Rideshare operations are being suspended in California • Hacker News Board

Re: Rideshare operations are being suspended in California

#51

Post by manigandham » Thu, Aug 20, 2020, 4:43 PM UTC

setpatchaddress wrote: post #14

manigandham wrote: post #4

California (govt) is fantastic at making California worse.

Genuine question: what state government would you look to for a better model?

If you're asking for better run states, it looks like Texas is doing well but I'm unfamiliar with most other states to give you a good answer.

As 20 year California resident, what I do know is that nothing has gotten better here over that time frame. Everything from infrastructure to taxes to city planning is much worse now than ever. CCPA is probably the only good outcome I can think of.

Re: Rideshare operations are being suspended in California

#52

Post by majormajor » Thu, Aug 20, 2020, 4:43 PM UTC

milofeynman wrote: post #32

I don't know if you're genuine or not but the way you wrote this post sounds so utterly inauthentic[0]. You're whimsically sad you can't get more fun money to invest in stock, while the reason that ride sharing is being shut down is because it takes advantage of the lower class it depends on. [0]edit: unauthentic->inauthentic

> You're whimsically sad you can't get more fun money to invest in stock, while the reason that ride sharing is being shut down is because it takes advantage of the lower class it depends on.

The American people take advantage of the lower class by tying healthcare to employment, and in an extra-cruel way where less lucrative jobs also provide insurance that is both more expensive day-to-day to the employee AND less comprehensive.

Uncouple basic benefits from jobs and so many of these problems go away in a much simpler way.

Re: Rideshare operations are being suspended in California

#53

Post by nafey » Thu, Aug 20, 2020, 4:43 PM UTC

Maybe some of the drivers can come together to create a driver owned ride sharing app. A good example of this is http://www.rideaustin.com/

Re: Rideshare operations are being suspended in California

#54

Post by beamatronic » Thu, Aug 20, 2020, 4:43 PM UTC

ItMayWorkTryIt wrote: post #20

rodiger wrote: post #2

Will be interesting to see how this plays out. Doesn't seem like it would be feasible to maintain all drivers as employees.

Definitely not feasible to keep drivers on as employees legally. Some issues that come to mind that seem incredibly hard for uber/lyft to enforce but are mandatory for California employees: * Meal & rest breaks * Callback pay * Split Shift premiums * Reporting premium (if you show up to work, but less work to do than half your scheduled shift) The only way I see this working is somebody started some "Driver Pool" com…

It would be like TriNet, but for drivers only

Re: Rideshare operations are being suspended in California

#55

Post by scarmig » Thu, Aug 20, 2020, 4:43 PM UTC

milofeynman wrote: post #32

I don't know if you're genuine or not but the way you wrote this post sounds so utterly inauthentic[0]. You're whimsically sad you can't get more fun money to invest in stock, while the reason that ride sharing is being shut down is because it takes advantage of the lower class it depends on. [0]edit: unauthentic->inauthentic

Perhaps the compromise solution is to ban the unemployed and low-income workers from working for mobile taxi dispatch companies, and only let people do it who exceed certain income eligibility requirements.

Re: Rideshare operations are being suspended in California

#56

Post by rsweeney21 » Thu, Aug 20, 2020, 4:43 PM UTC

ivarv wrote: post #7

So this is basically an admission that the ridesharing business model is not viable without worker exploitation?

The vast majority of freelancers do not feel like they are being exploited.

Source: I run a company that helps freelance/contract software engineers find work.

Re: Rideshare operations are being suspended in California

#57

Post by manigandham » Thu, Aug 20, 2020, 4:43 PM UTC

beamatronic wrote: post #40

kaesar14 wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not many states are in the position California is. No matter how poorly run the state might be, people are unlikely to leave due to existing business and weather. Hard to compare.

Exactly Californians will succeed no matter what the government does.

What's that mean exactly? There are a lot of people having a hard time in this state.

Re: Rideshare operations are being suspended in California

#58

Post by ghaff » Thu, Aug 20, 2020, 4:44 PM UTC

nemothekid wrote: post #9

When I moved to CA, I put off getting a CA license for years. I always told myself I'd go to the DMV and do the paperwork, then I waited long enough to find out I would have to retake the test, until finally I just resigned to using Uber and Lyft all the time. I never thought I would need it and so I never made it a priority. So this news really sucks, as you haven't been able to schedule DMV appointments at all and…

I totally understand that it doesn't always make economic sense to own a car. But I confess that it's really hard for me to understand the mentality of not getting a drivers license if able to do so. So many of the activities I do when in the Bay Area (and elsewhere) are pretty much impossible without either renting a car or having someone else drive me which isn't always possible. I've even had jobs that I couldn't have done without driving.

Re: Rideshare operations are being suspended in California

#59

Post by JMTQp8lwXL » Thu, Aug 20, 2020, 4:44 PM UTC

woeirua wrote: post #29

I suspect that California is going to backpedal on this pretty quickly. Uber and Lyft are popular. Going back to taxis is going to be very unpopular. IMO, if the California Republican party was smart they would make this a wedge issue in the next election. "Elect us, and we'll make it possible to use Uber again."

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.

Re: Rideshare operations are being suspended in California

#60

Post by tedivm » Thu, Aug 20, 2020, 4:44 PM UTC

kaesar14 wrote: post #13

Why can't we have a new worker classification that allows gig workers to have both the flexibility the job entails + better benefits/protections?

That's what AB5 did. It allowed for a new type of worker that was still partially an employee but would also allow for flexible hours and the ability for drivers to reject rides.

That's what's so disingenuous about this campaign by Uber and Lyft. They're pretending that being an employee would take away all of this flexibility, but the reality is the legislation left that flexibility in place. This is entirely an argument about benefits and protections, but Lyft and Uber are trying to pretend otherwise.