Rideshare drivers in Massachusetts say a proposed new rule that would limit those drivers who rent cars from companies like Uber and Lyft to only using electric vehicles would severely cut into their earnings.
If passed, any vehicle that a rideshare company owns or makes available to drivers through rental or lease programs, must be an electric vehicle one year after the proposed regulations go into effect.
The rule would only apply to company-provided fleet vehicles and not personally owned vehicles that drivers use. The mandate also wouldn’t apply to paratransit or wheelchair-accessible vehicles.
Jim Klot, who has been an Uber driver for 11 years, said during a hearing with the state’s Department of Public Utilities on Monday that electrical vehicle charging stations typically have long lines, with up to three-hour waiting periods. That’s on top of the two hours it usually takes to charge an electric vehicle.
“Drivers lose money during the time we spend charging our cars, because we only get paid when we have passengers,” he said during Monday’s hearing. “We don’t make enough money to take long breaks from driving, especially when there are not enough charging stations.”
The rule, part of a set of proposed regulations from the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities, is an effort to reduce the environmental impact of transportation, the second-largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in the state, according to the department.
Other proposed regulations include more rigorous background checks for rideshare drivers; annual driver training for safe driving; and helping riders with disabilities and regular checks for whether rideshare vehicles have been recalled by their manufacturer.
Monday’s hearing on the proposed regulations comes nearly a month after rideshare drivers across the state became the first in the U.S. to unionize, forming the App Drivers Union.
Autumn Weintraub, executive director of the App Drivers Union, said they are asking the Department of Public Utilities to hold off on imposing any regulations until they have negotiated contracts with rideshare companies.
“I think the whole point here is that every single one of these rules can be imposed on the companies, which are then imposed on the backs of drivers unilaterally,” she said. “Being able to bargain … is the actual entire point of winning a union, and if we’re not able to do that with electric vehicles, with drivers’ pay and with deactivations, then the entire policy of the state is undermined.”
Angelo, an Uber driver who did not give his last name at the hearing, said the union supports zero-emission vehicles, but also urged the department to let the union negotiate a contract first.
“Drivers should have a voice in this transition. We support clean vehicles, but the cost and responsibility should not fall entirely on drivers,” he said. “That’s the problem. We are the one that has to pay the consequence.”
Klot said without electric vehicle charging stations at home, drivers have to rely on public ones, which can become overcrowded.
“The only free charging stations right now are at Logan Airport, and it’s a mess over there,” he said. “Drivers are waiting more than two or three hours, there’s no queue system over there at all as well. We already see arguments, even fights over the charging stations because many people want to use them. Adding more electric vehicles would only make this worse.”
Klot adds that the installation of at-home charging stations is either “cost-prohibitive or not allowed in some apartments.”
“This affects our income and we need to be able to bargain with the companies over this,” he said. “We’re all for zero emissions, but it needs to make sense.”
In a statement, Uber opposed the regulations, saying Massachusetts will be the only state that limits ride share drivers to renting only electric vehicles.
“This will greatly reduce the variety and affordability of rental vehicles available to you [drivers],” an Uber spokesperson said.
The public, including drivers and other stakeholders, will have until July 2 to give any feedback in writing on the proposed regulations.
