Some regulators are cracking down on Uber and Lyft drivers who carry regular personal auto insurance instead of proper rideshare insurance. On paper, it sounds like a safety issue. In practice, it makes no sense — because Uber and Lyft already insure every single ride from the moment a driver accepts it to the moment the passenger gets out.

What just happened in Winnipeg

This month, Manitoba Public Insurance revealed that roughly 3,000 Winnipeg rideshare drivers were temporarily halted between February and August of this year for operating without proper vehicle-for-hire coverage. Some drivers had signed up for rideshare insurance to get approved on the apps, then quietly switched back to basic personal coverage while continuing to drive. The insurer called it a crackdown on drivers dodging their fair share of premiums.

It is a real problem — drivers gaming the system should face consequences. But the bigger question nobody is asking is why the burden keeps landing on the driver instead of the billion-dollar platform.

Rideshare insurance already covers the ride

Here is how rideshare insurance actually works. When a driver accepts a ride and heads to the pickup — and all the way through drop-off — Uber and Lyft are required to carry up to $1 million in primary liability coverage. That is the law in state after state. The company’s policy is the one on the hook, not the driver’s personal policy.

The gap regulators point to is the waiting period: when the app is on but no ride has been accepted yet. During that window, the company’s rideshare insurance drops to much lower contingent limits, and personal auto policies typically exclude anything commercial. That gap is real. But notice who gets squeezed to close it — the driver, not the company.

The driver’s math does not work

Rideshare companies take around 25 to 30 percent of every fare, plus booking fees off the top. What is left for the driver has to cover gas, oil changes, tune-ups, brakes, tires, and depreciation — the full cost of running a car as a taxi. Drivers routinely report netting just a few dollars on short trips once everything is accounted for. Studies of driver earnings have repeatedly found the margins razor thin, with a significant share of drivers barely breaking even.

Now add a rideshare insurance endorsement or a commercial policy on top of that. For a driver clearing a few dollars a trip, a higher premium is not a minor expense — it is the difference between the gig being worth it and not. Every new rideshare insurance mandate aimed at drivers is a pay cut by another name.

The companies admit insurance is expensive — for them

Uber itself has complained loudly about rideshare insurance costs. The company says mandated insurance eats up roughly a third of every fare in places like upstate New York and New Jersey, and pushed hard in California to slash required uninsured-motorist coverage from $1 million down to $60,000 per person. It won that fight last year.

Think about what that means. When insurance costs pinch Uber, Uber lobbies to lower the requirements. When regulators want more coverage, the cost gets pushed onto individual drivers through endorsements and crackdowns. The platform always finds a way to make it somebody else’s bill.

Close the rideshare insurance gap without breaking the driver

Nobody is arguing that cars operating as taxis should be uninsured. The waiting-period gap is legitimate, and passengers deserve protection. But there are ways to close it that do not punish the person behind the wheel: require the platforms to extend full coverage from the moment the app turns on, or subsidize the rideshare insurance endorsement for active drivers. Uber and Lyft built a business on other people’s cars — the least they can do is insure the whole shift.

Until then, every crackdown that targets drivers over rideshare insurance instead of the platform is just another hand in an already nearly empty pocket.