SAN FRANCISCO (KPIX 5) – Following this week’s court ruling, masks are now optional on public transit, including a close-quartered setting many people find themselves in every day: taxis and rideshares. “For me, it’s okay,” said Uber driver Mohamed Saoud. While passengers spend minimal time with drivers, many drivers spend their entire day with passengers in small, enclosed spaces. Even though he doesn’t technically have to wear a mask anymore, rideshare driver Roberto Rebello told KPIX 5 he will continue to wear it while on the job for a few reasons. “First, it’s my wife. She has really bad a ..read more

SAN FRANCISCO (KPIX 5) — Ride-hailing services Lyft and Uber plan to add a surcharge for riders to help drivers manage the rising cost of gas across the country. A surcharge of 55 cents per trip will begin on March 16 for traditional Uber rides and 45 cents per order for Uber Eats orders over the next 60 days, according to Uber. “We know drivers and couriers are feeling the sting of record-high prices at the pump, so we’re rolling out a temporary fuel surcharge to help. This consumer surcharge will apply to each ride or delivery and will vary by location, with 100% going directly to drivers an ..read more

PALO ALTO (KPIX 5) — While Bay Area-based Uber and Lyft have dominated the rideshare industry, a new service launching in parts of the Bay Area hopes to poach not only passengers but drivers as well. The company is called Alto and just launched on the Peninsula. Just like Uber and Lyft – you use an app to call a car, but unlike those companies your driver won’t be a gig worker, but a fulltime employee with benefits. “We want to deliver benefits for our drivers. We think that’s important, but also, consistent steady hourly wages. You come in to work with Alto – you know what your pay is going t ..read more

PALO ALTO (KPIX 5) — While Bay Area-based Uber and Lyft have dominated the rideshare industry, a new service launching in parts of the Bay Area hopes to poach not only passengers but drivers as well. The company is called Alto and just launched on the Peninsula. Just like Uber and Lyft – you use an app to call a car, but unlike those companies your driver won’t be a gig worker, but a fulltime employee with benefits. “We want to deliver benefits for our drivers. We think that’s important, but also, consistent steady hourly wages. You come in to work with Alto – you know what your pay is going t ..read more

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO (KPIX) — As gas prices soar to unprecedented highs, rideshare drivers are getting hit especially hard. Uber driver Ahmed Ahmed of Hayward shared his credit card charges with KPIX 5. Since the weekend, he’s already spent nearly $400 on gas. “I made $150, is what I make, how many hour I work – 11 hours – to make $150. It’s not fair,” said Ahmed. “I’m new immigrant here in US, it’s too hard for me…” That’s the case if you ask any of the Uber or Lyft drivers waiting, sometimes for hours, for their next pickup at SFO. “I didn’t make money. Yesterday, I’m driving 8 hours, I put g ..read more

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) — A judge on Friday found that Proposition 22 — a measure backed by ride-hailing companies that classified drivers as independent contractors which voters passed last November — is unconstitutional and unenforceable. The ruling Friday by Alameda County Superior Court Judge Frank Roeschfound stated that due to a clause requiring 7/8ths of the state legislature to support any amendments to the law, the proposition could not be enforced. The controversial Nov. 2020 ballot measure was heavily bankrolled by the ride-hailing and food-delivery companies including Uber, Lyft and ..read more

SAN FRANCISCO (CNN) — Uber has struck a deal with a California regulator that would drastically reduce a substantial fine against the company for failing to hand over data on sexual assault incidents on its platform. The California Public Utilities Commission previously fined Uber $59 million in December 2020 and threatened to suspend its license to operate in the state after the company did not comply with a request for sexual assault data. But that fine has now been slashed to just $150,000, according to a proposed agreement filed Thursday. The reduced fine is part of a broader deal resultin ..read more

SAN FRANCISCO (KPIX) — A San Francisco-based law firm has requested to unify all its civil lawsuits against Uber, in an effort to manage the growing caseload against the ridesharing company. “What we’ve asked the court in San Francisco to do is to move them into one coordinated proceeding. It’s called a JCCP, judicial council coordinated proceeding. It’s a common thing to do when you have a lot of cases, and you have one defendant. Or if you have some sort of situation where you need to have everything organized in a certain way so that you don’t have inconsistent rulings all over the country ..read more

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF / CNN) — President Joe Biden announced additional steps toward promoting vaccine accessibility, including free rides on Uber and Lyft to vaccination sites, to help meet the administration’s goal of 70% of adults getting at least one coronavirus shot by July 4. Uber and Lyft, both headquartered in San Francisco, will provide free rides to and from vaccination sites until July 4 as part of a new partnership with the White House, Biden confirmed on Tuesday. “To ensure that transportation is less of a barrier, from May 24th through July 4th, Uber and Lyft are both going ..read more

SAN RAMON (CBS SF/AP) — Two rideshare app companies, Lyft and Uber, recently teamed up to produce a database of problematic drivers, in an attempt to address years of complaints over sexual assault and other crimes. The clearinghouse unveiled Thursday will initially list drivers expelled by ride-hailing rivals in the U.S. But it will also be open to other companies that deploy workers to perform services such as delivering groceries or take-out orders from restaurants The new safeguard, dubbed the “sharing safety program,” will be overseen by HireRight, a specialist in background checks. The u ..read more