Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Rideshare operations are being suspended in California

lyft.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

651–660 of 1001 posts

Re: Rideshare operations are being suspended in California

#651

Post by enraged_camel »

eggsnbacon1 wrote: post #618

When the monopolistic rideshare titans were banned in Austin there were local competitors within weeks. They kinda sucked for a few months, but by the time Lyft and Uber returned they worked quite well. They also paid the drivers FAR better, I heard on driver forums that it was easy to make over 20 an hour. Most drivers I talked to were very upset when Lyft/Uber returned, because they took over 50% pay cut. With the…

This really needs to be the top post. The fact of the matter is that there isn’t anything special about Uber and Lyft, and the competitors that popped up in Austin during their absence proved that it is possible to have a viable business and treat your workers with respect and dignity by paying them well.

Re: Rideshare operations are being suspended in California

#652

Post by the_gipsy »

eps wrote: post #570
the_mitsuhiko wrote: post #544

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> If you're an employee on the clock, you can't be on the clock for two different organizations at the same time. I don't see why that would not be possible.

Because if they are driving someone for Uber, they can't be on the clock for Lyft.

But it is (physically) possible to be idle for both employers at the same time.

Re: Rideshare operations are being suspended in California

#653

Post by intellirogue »

rsweeney21 wrote: post #147
JMTQp8lwXL wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Who forced Lyft to shut down? Was it the state, or did they freely choose to cease operations? Obviously, spin will characterize this in any way that's advantageous. But nobody 'forced' Lyft to close.

Their business model is on-demand transportation. The business model doesn't work if the workforce is not also on-demand. I don't think that's spin, but maybe society decides that we don't like on-demand businesses.

Uber operates in other countries which require them to use employees and not contractors (e.g. Germany), and it works fine. So it certainly isn't impossible.

Re: Rideshare operations are being suspended in California

#655

Post by xzel »

idoh wrote: post #633
jawns wrote: post #571

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is not the only way to employ workers, though. We often think of "on the clock" employment in terms of shift work, where the worker has a scheduled, fixed-length shift with a single employer, and whether they're actively working during that time or waiting around for the employer to tell them what to do next, they're paid for the hours on the clock. But it is possible for ridesharing companies to employ workers…

This idea of micro-shifts sounds made up. Can you reference any companies that have this setup as an employer-employee relationship?

I've done tutoring for people in small increments like 15-30 minutes for questions before tests. That seems similar to micro-shifts though that is freelance. Lawyers have billable hours and work for multiple clients. Some firms do have compensation tied to billable hours as well. While it's not exactly the same thing the result feels similar to me.

Re: Rideshare operations are being suspended in California

#656

Post by silviogutierrez »

samatman wrote: post #610
silviogutierrez wrote: post #497

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A while ago — and I have no citations for this — I read it was easier to just pay for private rides for every accessible person than to make NYC and SF's public transportation accessible. Yes, in perpetuity. Considerably cheaper, too. Why then, go through the effort? Because they should be integrated into society like all others. I firmly believe public transportation has benefits beyond efficiency. Something about a…

Well, I don't have a wheelchair-bound piano tuner handy to ask, so I'll have to model this person based on other wheelchair users I've been acquainted with over the years. So let's ask this imaginary person: Would you rather get free rides everywhere you need to go, or have to wait in the rain/snow/heat for the bus, feeling the stress of inconveniencing others with the ramp, and having to wheel yourself the rest of t…

I think that's somewhat uncharitable of a take. But fundamentally, I agree with you.

See my other comment. In this ideal, the experience for the wheelchair-bound is comparable to others. Not the current embarrassment we have in New York, for example.

Re: Rideshare operations are being suspended in California

#657

Post by freeone3000 »

joshgachnang wrote: post #468
onion2k wrote: post #105

We don’t want to suspend operations. So don't. Either give the drivers what the California politicians are saying all Californians should have as a minimum benefit, and then go to court to argue why Lyft drivers should get something else, or let Lyft drivers set their own prices as they should be able to as independent contractors.

Are they not able to set their own prices/minimums? I just had a notification pop up this week at the airport that the nearby drivers were charging more and I'd need to accept a surge price or wait longer. I'm not sure if this is just a clever rewording of the surge pricing policy or an actual change on the driver side. For what it's worth, it was after 16 hours of travel, so I wasn't paying super close attention.

That's Lyft setting the prices, not individual drivers.

Re: Rideshare operations are being suspended in California

#658

Post by hajile »

akamaka wrote: post #446
seanmcdirmid wrote: post #181

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think modern car exhaust emissions are a significant factor when you have a bunch of forest fire smoke floating around. The traffic concerns are much more credible, but can the government step up on public transportation to fill the inevitable gaps?

You might want to consider doing some research before just mindlessly dismissing what other people say. “Mobile sources of air pollution from cars, trucks, ships, emissions from construction equipment, and tire and brake wear on roadways are the biggest root cause of poor air quality in the city, and addressing these should result in positive air quality trends.” https://sfgov.org/scorecards/environment/days-epa-air-…

That is grossly misleading because one of those things is very much not like the others.

Ships measure fuel in tons per hour. It only takes a few hundred transport ships to put out as much pollution as every car on the planet and there are hundreds of thousands of them with their collective output dwarfing cars and trucks combined by several orders of magnitude.

If we really wanted to cut transportation pollution fast, we'd internationally mandate turbosails on all transport ships as current models cut fuel consumption by 25% or more.

Stepping aside from ships, big rigs are the overwhelmingly biggest NOx contributors (even beating out industrial and power plants).

Stepping back though, transportation in ALL its forms still only contributes around 1/4 of the US greenhouse emissions.

Re: Rideshare operations are being suspended in California

#660

Post by wedn3sday »

jiveturkey wrote: post #565
crazygringo wrote: post #464

Earlier quoted context omitted.

With employees, you can't rely on variable supply and demand pricing to ensure the most drivers are there at peak times -- instead, you have to do it through scheduling instead. And it's not so much anti-moonlighting as not being able to work for multiple companies at the same time (hour) . Right now, a driver often is waiting for both Lyft and Uber riders. If they're an hourly employee, they obviously can't do that…

I guess you've never heard of being on-call? Tech and healthcare have very well established demand supply systems. Some mechanical service sectors as well - tow trucks, infrastructure repair.

Back when I had to work be on call there was a minimum number of hours, so if I got a call at 2am from a client and I fixed the problem in 15 minutes I would still bill both them and the company for 2 hours. Not sure if there's a law mandating this or it was just the company policy.
Post reply on HN