As autonomous taxis pick up pace, Andrew Macdonald predicts that driving will go the way of horse riding — and that a ‘huge’ labour transition is coming
Delivery drivers in Australia will be paid a minimum rate of $31.30 (US $22.05/£16.35) an hour and insured for injuries on the job under a landmark agreement approved by the industrial umpire that could set a precedent in other countries.
The Fair Work Commission (FWC) on Tuesday issued a new minimum standards order for gig workers who perform on-demand delivery of food, drinks, or groceries, and the operators of the digital platforms who engage their services
The next time you call an Uber ride or order food delivery with an app, there’s a good chance that the gig worker you meet is getting government benefits.
In 2025, companies such as DoorDash, Lyft and Uber had the most workers receiving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits among all major employers, according to a new Government Accountability Office report. This marks a major shift from 2020, when an earlier GAO survey found that Walmart and McDonald’s took the top spots for SNAP recipients.
That finding may appear surprising to most Americans, who usually see platform-based work as a side hustle to earn extra cash. In fact, these jobs are becoming more essential as a primary source of income, even as they fail to cover basic food and medical expenses for gig workers.
Flock Safety, the company behind a nationwide network of automatic license plate readers, pitched a plan to convert hundreds of thousands of Uber, Lyft, and delivery drivers into a mobile extension of its surveillance system, according to a company presentation obtained by 404 Media.
404's Joseph Cox wrote that the document describes equipping driver vehicles with dashcams capable of scanning license plates along their routes, effectively expanding Flock's network beyond its usual fixed cameras mounted on poles.
BOTTOM LINE: Uber is moving quickly to put robotaxis on its main app, backed by a large cash pile and new approvals for real-world testing. The company plans to spend about $10 billion over the next few years to deploy 120,000 autonomous vehicles. It expects to run robotaxi services in at least 15 cities this year, putting it in direct competition with Alphabet's Waymo and Tesla as they all push to turn self-driving technology into a commercial service.
Chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi said the spending is possible because Uber is generating strong cash flow from its core business. In the second quarter, the company produced a record $2.8 billion in free cash flow. Over the past 12 months, free cash flow has reached about $10.1 billion as bookings continue to grow. "We're investing from a position of strength, as we accelerate our cross-platform strategy at a global scale and build the world's largest platform for autonomous vehicles," he said. "Our ambition is clear: to become the world's leading commercialization platform for autonomous mobility."