Why Lyft is convening its drivers to plan the future of robotaxis

Robotaxis are crashing into the rideshare market. 

Drivers for apps like Uber and Lyft are growing worried about autonomous vehicles. Waymo has already deployed their vehicles across a handful of cities, taking riders from place to place without the need for a human driver. Waymo partnered with Uber in Austin, where Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said the robotaxis were “busier than over 99% of all drivers.” The gig workers worry that their demand may be crushed, or that their wages and tips will be suppressed, thanks to the growing self-driving alternative. 

As Lyft dips into the AV race, the rideshare company is hoping to involve its drivers directly into the process. Lyft’s new Driver Autonomous Forum will convene 6 to 10 drivers to discuss individual points of challenge in the AV expansion. Lyft envisions the program as a direct channel between drivers and senior leadership. The first will be held in Atlanta, where Lyft is soon debuting their partnership with May Mobility. 

“We know AVs are going to transform the transportation network business, and we know this is something that drivers who come to Lyft care about deeply,” Jeremy Bird, Lyft’s executive vice president of driver experience, writes in an email to Fast Company. “We wanted to create an intentional, structured way to gather their feedback on how we can innovate in a human-centered way.” 

Inside the Lyft Driver Autonomous Forum

As Lyft debuts its Atlanta AV options, the company is looking for feedback. The company has no plans to eliminate human drivers entirely; Bird continuously refers to a “hybrid” economy of human-driven and autonomous vehicles. But Lyft understands that robotaxis will necessarily distort the rideshare labor market. 

“We’re using qualitative data—things like driver ratings and loyalty status—to identify drivers who are both highly qualified and invested in our shared success,” Bird wrote. “Some drivers will participate in multiple meetings to ensure continuity, while others will rotate in based on their specific expertise or regional knowledge.” 

Rideshare drivers have already seen their business hurt by robotaxis. Phoenix and Los Angeles are especially overloaded with Waymos. Drivers from those cities told Business Insider that they saw decreased earnings after the deployment, and that they had to focus on more lucrative airport trips to earn their living. 

As these self-driving vehicles flood the market, part of the battle might be shifting gig-work drivers to other positions. Lyft understands this; the Driver Autonomous Forums will spend time discussing the growth of alternative work. “Things like remote vehicle support, fleet management, or other roles we haven’t even thought of yet,” Bird wrote.

How can rideshare companies prepare their drivers for robotaxis? 

Most rideshare companies are unwilling to claim that their drivers will be directly replaced by robotaxis. In his email, Bird noted that “AVs don’t just compete with drivers for a slice of the rideshare pie; they grow the pie.” Uber’s robotaxi chief Andrew McDonald previously said that “there will be more Uber drivers in 10 years, not less.” 

But drivers are worried. Michele Dottin is a longtime rideshare driver and the executive director for education at the Independent Drivers Guild. She doesn’t want to temper or collaborate on the robotaxi expansion—she wants to stop it. 

“How many hundreds of thousands of drivers are going to be out of work?” Dottin asks. “These vehicles won’t be buying food. They won’t be going to the grocery store or buying clothes. Not only does it affect our immediate economy, but it affects all the other industries that rely on people to go out and shop.” 

Dottin makes the comparison to the shift from in-person retail to e-commerce. Customers were told that the solution was more convenient. “How many teenagers used those jobs in the summer to make a little money? Now there’s nowhere for them to go,” Dottin says. The drivers Dottin has spoken to aren’t just worried about a loss of income—they’re also worried about a loss of “independence,” just like those retail workers now relegated to an Amazon warehouse. 

Lyft and Uber drivers operate in the gig economy, where their work is highly variable. According to a 2015 survey, 69% of Uber drivers had other part-time or full-time jobs—a number experts expect has increased in the proceeding decade. In high-cost New York City, the average Uber driver makes about $32 per hour, though their income varies based on the time and distances they drive, as well as how many rides they take on. 

Because of the variable market, Andrew Garin cautions against thinking of robotaxi replacement as job loss. Garin studies the gig economy as an assistant professor of economics at Carnegie Mellon University. His research demonstrates that ridesharing is not the primary job for most drivers. Drivers may not be losing their 9-to-5, but they could be losing an income stream. 

“It’s going to be hard to make the same living you did when there were great jobs waiting every second when you drop someone off,” Garin says. “So yes, it’s going to cut into that.” 

Lyft’s Driver Autonomous Forum isn’t going to change these market conditions. It won’t stop the shifting demands for a labor market already hit hard by COVID-19, and it won’t make sure high-tipping riders are always available for human drivers. But it will, at a minimum, hear them out. 

“We’re committed to managing this transition in a way that continues to support drivers who come to our platform and recognizes their enormous contributions,” Bird wrote. 

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