App-based drivers for companies including Uber, Lyft plan strike at DIA Saturday

Denver-area app-based drivers will strike at DIA on Saturday, the Communications Workers of America announced Friday. 

The drivers for companies, such as Uber, Lyft and Doordash, will go on a four-hour strike on Saturday, a big holiday travel day, to demand more pay, transparency and an end to discriminatory deactivations, the labor group said. 

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The drivers will strike at the Denver International Airport Commercial Lot from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

"As inflation and gas prices are rising, independent drivers are struggling to make ends meet," the union said. "Some companies, such as Uber and Lyft, have been sure to take advantage of drivers and the public by raising prices for rides and taking an ever increasing portion of the drivers' fares." 

Members of Colorado Independent Drivers United are demanding a max take rate of 25% of driver fares, a $2 gas surcharge per ride, an end to what the group described as discriminatory deactivations, and enforcement of the TNC Act of 2014.

CWA said the TNC Act of 2014 gives the Colorado Public Utilities Commission the ability to "expose" how companies formulate fares to the public, but it has yet to be enforced.  

CWA said some drivers have seen "well above 50%" of their fare going to the company they drive for. They also said that delivery drivers for companies, such as Doordash, do not provide any transparency about location or amount of money they will receive when accepting a trip.

Driver Hamouda Ahmed said the companies need to "go back to the way it was" — meaning the company takes 25% of the ride payment and the driver takes 75%. 

In response, an Uber spokesperson said the claim about Uber's high take rate is not true.

"Not only do drivers receive the fare and destination information upfront before they accept a trip, but earnings for the drivers in Colorado are some of the highest in the country," the Uber spokesperson said. 

According to Uber data, the company's average take rate on rides is 19.2%. 

The Uber spokesperson also said a newly passed rideshare insurance law, which requires Uber and other rideshare companies to pay, increased ride costs. 

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Ahmed claimed Uber trusts customers but not drivers. Ahmed said the company does not do anything to turn a driver's app back on because of a consumer complaint even if they have taken thousands of rides. 

According to the Uber website, deactivations are temporary and usually have to do with account eligibility or a report investigation. Other deactivations, the company says, result from safety issues, fraud, discrimination or persistently low ratings. 

The Uber spokesperson said that, in accordance with local laws, drivers can choose to install and use a dashcam to record rides in the event that something goes wrong, and Uber will review the footage and take action consistent with its guidelines and terms of use.

Lyft and Doordash did not respond to the Denver Gazette's request for comment.