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Lyft is continuing its decade-long mission of eliminating barriers that hinder people from getting to the polls on Election Day . On Nov. 5, the rideshare service will offer 50% off ride codes (up to $10) nationwide for all transportation options — including bike or scooter — using the code VOTE24. The promotion is valid from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. in every time zone, making it easier for voters to reach polling places despite logistical challenges. “Lyft has always believed in removing barriers to transportation, and voting access is no exception,” Heather Foster, Lyft’s senior director and head of global public policy, told AFROTECH™. “This election is further heightened due to the ongoing challenges many communities face in getting to the polls and is more important than ever as new barriers to voting have emerged.” According to Lyft , there are currently 100,000 fewer polling places available than in the 2020 election, representing a 50% decrease since 2018. As a result of...
Chamillionaire’s status was destined once he chose his stage name. Born Hakeem Temidayo Seriki, Chamillionaire started in the music industry alongside Paul Wall after forming their group, The Color Changin’ Click. By 2005, the rapper was officially solo once he released his debut album, “The Sound of Revenge,” which featured his four-time platinum hit single, “Ridin’.” After his sophomore album, multiple projects, and parting ways with Universal Music Group, Chamillionaire became more focused on entrepreneurship. According to Celebrity Net Worth, the rapper-turned-businessman’s pivot has brought his net worth to an estimated $50 million.
Ball may be life but so is business! From early days of playing basketball to now acting as partners on a new rideshare venture that will bring innovation to the states like never before, Ray Young and Khalid Taylor alongside former NBA player turned entrepreneur, Matt Barnes, are here to change the way you catch a ride from here on out. According to a press release provided to AfroTech, HOPP — the first geosocial ride matchmaking app — offers an added layer of comfort to drivers that it claims the competition does not. The app allows users to book rides based on a personality profile set up within the platform that matches them with people whose interests they align with the most. While the partners stress that you can make money just like you would when driving for Uber and Lyft, that is not the driving factor with the new app, which was founded by co-founders Antoine Allain, Eve Mitchell, and Fabrice Allain. “This is a ‘help you’ service. So, if I’m going in a certain direction,...
Have you recently hit pause on your love life? Well, Lyft and Tinder believe it’s time to put moves on your dating prospects while putting them on the move. In an unanticipated yet innovative matchup, the companies partnered on Oct.7 for a new Lyft feature that allows Tinder users to send their date a Lyft ride, according to a Lyft blog post. Outside continues to open back up and the dating app and transportation app have teamed up to assist getting real life connections back in action. “The seamlessly integrated feature encourages thoughtful gestures for those ready to get back out there and meet someone new,” Lyft shared. First impressions are crucial to securing a second date and the two apps are helping their users come in strong into the dating world in regards to in-person dating. This latest feature can be accessed through Tinder’s new Explore hub — where users can now buy a Lyft ride credit for their match to transport them to their special date. The feature’s steps are...
Ride-sharing company Lyft has announced a new initiative in partnership with Black organizations to close the transportation gaps that exist in Black and communities of color. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Lyft (@lyft) According to a blog post published on Lyft’s website , the company has pledged to form alliances with leading impact-driven organizations The National Urban League and My Brother’s Keeper Alliance — an Obama Foundation initiative — to push upward mobility in under-sourced communities. Founding Members of the LyftUp Access Alliance include: My Brother’s Keeper Alliance, an Obama Foundation initiative The National Urban League Black Women’s Roundtable Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law The National Action Network NAACP Legal Defense Fund United Negro College Fund National Bail Fund Network NAACP US Black Chamber of Commerce National Black Chamber of Commerce “At this moment in history, it is more important than ever to remove barriers that...
This week, reports from both Uber and rival Lyft have shared that the ride-sharing companies may be forced to shut down their operations in California following a preliminary injunction granted by a California judge on Monday, CNBC reports . Last year, California lawmakers passed a landmark bill — known as Assembly Bill 5 (AB5) — that threatened to reshape the structure of Uber and Lyft as it requires gig economy workers to be reclassified as employees instead of contractors, according to CNBC . Uber and Lyft were very vocal about protesting against this bill as they argue their workers enjoy the flexibility of creating their own schedules. They’ve since sought out to appeal the bill with only about one week remaining before they’ll be forced to comply. According to The Verge , both companies have stated they cannot afford to classify their drivers as full-time employees versus independent contractors, so they would have no choice but to close up shop in California. “If the court...
Tech companies such as Uber recently took a public stand against systemic racism and called out police brutality through their app’s new features, TODAY reports . However, the company’s values along with another ride-hailing company, Lyft, are being called into question after a new study showed the two companies’ algorithms charge higher rates for customers traveling to non-white neighborhoods, Salon reports . The study’s research showed a data set of over 100 million trips taken in Chicago, IL between November 2018 and December 2019 that proved while “demand and speed” have the highest correlation with ride fares, Complex reports , various forms of social bias are also present for riders traveling to and from certain neighborhoods. According to the study — conducted by researchers Aylin Caliskan and Akshat Pandey at George Washington University in Washington D.C. — research showed that the ride-hailing companies charged a higher price per mile for trips where the destination or...
California’s new Assembly Bill 5 law takes effect on the first of January. However, instead of setting a good tone for the new year, for many, AB5 appears to be a tone-deaf effort. Launched by California Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez to address gig economy issues that have resulted in unfair treatment of Lyft and Uber drivers, AB5 was designed to protect these workers. “AB5 forbids businesses to use contractors unless the companies can pass a stringent requirement known as the ‘ABC test.’ It’s designed to ensure that all workers are classified as employees unless they perform their work independent of supervision, have an established business doing the same sort of work for multiple customers and are doing work that isn’t part of the company’s core business,” Megan McArdle said via The Washington Post. Companies classifying these workers as “employees” must then set aside taxes, Social Security benefits and other benefits . The new law — designed to protect rideshare drivers — hurts...
If you’re in college, you might as well find a way to make your education pay for itself. However, trying to juggle classes, homework, and a social life can make it hard to fit a traditional part-time job into your schedule. Luckily, side hustles are meant to offer a lot of flexibility. Even if you’re not ready for a career in tech, we’ve listed five categories of side hustles that use current technology so you can make money between classes. 1. Rideshare Driver For those of you with a car, signing up as a rideshare driver for apps like Uber or Lyft is one way to make money. Like most gig apps, rideshares tend to offer a lot of schedule flexibility — you log in and out when you want. You do need to make sure that your insurance will allow you to drive for rideshare apps. Also, take a look at each apps’ specific requirements . Uber, for example, will only take drivers who are 21 or older with 4-door vehicles that are ten years old or newer. 2. Delivery If you don’t drive, you can...
The bikeshare industry has grown immensely in the United States. Now, many cities are beginning to explore new dockless bike options — but for San Francisco, that may pose a problem. Recently, Lyft sued San Francisco over claims that the city was violating a ten-year contract that gave the company exclusive rights to operate bikeshare programs, TechCrunch reported . However, San Francisco says that the contract doesn’t apply to dockless programs. Lyft is the owner of Motivate, which operates the Ford Gobike program in San Francisco. The only other company that operates a bikeshare program in the city is Uber’s JUMP, which offers dockless bikes. According to TechCrunch, Lyft says that was supposed to be an exemption since Motivate wasn’t able to deploy its own dockless bikes. JUMP’s pilot ends in July, so Lyft’s issues stem from San Francisco seeking additional operators for dockless bikes. “We are eager to continue investing in the regional bikeshare system with the MTC and San...
Uber and Lyft drivers, along with a list of other gig workers in California, may have something to cheer about now that a new law has passed to give contract workers more protections. The California state Assembly passed AB5, a bill that would require status changes to contract workers to complete essential tasks for companies. The law is also set to impact exotic dancers and manicurists; however, hairstylists, doctors, lawyers, real estate agents, and financial advisers will be exempt from the rules because they work as true independent workers under their own companies, according to Vox. Under AB5, companies can only label workers as contractors if the worker: (a) is free from the company’s control, (b) is doing work that isn’t central to the company’s business, and (c) has an independent business in that industry. If they don’t meet all three of those conditions, then they have to be classified as employees. Misclassification of workers has helped major companies save money for...
It’s officially Pride Month and Lyft is celebrating by making its app more inclusive to the LGBTQ community. The company recently announced in a blog post that it is expanding its list of pronouns to include transgender and non-binary riders. “We are proud to launch a Pride campaign centred around advocating for transgender and non-binary inclusion and equality, including name change support and preferred pronouns in-app,” Lyft said on its blog. Users can update their pronouns with a few easy steps. Select Menu, then View Profile, then tap Personal info, select your pronoun, and save the updated information. The app gives riders five options which allow users to not to specify their pronouns and flag when they do not see their pronouns listed. Photo: Lyft The update is available for users in the U.S. and Canada and was developed out of a partnership with Pride Toronto. Lyft is also partnering with Casey House, Canada’s first and only stand-alone hospital for people with HIV/AIDS....
Ride-share apps can be one of the easiest and most convenient ways to get around — unless you’re disabled. A recent report has found that if you need a wheelchair accessible Uber or Lyft in New York City, it will often be slower and more expensive. The study “Still Left Behind” — conducted by New York Lawyers for the Public Interest (NYLPI) — backs up what many disabled people have already said about ride share apps. For the study, the NYLPI compared quotes, fares, and wait times from 224 pairs of ride request (448 total trip requests) to and from major destinations in NYC’s five boroughs. NYLPI found that Uber’s wait times were more than twice as long for wheelchair accessible rides and Lyft could only meet 38 percent of the requests. Meanwhile, Juno — who only operates in NYC — didn’t offer on-demand wheelchair accessible vehicles at all. Instead, Juno’s site asks users to book rides by phone at least 24 hours in advance. According to NYPLI , Juno’s request is “notwithstanding...
Maven — the car-sharing and car rental service — is exiting from eight major cities including Boston, Chicago, and New York City, according to the Wall Street Journal. The company is expected to wind down service in the designated cities by the end of July to focus on less competitive markets. Maven wants to “concentrate on markets in which we have the strongest current demand and growth potential,” one company spokeswoman told WSJ. Maven’s operations in Detroit, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., and Toronto will continue; however, its transition out of some of the biggest cities in the U.S. highlights some of the accelerated changes happening in transportation-tech. Last month, New York City council passed a bill to decongest the city’s streets of ride-hailing cars by posing a cap on the number of drivers companies could have on the road. The law also required Uber and Lyft to improve pay for its drivers. Both companies, whose drivers sometimes rent cars from Maven, stopped hiring new...