Someone won't make it to their date: Uber and Lyft drivers will stage a nationwide strike on Valentine's Day

Some Uber and Lyft drivers across the country plan to stay behind the wheel on February 14 to protest wage cuts, reports Insider.

Photo: iStock.com/lacimolnar

Organizers said drivers from about 20 cities, including San Francisco, Dallas, Chicago, Boston, Phoenix, Atlanta, Toronto and Vancouver, British Columbia, plan to participate in the protest. They will be closed on February 14th, Valentine's Day.

“There has never been a global protest where drivers are united behind one goal,” said Torsten Kuhnert, a YouTuber who helped organize the protest. — Over the past two years, there have been many individual protests by drivers in different cities. But this case is unique."

Drivers chose Valentine's Day because the holiday typically sees high demand for taxis. Organizers said it was difficult to estimate how many drivers would ultimately take part.

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In Los Angeles, driver advocacy group Rideshare Drivers United, which has more than 20 members throughout California, is organizing a meeting outside Uber's Greenlight Hub. On February 000, she held a two-hour phone call to inform everyone about the Valentine's Day protest.

“We're just seeing a lot of the rates going way below what we have to spend,” said Nicole Moore, president of Rideshare Drivers United and a part-time Lyft driver. “The action will take place throughout the country.”

Frustrated drivers take action

Taxi drivers' dissatisfaction is growing. Over the past year, separate protests have taken place in various US cities, including San Diego, Atlanta, Chicago, Las Vegas, Denver, New Orleans, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, Miami and Tampa, Florida.

Protesters used a variety of tactics, including gathering around major airports on busy dates and protesting on the day of a Taylor Swift concert to make people feel their absence. Most of the protests were based on drivers' complaints about reduced wages.

Uber and Lyft have complained that ride-hailing services have become less profitable in recent months. Many blame the introduction of “prepaid toll” programs and the large number of drivers for the decline in wages. Taxi drivers are calling for more transparency in how their wages are calculated.

“Over the last four weekends, I made $21,50 per online hour before expenses in Los Angeles,” said Sergio Avedian, a part-time Uber driver and lead writer for driver advocacy blog The Rideshare Guy. “If you subtract my expenses of $6 an hour, then I might as well go fry hamburgers.” I can make $20 an hour without risk."

In an email, Lyft said it was working to improve the driver experience and pointed to new proposals and commitments released in February. These include a new minimum wage guarantee and an improved deactivation appeals process. These improvements are aimed at improving taxi driver pay and transparency.

In February, Lyft reported that a typical U.S. driver earns about $23 per hour worked after expenses. The company announced that it will begin guaranteeing taxi drivers 70% of their weekly payments minus external fees. In November, Uber said the typical driver in the United States earns about $33 per hour, not including driving expenses.

It is quite difficult to calculate the real earnings of a taxi driver. Busy hours are the time between accepting a trip and completing it, excluding time spent moving to an area of ​​higher demand or refueling. Drivers, among other things, have to factor in costs such as gasoline, vehicle maintenance and depreciation, and also estimate how much of that is associated with calling a taxi rather than using the car for personal purposes. The tax implications of driving must also be taken into account.

Moore said the Valentine's Day strike could be the largest coordinated action since 2019, when protests took place in several cities in response to similar wage concerns.

Legislation can make a difference

While Avedian supports the Valentine's Day protest, he is skeptical that the protest will have much impact.

In terms of consumer demand, he said the carrier market is the "most saturated" he's been in his eight years as a driver. This means that many drivers who are not participating in the protest can pick up passengers. In November, Uber announced that the company had a record 6,5 million active taxi drivers and couriers.

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Avedian believes pushing for new legislation is the best way for drivers to bring about change. New York, Seattle and California have introduced minimum wages for drivers, and similar proposals are under consideration in Minneapolis, Chicago and Massachusetts.

“The important thing is that they will draw attention to what is happening,” Avedyan explained the meaning of the strike. “I don’t think this protest will solve everything.” Perhaps such actions will occur frequently in 2024.”

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