivered to your email inbox by signing up here.

    © 2025 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.

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    Scott Gelman

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  • Tensor’s Robocar will be ‘Lyft-ready’ out of the factory

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    Lyft is partnering with San Jose-based Tensor Auto. Lyft says it has reserved “hundreds” of Tensor robotaxis and will operate its own fleet. The other piece of the partnership: Tensor will make its Robocar “Lyft-ready” straight out of the factory.

    Shipping the Robocar with Lyft’s platform will allow a futuristic form of passive income for owners in regions with level 4 regulatory approval. “Traditional car ownership means a vehicle loses value as it sits idle most of the time,” the companies wrote in a press release. “Tensor Robocars flip this model, turning personal luxury vehicles into productive assets that can generate income around the clock.”

    It’s similar to what Tesla plans to do with its yet-to-be-shipped Cybercab. Lyft’s rival Uber announced a similar plan in July, involving 20,000 Lucid EVs.

    That’s also a rendering.

    (Tensor / Lyft)

    Tensor plans to deliver its first Robocars by the end of 2026. The company says the “Lyft-ready” autonomous vehicle (AV) will include over 100 sensors. (That includes 37 cameras, five lidars, and 11 radars.) Eight NVIDIA chips, based on Blackwell GPU architecture, help it interpret sensor data. Tensor says the computer is capable of 8,000 trillion operations per second.

    This is far from Lyft’s first AV partnership. Among others, it teamed up last month with May Mobility to launch an autonomous fleet in Atlanta. Lyft also plans to match users with Waymo rides in Nashville starting next year. However, Bloomberg notes that the Tensor partnership is Lyft’s first where it will purchase and operate its own AV fleet.

    Tensor spun out of the Chinese robotaxi company AutoX. The company says it divested and discontinued its China operations to focus exclusively on the US-based Tensor. The Robocar will be produced in Vietnam through a partnership with VinFast.

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    Will Shanklin

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  • Newsom signs bill allowing California rideshare drivers to form union, negotiate contract

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    California rideshare drivers will have the ability to form a union and negotiate a contract, while still being classified as independent contractors.

    A new law signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday, Assembly Bill 1340, requires app-based transportation companies, like Lyft and Uber, to negotiate in good faith with a soon-to-be-formed drivers’ union.

    Driver Jason Munderloh said he’s optimistic about the bill, but there are some complications. He’s been driving for rideshare services since 2014, when he left his biomedical research job. 

    “The pay was pretty good, early on,” Munderloh said. 

    At first, he really enjoyed being a driver. 

    “The advantages were it’s an exciting job, potentially,” Munderloh said. “You get to see the city. You get to meet a lot of people, and the pay is good, and we have real support and dignity for drivers; it can be a great job. And it was at one point.”

    But things changed, especially during the pandemic, when fewer people were using the apps. Usage has picked up, but their pay is still lagging behind what it used to be for many rides. 

    Munderloh adds that Prop. 22, which was passed in 2020, has also made things more difficult. It classifies drivers as independent contractors. They don’t get full employee protections, like overtime, paid sick leave, or unemployment insurance.

    He hopes AB1340 can help, the bill giving drivers the right to create a first union contract and requiring the companies to negotiate in good faith over issues such as driver deactivation, paid leave and earnings.

    “A union potentially gives us the right to organize and bargain collectively, something we haven’t had before,” Munderloh detailed. “It’s every driver for themselves as it is now.”

    He admits the legislation signed by the governor isn’t perfect. 

    “The bill had some flaws, looking more into it,” Munderloh said. “My organization, Rideshare Drivers United, identified seven places that the bill should be changed to protect, for example, what our wages are during negotiations? What if we enter negotiations and the algorithm suddenly changes and they’re not paying us very well? Nobody has had to deal with algorithmic employment before in a union contract negotiation.”

    He explains that they’re in uncharted territory and there is no language in the bill that promises a living wage.

    “We are some of the first workers that are being impacted by AI,” Munderloh said. “The algorithm that they have will basically find the person who is willing to take the drive for the cheapest, maybe the most desperate person, undercutting everyone else. We’re really facing AI and Algorithmic discrimination in a way that no one has.”

    In a statement, the director of public policy at Lyft, Nick Johnson, was in support of the legislation. 

    “This deal is a major victory for both riders and drivers in California,” Johnson said. 

    As part of the agreement, Newsom also signed a second bill on Friday, which will drastically reduce insurance coverage requirements for the ride-hailing companies

    Despite all of this, Munderloh said there’s more work to be done. The drivers still need to come together to form the union and put the right people in place to negotiate for better working conditions. 

    “The future of rideshare really depends on drivers themselves, you know, and we know that the city doesn’t function without us,” Munderloh explained. “We know that we’re essential workers. It’s just a matter of us coming together and being organized and standing up for ourselves.”

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    Amanda Hari

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  • Newsom signs bill giving Uber and Lyft drivers in California the right to unionize | TechCrunch

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    Drivers for ride-hailing apps like Uber and Lyft will soon have the right to unionize in California as independent contractors, thanks to a bill signed Friday by Governor Gavin Newsom.

    This is part of a larger deal between lawmakers, unions, and ride-hailing companies, resulting in the passage of separate bills supporting lower insurance requirements for Uber and Lyft, along with union rights for their drivers. When the deal was first announced in August, Newsom described it as an “historic agreement between workers and business that only California could deliver.”

    The Associated Press reports that more than 800,000 drivers will gain the right to join a union and collectively bargain for better pay and benefits. Ramona Prieto, Uber’s head of public policy for California, told the AP in a statement that the two bills “represent a compromise that lowers costs for riders while creating stronger voices for drivers.”

    Massachusetts voters passed a ballot measure giving ride-hailing drivers unionization rights last fall.

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    Anthony Ha

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  • RTD directors face barrage of opposition, set fare for Access-on-Demand

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    RTD directors faced a barrage of public opposition and were locked in debate Tuesday night over how to restructure the agency’s Access-on-Demand service, which provides free rides to people with disabilities on commercial services such as Uber and Lyft.

    The directors were wrestling with a staff proposal to impose a base fare of $6.50, reduce the maximum per-ride subsidy from $25 to $20 for up to 60 rides per month, and end the 24/7 availability across the Regional Transportation District’s 2,342-mile service area. They voted 10-5 to set the base fare at $4.50, but had yet to agree on other changes at 9:30 p.m.

    For more than a year, RTD’s 15 elected directors have been unable to decide on the changes that Chief Executive and General Manager Debra Johnson recommended to make Access-on-Demand “financially viable.”

    On Tuesday night, they heard more than three hours of appeals by metro Denver residents with disabilities who urged RTD to maintain a service they described as a lifeline.

    A transit fare of $6.50 “may not sound like much to you. But it would make it so that I cannot afford to go to work,” Gabby Gonzales, who works part-time at a pizza restaurant and estimated her monthly income at about $1,100. “Please keep it as it is. Make it affordable for me.”

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    Bruce Finley

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  • Editorial | Deactivating danger for rideshare operators, drivers and customers | amNewYork

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    A customer is picked up by a rideshare in Manhattan in Aug. 2024.

    File Photo by Dean Moses

    Rideshare drivers in New York City, like taxi drivers, earn their keep based on how often they work shuttling riders where they need to be. The more they work, the more they earn.

    In working for a rideshare outlet like Lyft or Uber, the driver is responsible for proper conduct and following the rules of the road. They earn a percentage of the fares charged. But one bad decision or mistake can put a rideshare driver out of commission indefinitely.

    Through a process known as “deactivation,” a rideshare operator can prohibit one of its drivers from taking on work pending further investigation. Deactivation generally occurs when a customer flags the company for bad behavior on the driver’s part — from reckless driving to harassment and other offenses — or for other offenses such as lapsed licenses or registration.

    In the eyes of rideshare operators, deactivation is essential to protecting their own interests because they are legally responsible for their drivers’ actions. Sidelining a driver for a 24-hour period to investigate a report of unlawful behavior prevents the driver accused of it from potentially committing a similar offense. 

    Yet advocates for rideshare drivers, such as the New York Taxi Workers Alliance, argue that the deactivation process is too arbitrary, lacks a proper due process structure, and can put a driver out of commission for days, if not weeks, based on a mere accusation. The consequences of deactivation can be economically devastating.

    The City Council is considering a bill to intervene and set new guidelines for rideshare deactivation. Intro. 276, sponsored by Queens Council Member Shekar Krishnan, would establish requirements that rideshare companies provide two weeks’ notice to a potentially deactivated driver. This would, in the bill’s supporters’ minds, offer an ample opportunity for a driver to form a defense to present to their rideshare company and remain on the road.

    Rideshare companies are opposed to the bill. Lyft Chief Policy Officer Jerry Golden argued in a Sept. 22 letter to the City Council that it would impede the company’s ability to immediately halt drivers “for repeated unsafe driving, discrimination, or sexual harassment … placing additional riders in harm’s way.”

    Both sides in the battle over deactivation have serious merit to their arguments. The rideshare companies must protect themselves and the public from genuinely bad drivers. But the drivers themselves cannot afford surprise suspensions under a “guilty-until-proven-innocent” environment that can cost them their livelihoods.

    It is incumbent upon the rideshare companies and the drivers at large to hash out a fair agreement that provides proper protection without resorting to a legislative mandate that tips the scales out of favor, and may put the public at risk. 

    Instead, the City Council and Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC) should facilitate negotiations that bring about a fair deal for all involved.

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    amNewYork

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  • Here Come the Robotaxis: Zoox and Lyft Both Launch Driverless Ride Sharing

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    “How do we break down the journey into bite-sized pieces, so it doesn’t feel overwhelming or insurmountable?” says Jesse Levinson, the cofounder and CEO of Zoox. “This moment is a huge one, but the service is still unpaid and fairly limited.” Zoox launched in 2014, and though it’s been testing its technology in San Francisco, at its Foster City, California, headquarters, and in Las Vegas for years, this will be the first time it’s allowing anyone willing to download an app to ride. The company was acquired by Amazon in 2020 for a reported $1.2 billion.

    Olsen, the May Mobility CEO, says he is comfortable with the company’s slower launch process after watching others rush to put self-driving cars on the road. “One of the things we’ve seen across the industry is that a vehicle might perform brilliantly some of the time, but then will do wildly inappropriate things in the edge cases,” Olsen says. He declines to say exactly when the firm would remove the safety drivers from its vehicles, or when it might expand its Lyft partnership to other areas or cities, but he says any moves the company makes will be tested and validated with real-world and simulated data. The service will scale more quickly as time goes on, he says.

    May Mobility offers rides through Lyft.

    COURTESY OF Lyft and May Mobility

    Climb in Lyfters.

    Climb in, Lyfters.

    COURTESY OF Lyft and May Mobility

    Two US self-driving vehicle firms shut down this past decade after their robotaxis were involved in serious road accidents. In 2018, a testing self-driving vehicle operated by Uber’s Advanced Technologies Group struck and killed a woman in Tempe, Arizona. Uber sold off its self-driving technology to a competitor in 2020. In 2023, General Motors subsidiary Cruise struck a pedestrian in San Francisco after the person was thrown into the empty robotaxi’s path by a collision with another car; state regulators later learned that the Cruise dragged the person 20 feet while it attempted to move out of traffic, and revoked the company’s permit to operate. General Motors got out of the robotaxi business a year later, citing high development costs and a desire to focus on personal vehicles.

    Keep On Robotaxiing

    Still, robotaxi companies say they have plenty more public deployments on the horizon. Zoox says it will start picking up public riders in San Francisco later this year, and will then launch in Austin and Miami. May Mobility plans to deploy robotaxis in Arlington, Texas, before the end of the year, this time on the Uber platform. Waymo has announced future service in several US cities, including Miami, Washington, DC, and Dallas. Tesla is running a small, invite-only ride-hail service in the California Bay Area with drivers behind the wheel using its more limited Full Self-Driving (Supervised) tech, which requires the person up front to stay alert at all times. Musk plans to move quickly: He said this spring that the company would have “millions” of vehicles operating autonomously by the second half of next year.

    Vegas residents can download Zoox's app.

    Vegas residents can download Zoox’s app.

    Chris Noltekuhlmann

    Rides are free for the time being.

    Rides are free for the time being.

    COURTESY OF ZOOX

    Developers of self-driving vehicles have argued that their tech will increase safety and ride efficiency, bringing down prices in the long term. (Of course, these companies will also no longer have to pay a cut of each ride to human drivers.) But even in Phoenix and San Francisco, where Waymo has been running public robotaxis for years, cities have yet to catch a clear glimpse of how the expensive-to-develop technology might transform residents’ lives.

    “It’s not at the scale yet where it’s really dramatically changing anything,” says Adam Millard-Ball, an urban planning professor who directs the UCLA Institute of Transportation Studies.

    Robotaxi services will likely have to get much bigger, Millard-Ball says, before they can prove out their expansive visions. Waymo has released studies suggesting that its tech is safer than human drivers in many situations, but some experts still argue that it’s hard to compare robots’ performance to humans’ given the still-limited number of miles the cars have driven.

    “Can this make the rideshare industry grow the pie?” asks Jeremy Bird, Lyft’s executive vice president of driver experience, who collaborated with May Mobility on the Atlanta launch. Bird says Lyft has studied data from where autonomous vehicles have already been deployed, and he thinks the answer is yes. But when robotaxis will become a moneymaking venture is still a big question mark. Clearly, though, plenty of people are still working to find out.

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    Aarian Marshall

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  • Caravan to the Capitol marks latest push to unionize rideshare drivers

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    EXPLAINING WHAT THIS IS ALL ABOUT. AND POTENTIAL TRAFFIC CONGESTION, ALL RELATED TO THAT PUSH HAPPENING HERE AT THE STATE CAPITOL. IT’S A PUSH TO UNIONIZE RIDESHARE DRIVERS ACROSS THE STATE, AND THE GOVERNOR’S ENDORSEMENT OF THAT PROPOSAL IN THE PAST WEEK. SO WHAT JUST HAPPENED YESTERDAY? ASSEMBLY BILL 1340 PASSED A KEY COMMITTEE VOTE, CLEARING THE WAY FOR A STATE SENATE FLOOR VOTE. THIS IS THE PROPOSAL KNOWN AS THE TRANSPORTATION NETWORK COMPANY DRIVERS LABOR RELATIONS ACT, THAT WOULD ALLOW RIDESHARE DRIVERS TO UNIONIZE. NOW, SEIU CALLS THIS THE LARGEST EXPANSION OF PRIVATE SECTOR COLLECTIVE BARGAINING RIGHTS IN HISTORY. SO WHAT IS HAPPENING THIS MORNING THAT COULD POTENTIALLY IMPACT YOU? WHETHER YOU WOULD USE RIDESHARE OR NOT? IS THAT SEIU SAYS HUNDREDS OF GIG DRIVERS WILL BE DRIVING, HONKING, WAVING AND CARAVANNING AROUND THE STATE CAPITOL, BEGINNING SHORTLY AFTER 9 A.M. THEY’LL BE COMING ACROSS THE TOWER BRIDGE AND DOWN CAPITOL AVENUE. SO AGAIN, AS WE TAKE A LOOK AT THE STATE CAPITOL, THE ULTIMATE SPOT WHERE THIS CARAVAN WILL BE FOCUSING, THE TIMING FOR THIS CARAVAN IS THAT SEIU SAYS IT WILL BE LEAVING WEST SACRAMENTO, DRIVING OVER THE TOWER BRIDGE AROUND NINE, EXPECTED TO BE OVER THE BRIDGE RIGHT AROUND 915. AND THEN ULTIMATELY HERE TO THE STATE CAPITOL. SO IF YOU DRIVE IN DOWNTOWN, JUST BE AWARE FOR THE POTENTIAL OF TRAFFIC CONGESTION, IF INDEED HUNDREDS OF DRIVERS ARE HEADED HERE TO THE STATE CAPITOL FOR A RALLY SET TO BEGIN AT 10 A.M. IN SACRAMENTO, MIKE TESELLE, KCRA 3 NEWS AND CRITICS OF THIS PROPOSAL INCLUDE THE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND A GROUP CALLED RIDESHARE DRIVERS UNITED. AND THAT GROUP ARGUES THAT THIS LEGISLATION THREATENS THE INDEPE

    Caravan to the Capitol marks latest push to unionize rideshare drivers

    Updated: 8:39 AM PDT Sep 4, 2025

    Editorial Standards ⓘ

    A caravan of drivers, including hundreds of rideshare drivers, is expected to honk, wave, and rally around the state Capitol on Thursday morning as part of a final push for legislation allowing them to unionize, according to SEIU California. The caravan, which is planned to drive from West Sacramento over the Tower Bridge and down Capitol Avenue, is in support of the proposed Assembly Bill 1340, which would allow rideshare drivers the ability to unionize.SEIU estimates 800,000 gig drivers could be impacted.”(This legislation) is the largest expansion of private sector collective bargaining rights in history,” read an SEIU news release announcing the planned caravan.Last week, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced his support for the proposal. However, critics of the legislation argue that this proposal would threaten the independence of rideshare drivers and force companies to share drivers’ personal information with outside parties.”AB 1340 is opposed by the vast majority of app-based drivers. This bill is costly, undemocratic and dangerous. AB 1340 would negatively impact the millions of Californians who earn necessary income with app-based rideshare work,” read a note of opposition from Rideshare Drivers United in the legislative analysis of AB 1340. Read the full bill analysis here.This week, AB 1340 passed a vote in the State Senate Committee on Labor, Public Employment and Retirement.See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel

    A caravan of drivers, including hundreds of rideshare drivers, is expected to honk, wave, and rally around the state Capitol on Thursday morning as part of a final push for legislation allowing them to unionize, according to SEIU California.

    The caravan, which is planned to drive from West Sacramento over the Tower Bridge and down Capitol Avenue, is in support of the proposed Assembly Bill 1340, which would allow rideshare drivers the ability to unionize.

    SEIU estimates 800,000 gig drivers could be impacted.

    “(This legislation) is the largest expansion of private sector collective bargaining rights in history,” read an SEIU news release announcing the planned caravan.

    Last week, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced his support for the proposal.

    However, critics of the legislation argue that this proposal would threaten the independence of rideshare drivers and force companies to share drivers’ personal information with outside parties.

    “AB 1340 is opposed by the vast majority of app-based drivers. This bill is costly, undemocratic and dangerous. AB 1340 would negatively impact the millions of Californians who earn necessary income with app-based rideshare work,” read a note of opposition from Rideshare Drivers United in the legislative analysis of AB 1340.

    Read the full bill analysis here.

    This week, AB 1340 passed a vote in the State Senate Committee on Labor, Public Employment and Retirement.

    See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel

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  • Lyft: Free Ride To Election Polls With Promo Code NAACPVOTE24 (Valid For Two Rides, $20 Each) – Doctor Of Credit

    Lyft: Free Ride To Election Polls With Promo Code NAACPVOTE24 (Valid For Two Rides, $20 Each) – Doctor Of Credit

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    The Offer

    Direct link to offer

    • Lyft has partnered with NAACP to offer free rides to the election polls when you use promo code NAACPVOTE24. Valid for two rides up to $20 each. Valid now through 11/5/24

    Our Verdict

    Please do not discuss your political ideology in the comments below, you’re welcome to discuss the deal itself. I encourage everybody to get out and vote.

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    William Charles

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  • DoorDash partners with Lyft to give members ride-sharing benefits

    DoorDash partners with Lyft to give members ride-sharing benefits

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    Delivery service DoorDash said Wednesday that it’s partnering with Lyft to bring ride-sharing benefits to its members.

    The announcement came as DoorDash released better-than-expected results for its third quarter. The San Francisco company said its revenue rose 25% in the July-September period to $2.7 billion. The figure topped Wall Street’s forecast of $2.65 billion, according to analysts polled by FactSet.

    DoorDash said its DashPass members will get discounted rides through Lyft, while Lyft riders will a get a free DashPass trial. DashPass members pay $9.99 per month or $96 per year for free deliveries on most orders.

    The combination makes DoorDash a more potent competitor to Uber, which offers free Uber Eats delivery and discounted Uber rides to its Uber One members. Uber’s program also costs $9.99 per month or $96 per year.

    Both Lyft and DoorDash have been adding partners to their loyalty programs in order to entice customers. Lyft said 20% of its rides last year were connected to its partners, including Delta Air Lines and Hilton. DoorDash recently partnered with Max, Warner Bros. Discovery’s entertainment streaming service.

    DoorDash said its total orders rose 18% in the third quarter to 643 million, more than the 640 million that analysts expected. The company reported net income of $162 million, compared to a loss of $73 million a year ago.

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  • DoorDash & Lyft Partnership for Benefits & Discounts – Doctor Of Credit

    DoorDash & Lyft Partnership for Benefits & Discounts – Doctor Of Credit

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    Lyft and DoorDash have partnered to offer special benefits and discounts. DashPass membership now includes discounted Lyft rides and free Priority Pickup upgrades. Lyft riders will receive free 3-month DashPass trial.

    The Offer

    Press Release | Account Linking

    • DashPass members get 5% off on-demand Lyft rides and 10% off scheduled airport rides, up to 4 per month (combined); also get 2 free Priority Pickup upgrades per month.

    • Lyft users can get a 3-month free DashPass trial for new members.

    • DashPass members and Lyft riders who link their accounts by December 31, 2024 will receive:

      • 50% off up to 4 scheduled airport rides through the end of the year (up to $25 per ride)

      • 50% off one DoorDash order (up to $10), valid through 12/31/24

    Our Verdict

    A lot of us have free DashPass from their Chase cards; this is another way to get 3 months free. I’ll link my account to take advantage of the $10 discount and possibly an airport ride before year-end.

    Longer term, I can hopefully benefit a bit from the Priority Pickup on Lyft rides. In theory I’ll also save 5-10% on rides with this new offer; in practice, we’ve heard speculation with similar benefits that the algorithms just increase the prices and then discount them. It’s difficult to know whether there’s any real savings or not, but hopefully it’s worth something.

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    Chuck

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  • Hundreds of Uber, Lyft drivers block Manhattan traffic to protest lockouts by apps | amNewYork

    Hundreds of Uber, Lyft drivers block Manhattan traffic to protest lockouts by apps | amNewYork

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