Uber, squeezed by insurance coverage, will increase minimal age for brand new drivers in California

Uber has raised the minimal age requirement for brand new rides-hailing drivers in California to 25 years outdated as a consequence of what it described as “baselessly greater” industrial insurance coverage prices within the state.

The brand new coverage will solely apply to new drivers planning to make use of the rideshare platform. Those that plan to make use of the app to make deliveries by Uber Eats solely have to be 19 years outdated. Any driver on the rideshare platform, who’s already accepted and underneath 25 years outdated can proceed to shuttle passengers, the corporate mentioned.

“California’s insurance coverage protection necessities for rideshare are baselessly greater than practically each different automotive on the street: as much as thirty instances that of taxis and thirty instances that of non-public automobiles,” an Uber spokesperson mentioned in an emailed assertion. “On account of these lopsided necessities, private harm attorneys have created a cottage trade specializing in suing rideshare platforms like ours, pushing Uber’s California state-mandated industrial insurance coverage prices to rise by greater than 65% in simply two years. By growing the age requirement for brand new drivers to 25, we hope to mitigate the expansion of these prices. We hope to work with lawmakers, coverage leaders, and trade consultants to debate legislative and regulatory adjustments that may enhance the expertise for all California drivers.”

Uber has mentioned that California laws for insuring industrial rideshare has pushed prices 10 instances greater than these required for taxis in Los Angeles and San Francisco.

Uber has differentiated itself from rival Lyft by sustaining a decrease minimal driving age the previous few years — a technique that widened its pool of obtainable drivers. In 2020, Lyft pushed its a minimal driving age to 25 years outdated in each U.S. state aside from New York, the place it’s nonetheless 19. Uber’s minimal age for drivers shuttling individuals is 21 years outdated in the remainder of the US.