Internal emails, interviews and in-app messages show Uber and Lyft deployed a powerful lobbying playbook to stop minimum wage laws in Minnesota. But drivers had a playbook of their own.
It's Indicators of the Week — our weekly look under the hood of our global economy. Today we look at why cocoa prices are soaring, whether India's electoral bonds are bad for democracy and how a typo sent Lyft shares (briefly) soaring.
The new opt-in feature lets women and nonbinary drivers prioritize passengers who fit the same description. But it's not a guarantee and is only available in a handful of cities for now.
The ruling mostly upholds a voter-approved law that said drivers for ride-share companies are independent contractors and are not entitled to benefits like paid sick leave and unemployment insurance.
The San Francisco-based ridesharing company is facing 17 new lawsuits brought by users of its service from around the country, who claim the company failed to protect passengers and drivers.
As of Monday, the average cost of a gallon of regular fuel is now $4.325, according to AAA. Both ride-share companies say they're adding surcharges to deal with the spike in gas prices in the U.S.
Texas's restrictive new abortion law has raised concerns that people who drive for the ride-hailing companies could face lawsuits for transporting passengers to clinics.
Lyft and Uber fares are estimated to be nearly 80% higher than pre-pandemic prices in some cities. The companies say a driver shortage is pushing up prices.
Uber and Lyft are cheering the passage of Prop 22, which says they don't have to treat their drivers as employees and provide benefits such as paid sick leave. Critics say they'll keep fighting.
The ruling is a blow to Uber and Lyft, which have argued they are not subject to state labor law. But the court's order could still be upended by a ballot measure backed by the ride-hailing companies.
An appeals court has given the ride-hailing companies more time to fight a judge's order that they reclassify their drivers as employees to comply with state law.
Uber and Lyft have been fighting California over whether drivers are employees, entitled to benefits, or independent contractors. A state judge orders them to consider all those drivers employees.
