9 ms·

For those wondering why Lyft and Uber doing the shutdown, it's to bully voters into voting their way on Prop 22 in November. They had two years to adjust their

by tyre 6y ago

For those wondering why Lyft and Uber doing the shutdown, it's to bully voters into voting their way on Prop 22 in November. They had two years to adjust their businesses for a proposition approved by voters. They chose to spend nine figures fighting it in the press and the courts.

product50 6y ago
I hope you realize that AB5 will eventually make its way into delivery services too. All those services will cost a lot more then. Are you ready for that? Even if you are, have you thought about low income earners and how they will cope up with this? These are 2 sided marketplaces - just thinking from the driver's standpoint, who mind you have also protested against this since it robs them of flexibility, is missing the point. I really hope people vote for Prop 22 and kill this awful law which was mostly brought in by unions/taxi drivers to have their way around things.
apsec112 6y ago
AB5 was a legislative act, not a proposition.
ztratar 6y ago
They did not have "years to adjust their businesses" to a changing landscape of demands, the worst-case scenario of which literally destroys their innovation/business. "You had years to plan for us removing 95% of your business!" is quite the argument.
- AlexandrB 6y ago
  Their business was a legal dodge to begin with and they knew it. You can't start a business selling cocaine through a series of complex transactions such that it's "technically" legal and then complain when the government tries to regulate your "innovation" to bring it in line with existing law.
  - sushid 6y ago
    Freelancing is already a thing. This is a horrible analogy.
  - handmodel 6y ago
    While cocaine is illegal and most voters still think it should be illegal, no voters think that calling a cab with an app should be illegal (at least provided the driver is compensated fairly).
handmodel 6y ago
I mean - if no one else comes up with a business now that works well and people enjoy doesn't that prove Uber and Lyft are right in that the platform is valuable and unique? If California lawmakers are using this as negotiating tactic that's cool with me - but I'm not sure why we wouldn't expect Uber or Lyft to negotiate as well.
- alpha_squared 6y ago
  > I mean - if no one else comes up with a business now that works well and people enjoy doesn't that prove Uber and Lyft are right in that the platform is valuable and unique? To me, it proves that investors don't have the appetite to fund an underdog fight against the two large companies. There are ethical alternatives (at least half a dozen when I last checked a couple years ago), but they're slow-growing. The fact that the conversations seem to default to assuming there are no other alternatives already speaks volumes about consumer mentality.
jasonhansel 6y ago
> For those wondering why Lyft and Uber doing the shutdown, it's to bully voters into voting their way on Prop 22 in November. Why is this getting downvoted? The strategy seems fairly obvious: by threatening to end service, they're trying to scare voters (and the legislature) into repealing this law. Uber and Lyft could, under this law, continue to operate in a legal, legitimate manner, no longer relying on the legal loopholes that this law closed. The fact that they would rather shut down entirely than follow their own state's laws is deeply disturbing.

by tyre 6y ago

product50 6y ago

I hope you realize that AB5 will eventually make its way into delivery services too. All those services will cost a lot more then. Are you ready for that? Even if you are, have you thought about low income earners and how they will cope up with this? These are 2 sided marketplaces - just thinking from the driver's standpoint, who mind you have also protested against this since it robs them of flexibility, is missing the point. I really hope people vote for Prop 22 and kill this awful law which was mostly brought in by unions/taxi drivers to have their way around things.

apsec112 6y ago

AB5 was a legislative act, not a proposition.

ztratar 6y ago

They did not have "years to adjust their businesses" to a changing landscape of demands, the worst-case scenario of which literally destroys their innovation/business. "You had years to plan for us removing 95% of your business!" is quite the argument.

AlexandrB 6y ago
Their business was a legal dodge to begin with and they knew it. You can't start a business selling cocaine through a series of complex transactions such that it's "technically" legal and then complain when the government tries to regulate your "innovation" to bring it in line with existing law.
- sushid 6y ago
  Freelancing is already a thing. This is a horrible analogy.
- handmodel 6y ago
  While cocaine is illegal and most voters still think it should be illegal, no voters think that calling a cab with an app should be illegal (at least provided the driver is compensated fairly).

handmodel 6y ago

I mean - if no one else comes up with a business now that works well and people enjoy doesn't that prove Uber and Lyft are right in that the platform is valuable and unique? If California lawmakers are using this as negotiating tactic that's cool with me - but I'm not sure why we wouldn't expect Uber or Lyft to negotiate as well.

alpha_squared 6y ago
> I mean - if no one else comes up with a business now that works well and people enjoy doesn't that prove Uber and Lyft are right in that the platform is valuable and unique? To me, it proves that investors don't have the appetite to fund an underdog fight against the two large companies. There are ethical alternatives (at least half a dozen when I last checked a couple years ago), but they're slow-growing. The fact that the conversations seem to default to assuming there are no other alternatives already speaks volumes about consumer mentality.

jasonhansel 6y ago

> For those wondering why Lyft and Uber doing the shutdown, it's to bully voters into voting their way on Prop 22 in November. Why is this getting downvoted? The strategy seems fairly obvious: by threatening to end service, they're trying to scare voters (and the legislature) into repealing this law. Uber and Lyft could, under this law, continue to operate in a legal, legitimate manner, no longer relying on the legal loopholes that this law closed. The fact that they would rather shut down entirely than follow their own state's laws is deeply disturbing.