Driving for Uber or Lyft would be considered as the most hassle-free way to convert a little extra income. But the city of San Francisco wants all of the 37,000 rideshare drivers to know that it is not easy as 1-2-3.
According to an existing law, all independent contractors such as Uber and Lyft operating in the city must register as a business which is a process involving lots of paperwork and a $91 annual fee. Up to now, no-one bothered to make a move despite numerous letters being sent advising them to pay or suffer the consequences, Gizmodo reports.
Both Lyft and Uber fought against information release and San Francisco was not included as a city that requested data in Uber's transparency report, even its airport has details about 44,000 drivers.
"Uber partners with entrepreneurial drivers and as independent contractors, they are responsible for following appropriate local requirements," an Uber spokesperson said, as quoted by the Business Insider.
Lyft was concerned that the forced registration would expose the driver's privacy putting him or her at risk.
"We have serious concerns with the City's plan to collect and display Lyft drivers' personal information in a publicly available database. People in San Francisco, who are choosing to drive with Lyft to help make ends meet, shouldn't have to compromise their privacy in order to share a ridem" a Lyft spokesperson said.
San Francisco treasurer José Cisneros has started sending letters to the drivers stating the registration with the new fee and the deadline. Uber didn't cringe upon the requirement news stating that their drivers "are responsible for following appropriate local requirements." Lyft on the other hand took a different attitude towards it. Lyft spokesperson Chelsea Wilson stated that serious concerns will arise if driver's information will be displayed in public and that people in San Francisco who chose to drive with Lyft to augment their income shouldn't have their privacy compromised just to share a ride, as reported by The Verge.
Registering and paying an annual fee of $91 seems like a cash grab. The said fees are just going to San Francisco treasury and the annual fee doesn't sound like a huge amount after all for a yearly fee however, if all 37,000 drivers will comply with the letter, it would be a whooping $3.4 million in generated revenue.
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