Uber, Lyft drivers decide to walk
Strikes, protests in major cities appear to have little effect on service
Uber and Lyft drivers staged protests in some major cities Wednesday to call attention to wages and work issues, but travelers didn’t seem to have much trouble finding a ride.
In both New York and Los Angeles, small groups of drivers picketed as scores of Uber and Lyft cars passed by, staying in service despite boisterous chants imploring them to turn off the smartphone apps they use to pick up passengers.
The protest came against the backdrop of the two ride-hailing giants making a play for investors through stock offerings, with billions of dollars in play, at a time when their drivers say they are underpaid. Lyft recently started selling shares to the public, and Uber is on deck.
The protests varied by city. In Los Angeles, Rideshare Drivers United urged a 24-hour shutdown starting at 12:01 a.m. PT Wednesday. At Los Angeles International Airport, there were about two dozen protesters in the early morning, but judging from the scores of Uber and Lyft cars passing by, it didn’t appear to be having much effect on service.
A check of Lyft and Ubers apps about 2 miles from the airport showed an abundance of cars remaining in service.
In the Big Apple, the New York Taxi Workers Alliance called for a work stoppage from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. ET.
Some participated in a caravan over the Brooklyn Bridge, and about a dozen protesters rallied near Wall Street. Bhairavi Desai, executive director of the alliance, said drivers are fed up with being treated like they’re “expendable” and “liabilities.”
She also cited Uber’s compensation system that awards drivers based on a per-minute and per-mile rate that doesn’t correspond with how much riders spend.
“That rate has been frozen, so while these companies take in more money from passengers, none of it trickles down to the drivers,” Desai said.
Inder Parmar, an Uber driver since 2013, said that he’s protesting because he feels that the company is exploiting
“While these companies take in more money from passengers, none of it trickles down to the drivers.” Bhairavi Desai, New York Taxi Workers Alliance
its workers. “I used to make $37 an hour (driving for Uber), and now I make about $9.80 per hour,” Parmar said.
From 2013 to 2015, he said he earned about $3 per mile. Today, Parmar said he earns $1.15 per mile. “When I’m on call for 12 hours, minus my expenses, I literally go home with zero dollars,” Parmar said. “I have to pay for my gas, car and I have to support my family. With this money I cannot survive.” The most recent pay statement he showed USA TODAY was for January 2019, before Uber’s minimum pay increased in NYC.
New York has tried to help ride-hailing drivers by taking action in January, setting a minimum pay at $17.22 an hour after expenses. Under new rules, some 96% of drivers were expected to see a boost of $10,000 a year.
Protesters turned out in force in San Francisco, and protests also were scheduled for cities including Boston, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Chicago and Washington, D.C.
Uber confirmed it didn’t see any major shortage of ride availability and said it respects its drivers: “Drivers are at the heart of our service, and we can’t succeed without them.” Lyft didn’t comment directly on the protest.