Uber
- Thread starter Gonolz
- Start date
Technically not allowed, but be discreet and no glass bottles and there are never any issues.
My son is home from FSU for the summer, and he has an erratic schedule. I told him that driving for Uber would be a great summer job. He scoffed. I told him then he should call some day labor companies.
I don't think the taxis are priced so high due to regulations, I think it's their monopoly power / in tight with the cities. I used to take cabs a lot and I remember being shocked at how much the drivers had to pay the cab companies per day.
I don't think the taxis are priced so high due to regulations, I think it's their monopoly power / in tight with the cities. I used to take cabs a lot and I remember being shocked at how much the drivers had to pay the cab companies per day.
The regulations exist to maintain those monopolies.
Obviously the politicians and existing companies tout safety, or some other justification, but in the end folks are agreeing to hop in an Uber cab with a stranger and all the (alleged) danger.
Uber, by making their licensing/guild system irrelevant is a threat to those interests.
When rent seeking earns companies and government agencies millions, and politicians get hundreds of thousands of dollars back in campaign contributions, I'm surprised they're not dragging Uber cabbies out of their cars and clubbing them in the streets yet.
You know, to keep us safe.
It may be completely true that laws existed to protect them to some degree. Still doesn't mean it makes sense to have two sets of rules.
Honestly it's better for us to remove the regs altogether and let them compete.
Honestly it's better for us to remove the regs altogether and let them compete.
Until an Uber driver gets into an accident injuring you, the passenger, and his/her insurance company denies coverage because he is an Uber driver and there is a policy exclusion for common carriers. Then you are left trying to squeeze blood from an uninsured Uber driver.
Please note I did not say they shouldn't be regulated. I simply said maybe none of them should be. My point is simply that there is no logical reason for different rules.
I think the main issue for some counties is the middle level of that illustration. The first part makes total sense. The last part is logical and likely consistent with common carrier insurance requirements. But that middle part basically says that while drivers are moving around waiting on a trip there is only 100k of insurance guaranteed. That's quite an insurance gap when drivers have only 100k in coverage or their carriers deny coverage. I also note the language is interesting. Upon acceptance there is 1M in third party liability coverage. Does that mean the same things as "injury total" in the middle box? I suspect it does, but I don't know why they would use different language. That begs for disputes.
I think the main issue for some counties is the middle level of that illustration. The first part makes total sense. The last part is logical and likely consistent with common carrier insurance requirements. But that middle part basically says that while drivers are moving around waiting on a trip there is only 100k of insurance guaranteed. That's quite an insurance gap when drivers have only 100k in coverage or their carriers deny coverage. I also note the language is interesting. Upon acceptance there is 1M in third party liability coverage. Does that mean the same things as "injury total" in the middle box? I suspect it does, but I don't know why they would use different language. That begs for disputes.
I dont use taxi or uber but I have been following this whole thing for a while.... Taxi unions have been blasting Uber...as you would expect...they have really showed their clout in some areas... They have also done a great job in getting negative articles and misinformation out everywhere. Even the whole...they dont have insurance thing when you are in the car came from the Taxi backers... I spoke with a taxi driver the other day about this.... he had every negative story you could come up with including no insurance and no regulations. He then was talking about how it was harder to make money in Tampa than St. Pete because St. Pete has no taxi regulations so it was easier to work. I then asked what is the difference between St. Pete and Uber... He had no response.
It should be interesting to see how this plays out but I can see the Government getting involved to protect their local and federal interest $$$....
It should be interesting to see how this plays out but I can see the Government getting involved to protect their local and federal interest $$$....
Tipping on UberX is common practice. I'm sure drivers do look down on you if you don't tip. See below for why.
This is not true. TIP IS NOT INCLUDED.
It should be noted that there are different types of uber. UberBlack and UberSUV are commercially licensed drivers in black SUVs or towncars and the rates are higher than taxi. For these ubers only, you can set your Uber account (through the app) to automatically add a certain percentage to the total fare as a tip.
The most commonly used Uber, is called UberX and that is the service where non-commerically licensed drivers drive their own cars, take on incredible risk, pay all their expenses and IC taxes and get paid absolute chit by Uber. The rate for uberX in most cities is $1 or less per mile. Uber takes an automatic $1 + 20% off the total fare. So if you paid the minimum fare for a short ride of $4, the driver will only receive $2.20 for that ride. Also, keep in mind the federal government says, on average, expenses will be about $.56 per mile. Ergo, uberX drivers make about 24 CENTS PER MILE. Oh, and supposedly, tip is included in that amount.
If you have a conscience, you will tip handsomely whenever you take an uberX ride (I give at least $5 tip and more on longer rides).
Colorado has regulated and legalized what they call On-Demand Ride Share services (Uber and Lyft). They require the drivers to pass a DOT physical and require all uber and lyft cars to be inspected by a state-licensed mechanic.
They don't require any further licensing requirements, in the name of passenger safety, because, unlike taxi, uber and lyft have a record of the ride and who the passenger is and who the driver is in case something criminal happens. Taxis do not provide that record and therefore are more heavily regulated in an attempt to protect consumers. Uber and Lyft can not take street-hails like a taxi can.
It's a small distinction but one that the Colorado legislature has used to justify having two different sets of criteria for everyone.
For all the uproar over the TPD not spending any time trying to identify the cab driver that Winston, Kinsman, et al took home that night (surely more like finding a needle in a haystack than what the critics want you to believe), if they had taken an Uber, the detectives would have easily tracked down the driver and debunked a big part of Erica's story right away, because there would have been a data record of the event. This, of course, is assuming Erica wouldn't have purposely misled the police about the identity of her attacker when she clearly knew him by name, or at least his roommate by name, the night of the event.
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