BOSTON, MA – March 27, 2024 – A new survey of app-based rideshare and delivery drivers found that more than eight-in-ten Massachusetts drivers (85%) support a ballot question that would allow them to remain independent while receiving new benefits. The new survey, conducted by Beacon Research, also found that the same percentage of drivers, 85%, say passing a law to protect their status as independent contractors would be better for drivers like them. 

Other key findings from the study include: 

• 97% percent of app-based drivers say that having a flexible schedule is most important to them.  
• 96% want to maintain the ability to decline rides or delivery requests. 
• 81% want to continue being able to drive for multiple apps. 
• More than half of app-based drivers have significant caretaking responsibilities.  Among those:

• Almost 31% provide regular childcare; 
• 18% care for someone with frequent medical appointments; 
• About 15% care for someone with disabilities, and; 
• 11% provide eldercare. 

The driver-led push to protect independence continued at a recent Joint Committee on Initiative Petitions hearing where rideshare and delivery drivers, business associations, and community leaders testified in front of the special committee to ask for the freedom and flexibility that app-based drivers want. 

Lisa McRobbie, a delivery shopper with Instacart, resides in Chicopee and relies on driving to supplement her income. “My life has improved by being able to earn money on my own terms, and I found a work-life balance that we all strive for,” said McRobbie. “I deliver groceries and much-needed items to individuals and families throughout Western and Central Massachusetts. I have regular customers who are elderly or have disabilities, and they are dependent on me finding the time to get to them when they need me. The service that I provide is critical to these individuals and these communities, but it only works because of my independence and flexibility.”  

Jordan Hart, Executive Director at the Greater Holyoke Chamber of Commerce, resides in Holyoke and relies on app-based platforms to support her community. “Limiting the flexibility and control drivers have over their schedules will have tremendous effects on everyone in our region, beyond just drivers,” said Hart. “In a community with few transportation options, many members of the Holyoke community depend on rideshare to get where they need to: appointments, errands, family visits, and many more. Delivery services likewise have been a boon to restaurants and other small businesses in Holyoke, particularly during the pandemic. They helped us solve an immediate problem, and in the process established new perspectives and ideas that have helped entrepreneurial business owners in Holyoke survive and thrive.” 

The study, commissioned by Flexibility & Benefits for Massachusetts Drivers, draws on 2024 data provided by four rideshare and delivery network companies (DoorDash, Instacart, Lyft, and Uber). The analysis interviewed 411 active Massachusetts app-based drivers. No incentives for completing the survey were offered. 

Over the last three years, drivers have been seeking to preserve the flexibility they have enjoyed as independent contractors while gaining new benefits. The Flexibility & Benefits for Massachusetts Drivers coalition remains committed to securing the flexibility of app-based rideshare and delivery work to support the 85% of Massachusetts drivers who prefer to remain independent. Learn more at yesformassdrivers.org/. 

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Paid for by Flexibility and Benefits for Massachusetts Drivers 2024. Top contributors: Doordash, Inc., Lyft, Inc., Maplebear Inc. D/B/A Instacart, and Uber Technologies, Inc. For more information regarding contributors, go to www.ocpf.us