Uber, Lyft Spending Big to Fight Californian Gig Economy Laws
A staunch consumer advocate tracking industry trends and regulation. Before joining TTAC, Matt spent a decade working for marketing and research firms based in NYC. Clients included several of the world’s largest automakers, global tire brands, and aftermarket part suppliers. Dissatisfied with the corporate world and resentful of having to wear suits everyday, he pivoted to writing about cars. Since then, that man has become an ardent supporter of the right-to-repair movement, been interviewed on the auto industry by national radio broadcasts, driven more rental cars than anyone ever should, participated in amateur rallying events, and received the requisite minimum training as sanctioned by the SCCA. Handy with a wrench, Matt grew up surrounded by Detroit auto workers and managed to get a pizza delivery job before he was legally eligible. He later found himself driving box trucks through Manhattan, guaranteeing future sympathy for actual truckers. He continues to conduct research pertaining to the automotive sector as an independent contractor and has since moved back to his native Michigan, closer to where the cars are born. A contrarian, Matt claims to prefer understeer — stating that front and all-wheel drive vehicles cater best to his driving style.
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- MaintenanceCosts Nobody here seems to acknowledge that there are multiple use cases for cars.Some people spend all their time driving all over the country and need every mile and minute of time savings. ICE cars are better for them right now.Some people only drive locally and fly when they travel. For them, there's probably a range number that works, and they don't really need more. For the uses for which we use our EV, that would be around 150 miles. The other thing about a low range requirement is it can make 120V charging viable. If you don't drive more than an average of about 40 miles/day, you can probably get enough electrons through a wall outlet. We spent over two years charging our Bolt only through 120V, while our house was getting rebuilt, and never had an issue.Those are extremes. There are all sorts of use cases in between, which probably represent the majority of drivers. For some users, what's needed is more range. But I think for most users, what's needed is better charging. Retrofit apartment garages like Tim's with 240V outlets at every spot. Install more L3 chargers in supermarket parking lots and alongside gas stations. Make chargers that work like Tesla Superchargers as ubiquitous as gas stations, and EV charging will not be an issue for most users.
- MaintenanceCosts I don't have an opinion on whether any one plant unionizing is the right answer, but the employees sure need to have the right to organize. Unions or the credible threat of unionization are the only thing, history has proven, that can keep employers honest. Without it, we've seen over and over, the employers have complete power over the workers and feel free to exploit the workers however they see fit. (And don't tell me "oh, the workers can just leave" - in an oligopolistic industry, working conditions quickly converge, and there's not another employer right around the corner.)
- Kjhkjlhkjhkljh kljhjkhjklhkjh [h3]Wake me up when it is a 1989 635Csi with a M88/3[/h3]
- BrandX "I can charge using the 240V outlets, sure, but it’s slow."No it's not. That's what all home chargers use - 240V.
- Jalop1991 does the odometer represent itself in an analog fashion? Will the numbers roll slowly and stop wherever, or do they just blink to the next number like any old boring modern car?
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This issue is a good representation on how our tax laws are garbage. Our bought government reps create legislation that helps their benefactors (public employee unions in this case) and hurts everyone else outside of that group. The reason there's a prop 22 is because of AB5 picking winners and losers in how the Republic of California identifies who's a 'gig worker' and who's not. Prop 22 is a deep pockets interest to get 'golden child' exemptions from AB5 like how the entertainment industry got them. Any guesses on how the entertainment industry got the exemptions? As usual, the debate on the core issue is being avoided. AB5 created the mess we're now debating, but rather than throw out the morons that voted for it, we're debating who should not be hurt by it. BTW, look who wrote AB5 - it's the same person who attacked school choice in CA because her benefactors - the school teacher public employee union - didn't want parents to pick schools out of their districts because it would hurt the rep of the teacher's union by highlighting failing schools. See a pattern?
This article: "Unlike most articles on the subject, we’re not here to take a side." Also this article: "... prohibit companies from erroneously categorizing employees as independent contractors ..." "... Ride-hailing platforms, like Lyft and Uber, are said to be among the worst offenders ... " "... allowing companies to act in a predatory manner in regard to how they treated staffers that really should have been deemed full-time employees." This is Jim Acosta/CNN level of "journalism". You took a side, just admit it. (I'm not necessarily disagreeing with the side he's taken, but he needs to be honest about his opinion.)