Nashville rideshare drivers strike for change and better wages
By Kim Rafferty
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NASHVILLE, Tennessee (WTVF) — Drivers turned their rideshare signals off and turned their hazard lights and horns on causing some traffic backups in downtown. These rideshare drivers drove in a loop through CMA Award activities and voiced their issues with rideshare services in Nashville.
Monique McClain is a leader in the group called the Tennessee Driver’s Union. She said she’s driven for Uber going on six years, and she wants to see change.
“We are not here to disrupt. We are not here to be rude. We are here to let you know that we are here,” said McClain. “We are asking that our state says ‘no’ to out-of-state drivers and give us some more options as far as the airport and the accessibility to pickup downtown.”
Several states require rideshare drivers to have a driver’s license in the state where they operate. She said the law keeps rideshare drivers from traveling to another state to work.
Monique said it also costs more for her to pick people up at the airport.
“The airport charges a fee each time whether you are Uber, Lyft or a commercial driver. They charge you $2 every time you go out there,” said McClain.
She said picking up riders downtown backs up traffic and causes safety concerns for riders.
“We want to speak with the city to say give us some type of area, central location, where we can pick up people and we are out we are not going to hog up the downtown,” said McClain.
Monique said rideshare services make up a big part of Nashville and its tourism. She hopes rideshare companies will also listen.
“We are asking that Uber reassess the fees and not penalize us because we are penalized when we don’t take those rides,” said McClain.
The Mayor’s office met with the group after a previous rideshare strike last fall.
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