Dozens of ride-hailing service drivers protested today in San Francisco, hours before the California Public Utilities Commission voted to make Uber the contracting agent to help the drivers transition to electric vehicles.
“Uber out of government!” dozens of ride-hailing service drivers and advocates chanted today in front of the Utilities Commission’s building at 505 Van Ness Ave., holding signs that read “Protect the Clean Miles Standard Driver Assistance Program.”
Under the Clean Miles Standard Program, by 2030, transportation network companies, also known as ride-hailing companies, are required to eliminate emissions and increase vehicle miles traveled by zero-emissions vehicles to 90 percent.
The Drivers Assistance Program will provide incentives to low and moderate income Uber and Lyft drivers to transition to electric vehicles, including making charging affordable. Its estimated administration costs for the first year are more than $2 million, according to the California Public Utilities Commission.
Today’s vote gives Uber the contract to manage that transition.
There has been an ongoing battle among driver advocacy groups, Uber, the California Public Utilities Commission and other parties regarding the specifics of facilitating the shift. Today’s decision identified Uber as the contracting agent, which means Uber will conduct a request for proposals for the future third-party program administrator of the Drivers Assistance Program.
As the contracting agent, “Uber will have no control over the selection of the program administrator or policy issues whatsoever. Their sole function is collecting fees [from each trip] and running the [request for proposal] process with continual oversight from the CPUC,” said Maitee Rossoukhi, a spokesperson for the California Public Utilities Commission.
“The Proposed Decision requires Uber and Lyft to cover 100 percent of the Drivers Assistance Program incentives through the collection of fees on every TNC ride,” Rossoukhi added, referring to transportation network companies, such as Uber and Lyft.
Gig workers and advocates find that problematic. “We have major concerns with this conflict of interest, in which the commission is relinquishing some of its responsibility over to an entity that is supposed to be overseen for this program,” said Cindy Reyes, research associate of SEIU 721, which works in coordination with the California Gig Workers Union. The California Gig Workers Union organized the rally today.
And whose pocket will that per-trip regulatory fee come from? There’s no clear answer yet.
Roussoukhi said that they have argued against that, believing the companies “ will probably pass it on to the consumer.”
Uber said in an emailed statement that it looks forward to “working closely and transparently” with the CPUC to implement the new electrification standards.
Alvaro Bolainez, a 10-year Uber driver in Los Angeles with the Rideshare Drivers United, said “We want CPUC to hire somebody who’s not related to Lyft and Uber to control the driver -assistant program. We need this program … and what we want is not to let these corporations control that money.”
What a shock – the PUC chooses to support corporations over working people. The PUC should be comprised of several consumer, environmental, and public safety advocates and maybe one or two corporate representatives.
This is the same PUC that recently approved a PG&E rate hike a week or so before PG&E announced record profits, and that was a week before PG&E asked for further rate increases. The PUC’s concern is for corporate profits and not California’s citizens. It is past time to dismantle the PUC and build a new organization to take its place.
So what happens with the cab companies?
So Uber–uber alles?
Yes it’s a good idea since Uber will finance drivers , please driver you have no tangible reason to object this development
Didn’t the CPUC just cripple the solar industry in California as well and have to explain themselves in court for how insane their decision was?
The day this happens I’ll quit driving for these companies. I’m not going to be forced into anything I don’t want.
The most corrupt agency in state government the CPUC does not hear workers or ratepayers or anyone other than Political Action Committees.
Hi, and stop flooding drivers to market and I know now , economics