Opaque algorithms exploit drivers and suppress their earnings, but a proposed law would require rideshare companies to show their math.
Uber
Posted inOpinion Columns
Opinion: Big Gig sells ‘flexibility,’ but what I want is transparency
The company’s algorithms control every move I make. My fellow drivers and I are fighting back.
Posted inOpinion, Opinion Columns
Carman: Take it from Enrique, high gas prices don’t have to ruin your life
We were riding with Enrique, a full-time Uber driver, in his new Tesla. It was so new, in fact, he was still learning the ropes of being an EV driver. Do you know where the charging stations are along I-70? he wondered. And can you really plug into a 120-volt outlet at night at home? […]
Posted inBusiness, News, Transportation
Coloradans are paying a lot more for Uber and Lyft trips — if they can even find a ride. Here’s why.
Nick Kroeker was out with his wife and two friends in Denver’s hip River North neighborhood earlier this summer when the group decided to call it a night and head home to Centennial just before midnight. Kroeker opened up his Uber app to hail a ride home and was shocked. The cost for the 19-mile […]
Posted inBusiness, Economy, News
What’s Working: Gig companies want workers back and are paying bonuses in Colorado
To rev up its workforce, Uber pledged this week to spend $250 million to boost incomes of drivers nationwide. While details on how this would roll out were slim, an Uber spokeswoman shared what it means for Denver drivers: $30.56 an hour. That’s the median hourly rate — not including tips! — for drivers who […]
Posted inOpinion, Opinion Columns
Opinion: An Uber driver says gig workers should not have to compromise flexibility for benefits
The pandemic has created a scary time and has made app-based workers driving and delivering goods an essential service. It also urgently exposed that more can be done to help independent workers — it’s time to extend new protections and benefits. Colorado drivers, like me, would benefit greatly from legislation that would guarantee drivers more […]
Posted inOpinion, Opinion Columns
Opinion: Why Coloradans should be skeptical about gig companies’ promises
In December, Uber’s CEO asked the governors of all 50 states to give the ride-hailing company’s workers priority for the coronavirus vaccine. The company sent a similar letter to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It’s a profoundly cynical move. Uber and friends just spent over $200 million on California’s Proposition 22, a successful […]
Posted inOpinion, Write On, Colorado
My coronavirus year has been a personal odyssey of frustration and empathy
This year has been challenging – to say the least. Recently, I started feeling absolute fatigue that turned into a weeks-long battle. Not just against a virus that was discovered in 2019 but the failure of a federal government. Uber has been my major source of funds in recent months. It gave me a different […]
Posted inEducation, Politics and Government, Transportation
$10 million poured into 2019 election, but big money couldn’t push Proposition CC to passage
Advocates for Proposition CC outspent the opposition by more than double but still lost in the statewide November election. The two campaign committees behind the ballot question — Coloradans for Prosperity and Great Education Colorado — spent a combined $4.5 million on the failed effort, according to final campaign finance reports filed late last week. […]
Posted inBusiness, Environment, News, Politics and Government, Transportation
Lyft is introducing a fleet of 200 electric Kias in Colorado, a car model that motorists here can’t even buy
Coloradans will be able to catch a ride in a sleek, new $40,000 electric Kia Niro as soon as December even though the vehicles aren’t available for sale in the state. That’s because Lyft is making a fleet of 200 of the long-range electric crossovers available for lease to its Colorado drivers. The ride-sharing company […]