For the most up-to-date news and information about the coronavirus pandemic, visit the WHO and CDC websites. In early December, Uber’s head of federal affairs, Danielle Burr, sent a request to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The ask was straightforward: Give drivers early access to the COVID-19 vaccine. “Rideshare drivers continue to …

DoorDash saw its share price skyrocket by more than 85% on the New York Stock Exchange on Wednesday as it debuted on Wall Street. The company’s shares started trading at $182 apiece, much higher than the $102 initial public offering price it set on Tuesday evening. On market close, DoorDash shares were trading at $189.  These numbers far exceed the …

In 2018, New York became the first city in the US to require Uber and Lyft to pay their drivers a minimum wage. After studying the effects of the mandate, economists released a report Tuesday that says the policy ended up raising driver pay without significant fare increases going to riders. When regulators first suggested implementing the pay rules, Uber …

DoorDash agreed on Tuesday to pay $2.5 million to settle a lawsuit alleging it misled customers about its tipping policy for drivers. The lawsuit was brought by the attorney general of Washington, DC, Karl Racine, in November 2019, who said DoorDash led customers to believe their tips were going to delivery workers when the company was actually pocketing the money …

Jason Schaal was sitting at home in Minneapolis last month when he opened his phone to check his email. Among the messages was one from Uber bearing the subject line, “Make your voice heard.” It said the US Department of Labor was hammering out countrywide rules “to determine the independent status of gig workers” and asked Schaal to comment on …

Gone are the days when a laptop charge would only last a few hours. Apple on Tuesday said that its new MacBook Air will have 15 hours of battery life for wireless web browsing. For video playback, the battery will last 18 hours. And the battery life on video calls will be twice the rate on current MacBook Air computers. …

Uber and Lyft have seen their rides businesses plummet over the last several months, largely because of the coronavirus pandemic. And based on the companies’ third-quarter earnings, it doesn’t look like that’s changing. But with Uber and Lyft maintaining an optimistic tone and promising profitability in the not-so-distant future, stock prices have shown only modest drops, ranging from decreases of …

Uber is now letting riders book a trip in advance with a new feature called Uber Reserve. The ride-hailing company says the idea is to make it as easy as possible for people to manage their schedules. Uber Reserve is different from the company’s scheduling feature in that it now has a dedicated place on the app’s home screen and …

California voters on Tuesday passed Proposition 22, a ballot measure backed by Uber, Lyft and other gig economy companies. During the yearlong battle over the initiative, which aimed to exempt the companies from classifying their drivers as employees, millions of dollars have been spent and all sorts of tricks have been pulled from the political playbook. Proposition 22 is likely …

On Election Day, California voters will decide on Proposition 22, a contentious ballot measure that decides the fate of the state’s gig workers. As the vote approaches, both sides are making their closing arguments. The Yes side, backed by companies like Uber and Lyft, is pushing for workers to be classified as independent contractors, while the No side is arguing …