Since the start of 2020, more than 1,400 carjackings have taken place in Chicago. Some of those victims have been rideshare drivers. One of the Lyft drivers is now grappling with the company’s $2,500 deductible after their stolen car was found totaled.
On December 24, Ritawantee Persaud ordered an Uber to attend a small get-together for the holidays when the vehicle she was in was struck by a hit-and-run driver. Persaud suffered fatal injuries.
Uber and Lyft, the two largest rideshare companies in the United States, currently classify their drivers as independent contractors instead of employees. An ongoing lawsuit in Suffolk Superior Court declares that Massachusetts rideshare drivers are misclassified under the 2004 Massachusetts Wage and Hour Law.
The economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic have resulted in Uber scaling back some of its most high-tech programs. Last week, Uber announced it sold its autonomous vehicle united. Now, the company has announced it has also offloaded Uber Elevate, its air taxi operation.
Just a week after Uber announced the selling of its autonomous vehicle division, Lyft has partnered with Motional and expects customers will be able to use its app to hail cars without drivers starting in 2023. Motional Inc. is an autonomous driving joint venture between Hyundai Motor Group and Aptiv Plc.