A five percent raise? Is that even significant? In a world where rideshare drivers are loving their jobs, but are also constantly decrying low earnings, this raise may work, but with the purpose only to appease the platforms? Authorities would have to think twice.
NYC wants a pay raise for ridesharing drivers
The Taxi and Limousine Commission of New York City has proposed new minimum-wage rules for rideshare drivers.
According to a recent Bloomberg report, these drivers will receive just a five percent raise under the Commission’s new proposal.
But what’s eerie is that this pay raise is not really helping the drivers but only appeasing Lyft and Uber so they won’t lock these drivers out of the app.
Furthermore, the proposal must be voted on first by the Commission’s board of commissioners before it can take effect. Nevertheless, once enacted, it will go a long way, ending months of uncertainty for drivers working in the city.
The Commission initially proposed a 6.1 percent raise, previously also lobbied for the platforms not to lock out the drivers.
Basically, this upfront raise goes along with the guarantee that drivers will first be notified before they lose access to a rideshare app. This Ridesharing Forum site has published various stories about apps suddenly just deactivating drivers’ accounts.
Furthermore, settling on a five percent raise and a commitment to not raising wages yearly but instead based on “changing industry dynamics” is a further capitulation.
Lyft does not quite agree with this. They told ridesharing media that “while these changes are a step in the right direction,” they still have “concerns that the underlying pay formula will still deprive drivers of earning opportunities, drive up prices for riders and reduce ride availability.”
In May 2024, Uber started sporadically locking out drivers from the app, preventing them from taking rides and earning money. According to the company, this move was to avoid having to pay drivers who were working and clocking in hours but were not actively taking rides. It was a smart but evil move.
Lyft and Uber have long had a contentious relationship with city and state governments over driver protections.
Lyft, Uber fighting authorities to make ridesharing safer
Meanwhile, in other Lyft news, you may also remember stories from Ridesharing Forum about crimes related to ridesharing. If the concern of drivers is mostly about pay, the companies are working toward providing really safer rides.
Interestingly enough, Lyft and Uber are finding themselves in a head-to-head with lawmakers only to make this happen. They are spending thousands of dollars a month to counter legislations that could hinder this progress and support laws that can make this possible.
The companies have a long history of mounting lobbying campaigns to either override or preempt safety and worker protection bills anywhere in the government, with strategies such as launching protests, convincing the public via messaging, and directly pressuring lawmakers, even.
For instance, in Rhode Island, Uber has spent around $50,000 for lobbying. Meanwhile, Lyft has been splurging approximately $5,000 monthly in the same state, the report added.