There’s a bill that Lyft and Uber drivers are supporting, since this would prevent the everyday occurrence of instant bans from apps. Plus, there’s also a bill that drivers want to kill, since this would only worsen the assaults happening during rides. Read on.
Instant app bans
Instant app bans are a usual event that ridesharing drivers encounter. For instance, getting banned on social media, such as Facebook, could affect a Lyft driver’s daily work. Ridesharing Forum has previously reported this.
Ridesharing drivers want solons to work on a law that will provide instant bans from drivers’ accounts on ridesharing apps.
The problem is severe.
A ridesharing driver, Blerim Skoro, recently took to mainstream media to air their grievance. He told the media he has been driving for Uber for nearly a decade now, until he had this passenger under the influence of alcohol, who pushed him to change the drop-off location via the app.
“One passenger came out of the car. He sees the camera recording," Skoro recalled. "He didn’t say anything, but from outside he said, ‘I know what I’m going to do. You’re going to lose your job. I’m going to complain to Uber.’”
That night, his Diamond account got deactivated. Diamond drivers are the highest-rated drivers on the app.
“They said your account was deactivated because the passenger complained. You were driving unsafe, or something. They make a story," Skoro added.
Worse, Uber would often refuse to side with the drivers, rather they side with the passengers. When Skoro reached out to Uber, the platform refused to look at this dashcam, rather rejected his appeal.
“It affect me very bad," Skoro told Ridesharing Forum. "I didn’t work for two months.”
The bill
Now, a bill is in process at the City Council that would change this process, solve the problem, and make it fairer for drivers who encounter this issue.
However, Shekar Krishnan, the council member who spearheaded the bill’s creation, said it is still a long way from going.
“Right now, the process is a company-controlled process. It is not an impartial process, and it happens after you’re deactivated, which means you’re trying to reverse a decision that was already wrongfully made. My bill changes all of that by giving them notice and process before that drastic decision happens,” Krishnan said.
However, Krishnan rallied with the pleading drivers, of course.
“And so just like that, drivers overnight lose their livelihood, lose their means to support their family," Krishnan added.
The problem is widespread.
Other Lyft news
Meanwhile, in other ridesharing news, Lyft and Uber drivers in New York are opposing a bill that would make assaults during rides even more rampant.
The bill would require ridesharing companies to hold more regular background checks for drivers, as well as create a program for passengers or drivers who wish to audio or video record their rides – all for safety.
That sounds like a good deal, but authorities in the government are seeing it in another way.
Governor Jared Polis had already vetoed the bill as he believed it would jeopardize ridesharing services “to an untenable degree, and could very well lead to companies that Coloradans rely on exiting the market, raising prices, or reducing the number of drivers.”