Uber announces a new feature, a looming crisis for drivers and Waymo gets friendly with Hyundai. LegalRideshare breaks it down.

Uber gives drivers some peace of mind. The Verge reported:

All Uber customers will have their personal information, like their name and phone number, cross-checked against third-party databases to make sure there aren't any potential red flags. In addition, riders can opt to upload their government-issued ID to the Uber app to further verify their identity. Once they are verified, customers will have a special badge attached to their account that will be visible to drivers before they accept trip requests.

Uber began testing rider verification in a number of cities earlier this year and was satisfied with the results: “the majority of riders” in those pilot markets got verified, and those that were “tend to give drivers 5 stars more often,” the company said. “Riders who are verified also get fewer serious complaints from drivers.”

A looming insurance crisis could affect tens of thousands of drivers. The New York Times reported:

The largest insurer of taxis and Ubers in New York City is on the verge of a financial collapse that could force thousands of cars out of service and lead to higher costs for drivers and passengers.

The insurer, American Transit Insurance Company, provides coverage for about 74,000 for-hire vehicles in the city, or more than 60 percent of the available cars, according to city records.

In its latest financial filing, the privately owned company reported that it was insolvent, with more than $700 million in losses from existing and projected claims from past accidents — a huge hole that has been growing for years in part because of questionable financial practices, according to state officials.

That means American Transit does not have enough money in reserve to pay out those claims despite years of collecting premiums on those policies. Instead, the company has managed to continue operating by using money coming in from new premiums to help cover those costs, essentially leaving its current clients underinsured in the event of an accident, state officials said.

Waymo is looking at Hyundai to build its cars. Reuters reported:

Officials at Waymo and Hyundai Motor have met more than three times to discuss a plan to use Hyundai's Ioniq 5 electric vehicles for Waymo's sixth-generation self-driving technology, the report said, adding that the plan includes replacing offerings, opens new tab from China's Zeekr with the Ioniq 5 models.

The report came as President Joe Biden's administration last week locked in steep tariff hikes on Chinese imports, including a 100% duty on electric vehicles, which will take effect on Sept. 27.

Waymo has purchased vehicles from Stellantis (STLAM.MI), opens new tab and Jaguar Land Rover and integrated its technology into the base vehicles to offer autonomous ride-hailing services in Phoenix, San Francisco and Los Angeles.

Waymo is also testing its next-generation self-driving car technology using vehicles from Zeekr, the electric car brand of China's Geely Automobile Holdings.

LegalRideshare is the first law firm in the United States to focus exclusively on Uber®, Lyft®, gig workers, delivery and e-scooter accidents and injuries. Consultations are always free.

Drivers weigh-in on Waymo, dashers time at work and Tesla integrates with Uber. LegalRideshare breaks it down.

Uber drivers give their thoughts on Waymo. The Register adds:

Tim — a pseudonym as he asked not to be identified — expects Waymo, the leading maker of self-driving taxis, to broadly under-cut Uber's human-operated ride-hailing service in the US city at some point in 2025, and feels that will be the beginning of the end.

“To put it bluntly, we are cooked,” said one person posting to a forum for San Francisco Uber drivers, in response to my solicitation for thoughts about Waymo. “We're done for. In the age of artificial intelligence and automation, we're the first to be impacted in a major way.”

Tim argues that Waymo, which began offering rides to the general public in San Francisco in June, will use the same business playbook that Uber used to beat its competitors — spend venture capital to price rivals out of the market.

“The second Waymo trips are less than Uber, which is going to happen in 2025, everyone including myself, will just start taking Waymo,” he said.

Dashers spend less time on the gig than you think. Business Insider reported:

About 7 million people made deliveries for DoorDash last year. But, surprisingly, most of them averaged just a few hours a week on the gig.

Seventy-two percent of DoorDash's gig workers devoted less than four hours a week to making deliveries, according to the company. That figure includes just the time that gig workers spend on a delivery. Including downtime between orders, about 62% of workers spent less than four hours a week working for the app.

DoorDash's workforce of independent contractors also skews young and female. Fifty-five percent of DoorDash's workers, whom the company calls “Dashers,” were between 26 and 44 years old in 2023, according to DoorDash. And 60% said they identified as women.

Many of DoorDash's contractors are using the service to make ends meet — either to cover their mortgage, pay off debt, or have income between jobs — in addition to working a full-time position, a 2023 report from the company found. As of 2022, 44% of DoorDash contractors also had a full-time job.

Tesla integrates with Uber. Electrek adds:

Uber has announced that Tesla drivers using its rideshare app can now send trip navigation automatically to their vehicles.

On top of the navigation, Uber drivers can make the rideshare app aware of their current battery range in order to only send trip request within that range.

Tesla and Uber have also been working together to share data in order to better deploy charging stations in New York City, where there are a lot of Uber drivers using Tesla vehicles.

LegalRideshare is the first law firm in the United States to focus exclusively on Uber®, Lyft®, gig workers, delivery and e-scooter accidents and injuries. Consultations are always free.

Lyft verifies in Chicago, Tesla goes Hollywood and bikes get dumped. LegalRideshare breaks it down.

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Lyft adds rider verification in Chicago, but is it too late? Chicago Sun Times reported:

Tesla goes Hollywood for its robotaxi reveal. The Verge reported:

Lyft dumps some bikes. Bloomberg reported:

LegalRideshare is the first law firm in the United States to focus exclusively on Uber®, Lyft®, gig workers, delivery and e-scooter accidents and injuries. Consultations are always free.