This Week In Rideshare: Lyft Shuttle, Uber UK and Immigrant Workers

Lyft gets a bus, Uber loses in court and workers get targeted. LegalRideshare breaks it down.

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AV shuttles to boost Lyft, Uber’s UK loss, and unfair immigrant identification in NYC. It’s all here in This Week in Rideshare.

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LYFT AV SHUTTLE

Lyft gets autonomous shuttles. TechCrunch reported:

Lyft will add autonomous shuttles made by Austrian manufacturer Benteler Group to its network in late 2026, the company announced Friday. The shuttles will be deployed in partnership with U.S. cities and airports, according to Lyft, but could expand out from there if things go well.

The partnership will let Lyft use urban electric shuttles made by Benteler’s mobility division under the Holon brand. The shuttles will not have a steering wheel or pedals and will feature inward-facing seats for up to nine seated and six standing passengers, according to Bloomberg News, which first reported the Benteler partnership on Friday.

UBER VS UK SUPREME COURT

Uber loses in UK court. Reuters reported:

Uber’s rival taxi operators in England and Wales will not face a 20% VAT charge on their profit margins outside of London after the ride-hailing firm lost its appeal on Tuesday against a previous ruling.

Uber had sought a declaration that rival private-hire taxi operators enter into a contract with passengers, meaning operators must charge a 20% value added tax (VAT) outside London as Uber is required to do.

Uber then brought an appeal to the Supreme Court, which on Tuesday unanimously dismissed the appeal, ruling that operators are not required to enter into a contract with passengers.

UBER VS NYC COURIER RULES

Uber says their immigrant workers are getting singled out. Bloomberg reported:

Uber Technologies Inc. is pushing back on a new NYC proposal requiring delivery app workers to display company-issued identification numbers on reflective vests, saying it “singles out” immigrant workers for “heightened surveillance and control.”

The new rules, proposed Monday by Mayor Eric Adams in the name of worker safety, would mandate that companies like Uber and DoorDash Inc. issue identification cards containing a unique number alongside the name and photo of each courier. They would be required to produce it upon demand of a police officer or others “authorized by law.”

The new requirements would expose its delivery couriers, which includes 35,000 immigrant workers, “to police scrutiny — even in the absence of any violation,” said Josh Gold, an Uber spokesperson, who added that the administration did not engage with the company on the proposal. The company will engage on the rules moving forward, he said.

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LegalReader thanks our friends at LegalRideshare for permission to republish this piece. The original is found here.