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Lyft beats Uber in race to offer rides from LAX
Lyft has beaten Uber in becoming the first ride-sharing company that can take passengers from Los Angeles airport. The service has agreed to pay a $4 fee for every pick-up, and will go live from 8am local time with the city's mayor, Eric Garcetti, giving his blessing. Lyft may not be as wealthy, or as powerful, as its much bigger rival, but apparently it is much more capable in the whole filling-a-form-in-directly department. An October report from the LA Times revealed that Uber dragged its feet in presenting the airport contract to the city, while Lyft had its paperwork completed by mid-September. It probably won't be too long before Uber gets approval, but Lyft can chalk this down as a win in the meantime.
Report: DOJ opens criminal investigation of Uber data breach
The US Department of Justice is conducting a criminal investigation of a breach that exposed the personal data of 50,000 Uber drivers in May 2014, Reuters reports, citing "sources familiar with the situation." Uber discovered the hack in September 2014 and went public with the news in February. Reuters says the DOJ will investigate whether Chris Lambert, technology chief for rival ride-sharing company Lyft, had anything to do with the breach.
Lyft changes bonus system to prevent drivers from cheating
Lyft's old bonus scheme that offered more money based on the number of hours a driver clocks was a bit too easy to manipulate, forcing the ride-sharing company to rethink its strategy. Now, Lyft is doling out bonuses based on the number of rides a driver makes instead, which is definitely much harder to falsify. According to Recode, under the new scheme, drivers get 100 percent of their earnings if they do 100 rides per week, with 30 of those rides accomplished during peak hours.
Seattle votes to let Lyft and Uber drivers unionize
The Seattle City Council's voted unanimously (9 - 0) that drivers for Lyft and Uber can form unions. The decision is much more complex than the drivers simply being able to organize and collectively bargain for better wages or benefits, though. The ruling is actually illegal, but it's up to a federal court to rule against it for the law to be reversed. The Seattle Times editorial board writes that the decision breaking national anti-trust laws was something that city officials knew about when voting during tonight's lame duck session, while The New York Times acknowledges that the decision is something that's likely to be challenged in court.
UC Berkeley to study climate impact of Uber and Lyft
Researchers at UC Berkeley's Transportation Sustainability Research Center (TSRC) have announced that they are pairing with NRDC Urban Solutions to study the climate impact of ridesharing schemes like Uber and Lyft. The study will examine whether such "ridesourcing" services have a positive impact, by replacing privately owned automobiles, or whether they actually put more cars on the road by competing with existing public transportation systems.
White House teams with Uber and Lyft on free rides for veterans
Uber and Lyft are doing a rare team-up to offer "tens of thousands" of free rides to veterans who need transportation to seek work, according to a message from the White House. Uber pledged to donate 10,000 rides worth around $125,000, while Lyft told Techcrunch that it's giving away "thousands of rides" in total. The White House pointed out that the rides will be particularly beneficial to the estimated 50,000 homeless veterans, two-thirds of whom don't have access to transportation. In addition, Uber will today offer riders a chance to donate $5, which it'll use to offer additional rides.
Lyft starts operating out of Las Vegas' McCarran airport
Las Vegas' notoriously long airport taxi lines might get just a little shorter. Today, ride-sharing platform Lyft announced that it would be operating out of Sin City's McCarran airport. Both Lyft and Uber began operating within the city last month. But don't expect to see Lyft drivers lining up with cabs. Passengers looking for the pink moustache will have to journey to the parking garages across from their terminals and find the designated pick-up area. Uber on the other hand, is still working on airport access.
California OKs insurance plans made specifically for Lyft
According to California law, the rules governing legal liability for ride-sharing services can get pretty tricky, depending on whether the passenger is waiting to be picked up, is getting into the cab or is currently en route to their destination. What's more, the law doesn't currently really specify which insurance -- either the company's or the driver's -- is to be used, only that a driver must be "fully insured" at all times. But thanks to a recent ruling by California's insurance commissioner, Lyft drivers themselves (and their Ubering counterparts) will now be covered from the time their patrons request a pickup through dropoff.
Reuters: Uber hacking investigation is targeting a Lyft exec
There is very little love lost between car-platform rivals Lyft and Uber. Nowhere is that more apparent than in a Reuters' article about anonymous sources pointing fingers at Lyft's technology chief Chris Lambert as the probable cause of an Uber hack. According to the report, after a massive breach of driver information back in February, Uber launched an investigation to determine who got into its system. That led it to court to determine who was behind a Comcast IP address that had accessed the security key the ride-sharing company accidentally left on GitHub. Even though the filing draws no connection to the actual hack (which according to Reuters sources was routed through a Scandinavian VPN) the court ruled that the information was "reasonably likely" to help the company find the person (or persons) involved in the breach.
Lyft partners with Hertz to offer its drivers affordable rental rates
If you've been trying to become a driver for Lyft, but your car doesn't meet the minimum requirements (like having four doors), the company has a solution. It's partnered with Hertz car rentals for what it's calling "affordable" daily, weekly, and monthly rates. In addition to giving new drivers a chance to earn some extra cash, the partnership is also meant to help current drivers stay on the road when their vehicle is in the shop or is otherwise unavailable. A pilot program has already launched in Las Vegas. At the driver event this morning, the ride-sharing platform also announced a partnership with Shell for a cents-per-gallon gas rewards program. Drivers get a unique PIN code that offers fuel discounts depending on how often they fill up. The more gas they use, the cheaper the fuel. Power drivers could earn free gasoline with the system. It's launching in San Francisco, Chicago and Boston and will be available at all Shell stations nationwide by the end of the year.
Lyft partnership will help you get a ride in China
Ridesharing services don't usually translate well across borders. Even if you can use the same company, you may have to pay in a different currency -- how do you know what that trip will cost until you've paid for it? Lyft might have a way to set your mind at ease. It just unveiled a partnership with China's biggest ridesharing firm, Didi Kuaidi, that will make it easier for travelers in both China and the US to hail rides. If you're an American visiting China, you can request a Didi car through the Lyft app in dollars; accordingly, a Chinese visitor to the States can use Didi to get a Lyft vehicle while paying in yuan. This ideally gives you both access to a service with a lot of coverage (Uber's Chinese footprint is small compared to Didi's) and prices you can understand.
Uber and Lyft officially allowed to operate in Nevada
Nevada's Transportation Authority has granted both Uber and Lyft permits to operate in the state, a few days after approving new rules for ride-hailing services. Those include having to pay administrative fees and to stick decals onto cars that are part of the companies' fleets. That doesn't mean you can hail a ride from either app right now, though: neither company has a firm launch date yet. They still have to deal with Clark County officials who refuse to let the companies run their business until they have the proper license. Problem is, the county doesn't even have a licensing category for ride-sharing/hailing services yet.
Lyft gets cited by the FCC over shady robocall practices (updated)
The FCC continues to wage war against spam calls and texts, most likely because it's being inundated with complaints related to one or both. In fact, it has recently cited a couple of companies due to their questionable robocall practices, including ride-sharing firm Lyft. According to its official citation and order document, Lyft doesn't actually have a viable "unsubscribe option" for marketing calls and texts like written in its terms of Service. The FCC's investigation revealed that in order to opt out of those messages, passengers have to go to the company's website, and then search the Help Center.
Uber and Lyft are one step closer to operating in Las Vegas
The Nevada Transportation Authority approved new regulations for Uber, Lyft and other ride-hailing services today, but don't expect a flood of for-hire drivers on the Las Vegas Strip this weekend. These companies can't open shop in Nevada quite yet -- regulators approved new rules, including the imposition of an administrative fee and requiring decals on cars, but Uber and Lyft still don't have permission to operate in the state.
We're hosting a Q&A with the US Labor Secretary about the 'gig economy'
Services like Uber, Lyft, Airbnb and Postmates are hallmarks of what's being called the "gig economy." And while presidential candidate Hillary Clinton remarked that companies like these are "unleashing innovation," they've also raised questions about workplace protections. So, to answer some of your questions (and ours), we're hosting a Facebook Q&A this Monday, July 27th at 5PM ET with Department of Labor Secretary Tom Perez.
Starbucks' Lyft deal has you earning coffee with every ride
Starbucks isn't done lining up deals with tech-savvy companies -- not by a longshot. The coffee chain has unveiled a partnership with Lyft that will reward just about everyone. As a passenger, you'll earn points (that is, Stars) at Starbucks every time you hail a Lyft ride. Yes, you could travel to a business meeting and get a free drink when you arrive. You can even gift a cup o' joe to your driver, if you like. Those drivers will also get Starbucks' Gold perk status as a matter of course, and they'll earn Stars for every ride they offer. Baristas might see some benefits, too, as Starbucks is testing a program that would give employees Lyft rides when mass transit isn't an option. The alliance is only effective in the 65 US cities that Lyft covers, but it could prove tempting if you just can't get enough grande lattes.
Massachusetts grills Uber and Lyft over disability access
Ridesharing outfits make some effort to accommodate disabled passengers, but Massachusetts isn't sure that they go far enough. Reuters has learned that the state's Attorney General is grilling Uber and Lyft over the levels of disability access they provide. There aren't any official actions under way, but this is the first time that any US attorney general's office has given accessibility a look. That's bound to make the two companies nervous when both of them are facing lawsuits over their support for guide dogs and wheelchairs.
Lyft pays $300k to get New York off its back
One downside of reinventing an industry is that you can sometimes forget that the red tape you're bravely circumventing was put in place for a reason. It's a lesson that Lyft has learned the hard way after being fined $300,000 by New York for operating a taxi service without the proper insurance. As far as Attorney General Eric Schneiderman is concerned, ride-sharing outfits are welcome in his state, but only if they're making sure they obey the rules and ensure that their customers are safe.
Lyft's deal with Verizon gives drivers a break on phone service
Lyft isn't going to let Uber's partnership with AT&T go unanswered. The ridesharing outlet has unveiled a team-up with Verizon that not only pre-loads Lyft's app on some of Verizon's Android phones, but gives Lyft drivers a discount on their cellphone bills through the Accelerate perks program. Suffice it to say that this last part is a big deal for drivers whose very livelihood depends on a phone with a good data plan. Yes, the agreement means that you'll have to put up with more carrier bloatware, but the inconvenience might be somewhat justified if it gets more Lyft drivers on the road and gives you more choices in app-based transportation.
Lyft's answer to rideshare safety is befriending your driver
While Uber is doing its best to make sure passengers feel safe with its drivers, Lyft just wants us all to be friends. Next week a new "Lyft profiles" feature is coming to the app that the company hopes will "humanize" the "ride experience," sparking conversations and connecting passengers and drivers in more meaningful ways.
