Uber said it hopes to introduce a fully driverless service in 2023 with the help of Motional, a driverless technology startup that specializes in robocars and has been providing robotaxi services in Las Vegas since 2018.
While self-driving cars are only accessible for ride-hailing in Las Vegas, there are plans to extend further in the future. Usually, two “vehicle operations” are sent in the robocars to keep an eye on the technology and offer further assistance to passengers. The self-driving Hyundai Ioniq 5 mid-size hatchback, customized by Motional, will be made available to users who request a ride.
Through its partnership with Motional, Uber is attempting to shift its business model away from being solely reliant on its vast fleet of independently contracted drivers, a business model that has posed legal issues for the company in recent years.
However, Waymo, Google’s self-driving unit, filed a lawsuit against Uber in February 2017 on the grounds of alleged trade secrets and intellectual property theft. A month later, after receiving feedback from its test vehicles, the ride-hailing business suffered another setback to its self-driving initiative. The Uber test driver was using her phone to watch a television show when the test vehicle in Arizona hit and killed a pedestrian.
The Biden administration, on the other hand, is currently putting forth a new labor regulation that might designate millions of these gig workers as employees. Which would put the low-cost labor methods used by Silicon Valley companies like Uber in trouble.
The criteria used to assess whether employees are eligible for minimum wage and overtime pay protections has been expanded under the new labor rule. Although independent contractors play a significant role in our economy, businesses frequently misclassify their workers as independent contractors, especially those who are among our country’s most vulnerable workers.
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