UBER BANNED IN TAMPA BAY

  Hopefully, this will force Uber to comply with all the Tampa Bay taxi regulations like getting commercial insurance for all cars, pay city taxes, DO REAL Background checks for drivers, do regular inspections on cars, stop lying to drivers about possible income, stop lying to customers about "tip is included policy", stop lowering rates on a whim with disregard for drivers livelihood, etc.

Hillsborough decides uber just like cabs


"TAMPA — Uber has lost a battle Wednesday in its fight for open competition on streets as Hillsborough County's Public Transportation Commission decides that the ride-sharing company is a taxi company and faces the same regulations as other such firms.

The hearing was a continuing appeal process of five tickets inspectors wrote to Uber drivers for two violations: operating a for-hire service without a proper permit, and allowing or causing drivers to operate a public for-hire vehicle without the proper driver's license, according to the Tampa Bay Times........"


>>> Please Read More


University of Tampa Bans Uber and Lyft because of students safety concerns.

and please watch this:

Taxi Driver on Uber and Lyft / Opinion

"The commission’s executives are continuing to negotiate with the ride-sharing businesses over ways to help them operate legitimately, and many of the key issues, including more thorough background checks, commercial insurance, vehicle inspections and whether the commission can impose pre-determined rates on rides, have been worked out."

Neither Uber nor Lyft want to communicate with PTC, why?
because 3-6 months from now, when they are going to be forced to accept conditions imposed on them by court, they also will be forced to raise the rates to compensate drivers for extra expenses like commercial insurance, city license, hack license, car inspections, etc.
............but,.......... by then , their market share in local personal transportation field will be substantially higher, build on $1.20 a mile rides they advertise now.
Needless to say, when they are going to rise rates, they also  will be blaming "bad" PTC for that, making uber look like "Robin Hood" company FORCED TO COMPLY WITH EVIL GOVERNMENT REGULATIONS.
............a cinderella, fighting "corrupted taxi cartels"........?   

picture by TBO.com

"Fight-between-hillsborough-and-ride-sharing-services-goes-up-a-notch

By Keith Morelli | TBO.com

TAMPA — The simmering feud between the agency that regulates cab and limousine services in Hillsborough County and a handful of upstart ride-sharing companies escalated Thursday when a Lyft driver refused to take a plea on a misdemeanor of driving a taxi without a license and demanded a jury trial.

Farhad Kazemi, 42, rejected a misdemeanor intervention program that could have resulted in a dismissal of the charges and said he wanted his case heard by a jury. Hillsborough County Judge Lawrence Lefler set a trial date of Oct. 20.

Another Lyft driver, Darrell Rogers, was scheduled to appear in court Thursday on similar charges but failed to appear. Lefler issued a warrant for his arrest.

The two are the first of nearly two dozen cases made by local transportation inspectors over the past two weeks that now are wending their way through county court. The court cases began after the Public Transportation Commission, which has been locked in a dispute with Uber and Lyft over what level of regulation the ride-sharing services should be subject to, set up an operation to cite the drivers.

“I guess it was a sting,” Public Transportation Commission Executive Director Kyle Cockream said of the operation that netted Kazemi and other ride-sharing drivers. “That’s the closest thing to describe it.”............"

>>>Read More