4 ms·

This seems very dangerously like W2 employees using employer provided equipment to do a task, even if it's rented by a rental company. (IANAL)

by rdl 11y ago

sageabilly 11y ago
Lyft doesn't provide the equipment, they've just negotiated special rates with Hertz so that Lyft drivers can rent cars at a special discount if they're going to use them for business purposes.
- chipgap98 11y ago
  I completely agree with you, but I think this is definitely making the water a bit murkier. Its a pretty fine line that Uber and Lyft are toeing already and this seems to be pushing it even further.
powera 11y ago
Yeah, if you have to drive the subsidized car and use the subsidized gas to possibly get paid the market rate, it's the equivalent of an employee. This is so obviously an employee status I wonder if they're doing it to try to draw a clean line between employees and contractors somewhere to their liking.
toomuchtodo 11y ago
I mean, we're past that discussion aren't we? Uber and other rideshares are going to have to start classifying drivers as employers eventually (at least until self-driving cars get here). Legal determinations are already headed in this direction.
- rdl 11y ago
  It'd be interesting if someone got in front of that and ran Uber-Prime with Uber-Prime, Inc. employees as drivers, driving vehicles leased by Uber-Prime, Inc. Maybe go upmarket of Uber by offering a 100% guaranteed rape-free experience for your minor children, borderline medical transport, incapacitated people, rich/scared people, etc.
  - toomuchtodo 11y ago
    Tesla is on its way to doing this, no driver required. "As Tesla Motors Inc. develops self-driving technology, an analyst asked Chief Executive Elon Musk a provocative question Wednesday: Will his company sell cars to a transportation service like Uber, or try to start something similar on its own?" "Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas posed the question to Musk in an earnings call Wednesday afternoon, noting that Uber CEO Travis Kalanick has reportedly said he would want to buy Tesla’s self-driving cars when they are released." Musk called it “an insightful question,” then added, “I don’t think I should answer it.” http://www.marketwatch.com/story/will-tesla-launch-uber-like-service-with-self-driving-cars-2015-08-05 http://www.marketwatch.com/story/will-tesla-launch-uber-like... EDIT: I'd like to add, Tesla is building up massive manufacturing capacity and already is beta testing self-driving technology in end user vehicles. Uber has an app.
    - madebylaw 11y ago
      Uber has a bit more than an app: http://www.wsj.com/articles/is-uber-a-friend-or-foe-of-carnegie-mellon-in-robotics-1433084582 http://www.wsj.com/articles/is-uber-a-friend-or-foe-of-carne...
  - bduerst 11y ago
    Wouldn't work because Uber pays per person, not to a company. You'd have to get drivers to voluntarily give a cut of their take home to pay for insurance, the car, etc. without having a way to track what they actually make.
    - intopieces 11y ago
      >You'd have to get drivers to voluntarily give a cut of their take home to pay for insurance, the car, etc. without having a way to track what they actually make. This is exactly what they do now, they just don't pay Uber, they pay those companies directly. But as a company with employees, they could negotiate a deal to get cars for cheaper, negotiate a better insurance rate, and save the driver the hassle. But then we've come full circle, inviting regulations that drive up costs. This is an attempt to stay on the edge of that.

This seems very dangerously like W2 employees using employer provided equipment to do a task, even if it's rented by a rental company. (IANAL)

by rdl 11y ago

This seems very dangerously like W2 employees using employer provided equipment to do a task, even if it's rented by a rental company. (IANAL)

sageabilly 11y ago

Lyft doesn't provide the equipment, they've just negotiated special rates with Hertz so that Lyft drivers can rent cars at a special discount if they're going to use them for business purposes.

chipgap98 11y ago
I completely agree with you, but I think this is definitely making the water a bit murkier. Its a pretty fine line that Uber and Lyft are toeing already and this seems to be pushing it even further.

powera 11y ago

Yeah, if you have to drive the subsidized car and use the subsidized gas to possibly get paid the market rate, it's the equivalent of an employee. This is so obviously an employee status I wonder if they're doing it to try to draw a clean line between employees and contractors somewhere to their liking.

toomuchtodo 11y ago

I mean, we're past that discussion aren't we? Uber and other rideshares are going to have to start classifying drivers as employers eventually (at least until self-driving cars get here). Legal determinations are already headed in this direction.

rdl 11y ago
It'd be interesting if someone got in front of that and ran Uber-Prime with Uber-Prime, Inc. employees as drivers, driving vehicles leased by Uber-Prime, Inc. Maybe go upmarket of Uber by offering a 100% guaranteed rape-free experience for your minor children, borderline medical transport, incapacitated people, rich/scared people, etc.
- toomuchtodo 11y ago
  Tesla is on its way to doing this, no driver required. "As Tesla Motors Inc. develops self-driving technology, an analyst asked Chief Executive Elon Musk a provocative question Wednesday: Will his company sell cars to a transportation service like Uber, or try to start something similar on its own?" "Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas posed the question to Musk in an earnings call Wednesday afternoon, noting that Uber CEO Travis Kalanick has reportedly said he would want to buy Tesla’s self-driving cars when they are released." Musk called it “an insightful question,” then added, “I don’t think I should answer it.” http://www.marketwatch.com/story/will-tesla-launch-uber-like-service-with-self-driving-cars-2015-08-05 http://www.marketwatch.com/story/will-tesla-launch-uber-like... EDIT: I'd like to add, Tesla is building up massive manufacturing capacity and already is beta testing self-driving technology in end user vehicles. Uber has an app.
  - madebylaw 11y ago
    Uber has a bit more than an app: http://www.wsj.com/articles/is-uber-a-friend-or-foe-of-carnegie-mellon-in-robotics-1433084582 http://www.wsj.com/articles/is-uber-a-friend-or-foe-of-carne...
- bduerst 11y ago
  Wouldn't work because Uber pays per person, not to a company. You'd have to get drivers to voluntarily give a cut of their take home to pay for insurance, the car, etc. without having a way to track what they actually make.
  - intopieces 11y ago
    >You'd have to get drivers to voluntarily give a cut of their take home to pay for insurance, the car, etc. without having a way to track what they actually make. This is exactly what they do now, they just don't pay Uber, they pay those companies directly. But as a company with employees, they could negotiate a deal to get cars for cheaper, negotiate a better insurance rate, and save the driver the hassle. But then we've come full circle, inviting regulations that drive up costs. This is an attempt to stay on the edge of that.