LOS ANGELES - July 25, 2019 - For several months noted political analyst and media commentator Earl Ofari Hutchinson stepped out of his role and drove for Lyft and Uber. His aim was to take a hard, first-hand, insider's look at the workings of the rideshare business and the clash between the two rideshare companies, its drivers, the unions and some cities and states. What better way to do that than to be an actual rideshare driver. In his explosive new book, Behind the Wheel: An Insider's Look at Uber and Lyft, Hutchinson provides the first concise and detailed, up close and in person look at Uber and Lyft from within and without.

Coming: A Powerful YouTube Expose Documentary

Behind the Wheel: An Insider's Look at Uber and Lyft

Hutchinson has also produced a gripping YouTube Documentary on his experiences inside the world of Uber and Lyft. Cameras follow him around for a day while he discusses his first-hand personal experiences and observations about the inner workings of Uber and Lyft.

Hutchinson notes, "From almost the moment I started driving for Lyft I began a running conversation with its support staff. One issue was there continually sending me warnings that I was cancelling too many rides. I asked one question. "Am I an independent contractor or not?" If so, then as an independent contractor I had the right to set my own hours, my pay, and equally important I had the right to cancel passengers that I chose to cancel without their threats. If I didn't have that right then I was in effect an employee, not an independent contractor. "

Hutchinson drove hundreds of passengers, heard their stories and complaints, and praise. He wrestled with the labyrinth of rules and regulations Uber and Lyft slap on their drivers. He challenged Uber and Lyft officials in internal discussion over their practices, policies and operations.

"Uber and Lyft CEOS in response to pressure to classify their drivers as employees have promised a grab bag of changes," says Hutchinson," such as new driver associations with greater say so for the drivers in their work, better pay, and more benefits. But a careful read of their promises showed that these were little more than vague talking points. There was not one specific proposal on the one issue that mattered most to drivers: their rate of pay."

In Behind the Wheel: An Insider's Look at Uber and Lyft, Hutchinson shares his many amusing and harried personal anecdotes of his experiences with the company and passengers. The experience was filled with joy, frustration, anger and awe at the best and worst of the world of the gig economy, with Uber and Lyft at its center. This is the world that he reveals in Behind the Wheel: An Insider's Look at Uber and Lyft.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1082204374

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Earl Ofari Hutchinson