This Week in Rideshare: Prices, Prop. 22 and Taxis

Fares stay high, Prop. 22 gets a bashing, and taxis on the rise. LegalRideshare breaks it down.

Prop. 22 gets knocked out, taxis are back in the ring, and you can blame expensive fares on COVID. It’s all here in This Week in Rideshare.

MONDAY 8/23/21

Why are Uber and Lyft fares expensive? Yahoo Finance explains:

It has everything to do with the pandemic.

“The pandemic demonstrated the volatility of the ride-hailing industry with early sharp reductions in passenger demand and subsequent reductions in driver supply,” said Stan Caldwell, executive director of Carnegie Mellon’s Traffic21 Institute.

Peter C. Earle, an economist at the American Institute for Economic Research, explained that owing to a shortage of drivers, surges (and the higher prices associated with them) have become more common.

TUESDAY 8/24/21

After a judge ruled Prop. 22 unconstitutional what happens now? Los Angeles Times explains:

Since a ballot initiative cannot be amended after it is passed by voters, any unconstitutional provision renders it unenforceable. But UC Berkeley law scholar Catherine Fisk, who filed an amicus brief in the case on behalf of the plaintiffs, said the companies could win a stay on the judge’s ruling in the next two weeks. After consideration by the state court of appeals, it will eventually be decided by the California Supreme Court, she said, adding that the process could take a year.

WEDNESDAY 8/25/21

A driver is seeking justice after being robbed at gunpoint. ABC 8 News reported:

This incident triggered flashbacks from a past relationship that Beverly described as abusive.

“Since then I cannot even talk to men and I can barely drive, so it just added on to just that trauma,” she said

Now Beverly is calling for the robber to turn himself in.

“Even though I don’t really like all the things of the justice system, there are a lot of things it can do to help you think about your choices in life,” she said.

Beverly is hoping that anyone who knows who the robber is, or if they have any information about the incident to call the Richmond Police Department or Crime Stoppers.

THURSDAY 8/26/21

Uber arrived in Oxford and taxi drivers aren’t too thrilled. BBC News explains:

During a protest outside Oxford Town Hall, organizer Azmat Sherwani said: “Nationally Uber have not been able to get a license in many areas, so what they’ve done is they’ve purchased the largest technology provider in the taxi industry.

“What this has allowed them to do… is enter different areas without having a license.

“They [customers] will be arriving from London, but now they already have Uber downloaded and they’ll be using that — it’s going to have catastrophic effects on local drivers and local operators.”

FRIDAY 8/27/21