This Week in Rideshare: Ambulance, Groups and ‘Pumped’

Hospitals turn to rideshare, Uber buys groups, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Travis Kalanick. LegalRideshare breaks it down.

Uber on the big screen, the White House in the backseat, and rideshare instead of an ambulance. It’s all here in This Week in Rideshare.

MONDAY 1/10/22

People needing emergency response may be turning to Uber for their ride to the hospital. Charlotte Observer reported:

Amid staffing shortages due to COVID-19, Mecklenburg County emergency officials are hoping more people will take advantage of a recently introduced partnership with ride-share companies to get to area hospitals.

The program, which allows low-risk patients to take a Lyft or Uber to the hospital rather than an ambulance is a “safe and appropriate” way to get care, Medic officials this week.

The rideshares, via Lyft or Uber, are offered to certain patients who call 911 with low-risk issues, such as relatively minor injuries and “generalized illness,” who first speak with a “nurse advice line,” according to Studnek.

TUESDAY 1/11/22

More unfortunate incidents of drivers carjacked, this time in Ohio. Fox 8 reported:

On scene, police learned the victim was a Lyft driver who had recently picked up three females on West 28th Street who had requested a ride to Colgate Avenue and West 73rd. When the car, a black Ford Flex, arrived at the destination, the female sitting behind the driver’s seat got out and pointed a gun at the driver, saying “We need this get out.” The victim was also directed to leave his cell phone before they drove off.

WEDNESDAY 1/12/22

Ride-hailing companies have created their own groups in the name of worker’s interests. Some aren’t convinced. Chicago Business reported:

According to reporting from technology news organization The Markup, the organizations’ initial focus was ensuring drivers remained classified as independent contractors, which allows companies to avoid providing benefits like workers’ compensation. During the second half of this year, the ICIW has shifted its target to a Chicago ordinance proposed in May that would place restrictions on a hallmark of ride-hailing apps’ business model: the surge pricing feature.

“The fact that (the ICIW is) going after a bill that that is good for consumers but bad for the companies reveals the extent to which this is an organization that’s a subterfuge for the company’s interests and not for worker’s interests or consumer interests,” said Veena Dubal, an employment law expert at the University of California, Hastings College of the Law.

THURSDAY 1/13/22

The White House steps in to offer more oversight of ride-sharing companies. NJ reported:

The White House will work with Congress to provide federal oversight of ride-sharing companies in response to the murder of a New Jersey woman by a fake Uber driver, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said.

“We are committed to ensuring that the safety of all passengers, including those in ride share, and we’ll work closely with Congress to ensure federal oversight of ride share companies to protect other parents from the tragedy Sami’s parents have gone through, and her friends and her entire community,” Psaki said.

Legislation introduced in February by Rep. Chris Smith, R-4th Dist., would set up a digital access system to allow passengers to verify their ride-sharing car in advance. Similar legislation passed the House in July 2020 but never came up in the Senate.

FRIDAY 1/14/22