If you like the idea of love, prove it to me this Valentine’s Day by not ordering an Uber or Lyft or getting takeout on DoorDash.
Ride-sharing platforms and food delivery apps are expected to hold strikes on Valentine’s Day as part of their ongoing fight for fair pay. This is the first time the group has staged a strike since Uber and Lyft went public in 2019.
This happened about a week later Lyft says it will guarantee driver wages. If drivers make less than 70% of what riders paid after outside fees, Lyft said it would pay the difference, Reuters reported. The move is the first pay guarantee in the industry.
“We continually strive to improve the driver experience,” Lyft told Reuters on Monday.
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But drivers accuse Lyft and Uber of charging too high commissions. The Justice League, which represents more than 100,000 drivers, said in an emailed statement to Mashable that its drivers will not provide rides to and from airports in 10 U.S. cities within two hours between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. Car service including Chicago, Hartford, Providence, Newark, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Tampa, Orlando, Miami and Austin.
“As the cost of living continues to rise, Uber and Lyft are taking more and more money out of drivers’ pockets, leaving drivers with less and less per ride,” App Workers Justice said in an email stated in the statement. “While Silicon Valley and Wall Street continue to cut drivers’ pay, they raise rates for riders and expect consumers and workers to accept their growing corporate greed.”
Gridwise data shows that Lyft drivers’ monthly income increased by 2.5% in 2023, while Uber drivers’ monthly income fell by 17.1%. Airports won’t be the only places hit by strikes. An independent union, Rideshare Drivers United, Talk about Valentine’s Day “Drivers are shutting down their apps and calling for a global driver action day to tell companies, riders and lawmakers that something needs to change.”
Both Uber and DoorDash downplayed the impact of the strike to CBS News, saying they did not expect the strike to have a significant impact on business on Valentine’s Day. Regardless, if you don’t want to cross the picket lines on Valentine’s Day, consider picking up your loved one at the airport in person. After all, it’s a very romantic gesture.