Uber Ends Guaranteed Prices In California (And Alaska Gov Recall Gets Another Judicial Approval)

I got this email Wednesday from Uber:

"Changes to Uber in California
Due to a new state law, we are making some changes to help ensure that Uber remains a dependable source of flexible work for California drivers.
These changes may take some getting used to, but our goal is to keep Uber available

to as many qualified drivers as possible, without restricting the number of drivers who can work at a given time.
We want your Uber experience to be excellent, and fewer drivers on the road would mean a more expensive and less reliable service for you.


What’s changing?
 
From upfront price to estimated price range
You will now see a price range rather than a set price before you request any non-Pool ride, which is our best estimate of what the trip will cost you. The final price will be calculated at the end of your trip, based on the actual time and distance traveled. You can see the final price on your receipt or in the app.

Schedule rides with your favorite drivers
After you give a driver a 5-star rating, you can now add them as a Favorite Driver. Next time you request a scheduled ride, your favorite drivers will have the opportunity to accept your reservation. If you give a driver a 1-star rating, you won’t be matched on future rides.

 
Changes to Uber Rewards benefits
We unfortunately have to discontinue some Uber Rewards benefits, like price protection on a route and flexible cancellations, for trips in California. To learn more, see the Rewards hub in your Uber app. We’re actively working on new benefits for California riders, so stay tuned for future announcements."

Uber's map system has given our drivers from LAX to my mom's house, much longer routes than necessary.  The driver tells us it's faster.  One time we let him go with it and it added 5-7 miles to the trip.  He drove fast while on the freeway, but much further.  This last time we insisted going our way and got there in the same time that Uber predicted for the long way.

When the price was guaranteed, that doesn't matter - except they use more fuel if they aren't all electric.  But now, the extra miles will add to the bill.  That was an advantage over taxis.  When I drove a cab out of LAX, one driver said he could add a mile going downtown, just by switching lanes regularly.

The new California law addresses contract workers, not just Uber.  But it affects them a lot. Uber and Lyft have a referendum that challenges that law.  I would guess this is part of the campaign to get their users to vote for their ballot measure.  A part that will probably evade campaign finance laws.

No such email from Lyft yet.

Meanwhile, it appears that  Judge Aarseth, the judge on the Graham v. MOA case, found the Governor Recall petition to be valid.  It will go to the Alaska Supreme Court now.  Libby Bakalar, one of the attorneys fired by Dunleavy, an attorney whose opinions on recall petitions were still on the AG's page last time I looked, and who helped write the recall petition tweeted that very recently.  I assume she know what's she's talking about here.  Didn't find it yet on Google.

Judge Aarseth is ruling from the bench that the recall of @GovDunleavy is legally sound & can go forward. The State & intervenors Stand Tall With Mike will now appeal to SCOAK. I’m proud of the small parts I played in this process over the years as an AAG & along the way here.

— One Hot Mess AK (@libbybakalar) January 10, 2020