Uber,- Insurance and Integrity Problems

Uber is up to it's old tricks again, advertising 'facts' that are not even close to being 100% factual. In this case Uber claims that they perform background checks that exceed the checks performed by conventional taxi companies, and they also  claim to have 1 million dollar per incident liability insurance. A recent NBC investigative report from a San Francisco TV station exposes the fallacy of these claims.

  It turns out that when you ride in an Uber car, you are typically not covered at all, neither by the drivers personal insurance nor by any insurance whatsoever from Uber. If you incur any injury while riding, or crashing, in an Uber car, you or your family will be stuck paying the entire medical bill yourself. This type of expense, potentially hundreds of thousands of dollars, could of course bankrupt even a well to do person. 

The insurance that private drivers carry does not cover the car, or the driver, if the car is being used professionally to provide transportation for hire. This kind of coverage requires commercial insurance, the type required by law in conventional taxi's and limo services. This commercial insurance is
significantly more costly than standard personal coverage, and to purchase this kind of insurance would render the driving of an Uber car economically unfeasible.

As for Ubers claim regarding extremely thorough criminal background checks, it seems that Uber is not being totally honest with their claims in this area either. They are clearly not more exhaustive than those required for legitimate taxi companies, and there is some question as to whether Uber performs any criminal background checks at all. NBC reports that they found drivers with criminal histories not only in San Francisco, but also in LA and Chicago. These drivers, some of whom were still on probation, had past convictions that include burglary, assault, and drug trafficking charges.  NBC even went as far as to have undercover felons apply for employment, and Uber hired them without question.

 Given these facts, I would not want my wife, child, or other loved ones to ride in an uninsured car
with a convicted felon which may very well be the case with an Uber ride. I'll stick with the traditional taxi companies who are required, by law,  to have proper insurance and also required by law to conduct a thorough background check performed by an accredited agency.

The truth about UBER,- video

Four Myth’s That Uber is Spreading

Myth #1 – Uber is a Tech company

Uber is nothing more than a new way to dispatch taxi cabs. All of the “ride sharing” propaganda is just that;the fact is when you order a ride for an agreed upon price to a specific destination, you are acting as a taxi cab. Simply calling your taxi service a “ride sharing service” does not make it  a new and revolutionary product. As the classical wisdom says “ If it looks like a duck, and quacks like a duck” then it is most likely a duck. Uber’s claim to be a tech company providing a software service is just a very transparent attempt by the billion dollar company to avoid acting like a responsible business instead of a shifty, fly by night outfit. Uber is using this flimsy excuse to bilk local governments out of millions of dollars in revenue while lining their own pockets with Billions of dollars in ill-gotten profits. One day soon the hand of fate will deal the crushing blow to Uber, and I for one think it will be fitting and proper when it does finally happen! Uber has been making profit at the expense of honest, hard workibg people long enough and it is high time that it stops.

Myth#2- Uber and it’s drivers carry adequate insurance

Time and time again Uber drivers have been involved in accidents, including accidents that involve serious injuries and deaths, and Uber has consistently denied any responsibility or liability in these cases. Their claim of fully insured cars and drivers have been proven false time and time again as Uber drivers are involved in accidents and left to fend for themselves when it is time to appear in court. More than one Uber driver has had their lives ruined because of the company’s refusal to stand behind their drivers when the chips are down. A drivers personal insurance will not cover any injury or damage that occurs to the driver, his car, or the other party’s car or occupants because their personal policy specifically excludes any situations where the car is being used for commercial purposes. This has been the unanimous opinon of every sing insurance company involved in such a case, and has also been unanimously upheld by every court these cases have come before. Once again, it is the driver, and sometimes the other party’s in the accident, that end up paying the sometimes heavy price for Uber’s total disregard for decent and responsible corporate behavior. If you drive for, or ride in, an Uber car you are taking a very serious risk that could result in millions of dollars of debt as well as serious personal injury or even death. Do not be mislead by the outright falsification Uber presents regard the insurance issue, they have proven over and over again that they do not stand behind anyone and are only out to make a quick , and dishonest dollar.

Myth#3- Taxi laws do not apply to Uber ?

 – Despite Ubers claims of “not being in the transportation business” , and thus exempt to the rules and regulations governing the taxi industry, lawmakers across the country are realizing exactly what Uber is up to and are enacting laws to force Uber to play fairly.The fact is that Abe Lincoln was right when he said “ You can fool all of the people some of the time, or you can fool some of the people all of the time, but YOU CAN’T FOOL ALL OF THE PEOPLE ALL OF THER TIME. Uber has been playing their little game of legal cat and mouse for too long and in too many places and their house of cards is begging to rapidly fall. In the end of course it will be the drivers who suffer for Uber’s reprehensible tactics, just as it always has been their drivers who bear the brunt of the punishment for Uber’s transgressions. This abhorable, cheating organization will get what it deserves in the end, of that we can be certain.

Myth#4-  Uber drivers are thoroughly screened ?

- Murders, rapists, and undesirables of every description have been able to find employment with Uber. Apparently Uber’s “thorough screening” process is just like their “adequate insurance coverage”, a deliberate and brazen lie concocted to allow them to take unfair advantage of the legitimate, established taxi and limo companies by usurping the spirit, and the letter, of  local laws and regulations. Little, if any, screening of applicant is done, and certainly nothing even close to the rigorous and thorough legal screening required for taxi companies in virtually every municipality in America. If you are a shady character with a long criminal history, you need look no farther than Uber for your next job. Uber drivers have been accused, and convicted, of every crime you can think of, including sexual offenses, assault, and even murder. The shame of it is that it is Uber’s unsuspecting customers that ultimately pay the price for Uber’s disregard for their safety.

UberX expanding its operation to Toronto Canada on pile of BS and Lies

Well it looks like Uber is continuing their expansion  policy, this time riding their magic carpet of lies and deceit into the beautiful Canadian city of Toronto, Ontario. Toronto is the largest city in Canada, and is also the provincial capital of Ontario. Now it is the arena where an oft repeated scam is about to unfold.

Using the all too familiar practice of paving their way into a new city with an onslaught of bogus claims and false advertising, Uber hopes to exploit the good people and local government of Toronto as it has across the United States and much of Canada. Grossly exaggerated claims of income, and outright lies regarding safety concerns and insurance policies are being proffered in Toronto as a matter of policy.  Uber has been using this method of moving into cities for several years now and they have refined the process into a highly effective one; They lur in hundreds of drivers with their unsubstantiated claims of outrageous earnings and low hours, while at the same time placating the local government with empty promises about safety and insurance concerns. It is a strategy that has served them well, and the billion dollar industry that has sprung up in their wake is motivating other illegal and unsafe copycat organazations. Lyft and Sidecar are two such outfits, and they invariably follow Uber when Uber infects a new city much like jackals follow lions to share in their kill. It is only a matter of time before honest, hard working drivers in the Toronto area start to come forward with stories of how Ubers dishonest and illegal practices have left the without a car, a job, or even a place to live. Uber drivers who are involved in accidents often lose their car, go deeply into debt after being sued, and are unable to find work as a result of their damaged driving record. Uber tells prospective drivers that they will be fully insured and that their lives and their personal safety are priorities at Uber, only to find that these are absolute falsehoods and that Ubers only true priority is the almighty dollar. Ubers rise from obscurity to fabulous wealth has been paid for by the pain and misery of the very employees that made that success possible. By the time the Toronto authorities catch on to Ubers treachery and finally put a stop to it, many hundreds of people will have had their lives irreversibly ruined as a result of choosing to drive for these scoundrels.

Uber drivers are not the only group to suffer as a result of Ubers abhorable practices; due to weak, and often non-existance criminal  background checks, the general population will be at risk as they get into cars being driven by drug dealers, thieves, even murderers and rapists. Innocent consumers, who’s only crime has been to use a new and purportedly safe alternative to traditional transportation options have suffered pain, financial harm, and even death due to Ubers lack of social responsibility and professional ethics. While they are claiming in their current publicity blitz to conduct background screening that exceeds industry standards as well as Toronto licensing requirements, the fact is Uber will hire virtually anyone with a drivers license and a car that runs.

If you are a professional driver in Toronto and you are being tempted by all of the smoke and mirrors of the current Uber recruiting drive, please do yourself a favor and look for employment instead at legitimate taxi and limo companies. These companies are regulated by the local Toronto municipal and civic codes, and are much more reliable and conscientious than Uber. They provide their drivers with safe, insured, company owned taxis and they insure both the car and the driver at all times. Of course, if you are a criminal, or have a poor driving record and a history of safety violations, you may want to consider working for Uber or one of the other ride-share outfits  because you will not be able to pass the criminal background check nor meet the high standards that the legal, conventional transportation companies adhere to.  Uber is setting up shop in Toronto, and if past experience is any teacher, there are going to be a lot of disappointed drivers and eventually a lot of outraged citizens and lawmakers that will soon see that Uber is not playing fair. The world is becoming increasingly aware that these ride-share scams are just that, scams, and are not living up to their promises, and are once again lying and cheating their way to financial success. Don’t be fooled, don’t become a pawn in this tragic game of bait and switch. Whether you are a driver or a customer, the hidden risk that lies behind the whole ride sharing concept is simply too big of an issue to ignore just to save a little bit of time or money;in the long run, you may lose in a big way

Marco Rubio (R): Screw Florida cab drivers, I Like UBER

(R) Marco Rubio: screw Florida cab and limo drivers, let the big corporations like Uber or Lyft  with heavy backing from venture capital take over personal transportation market in US, Europe, Australia, Mars, etc, and make all the transactions go through ONE company...........isn't this a corporate monopoly at birth?
.......something like all those small mom and pop hardware stores were put out of business by Home Depot few decades ago or like Walmart put out of business small manufacturing companies around US in name of "lowering customer prices"...!!?? yeah, right.

Decades later, we know results, China and Walton family are getting richer, employees at Walmart are collecting all kind of governmental support (at cost to tax payers) because they can not afford to live on $8.00 an hour and we as customers are forced to buy cheap Sh^%$ made in China, which falls apart after 2 weeks of using it..........

picture by UsNews.com

"Why Marco Rubio's Embracing Uber

The hip-hop listening, Netflix-watching Florida GOPer aligns himself with another hip, tech-driven company.

Sen. Marco Rubio was looking to score a quick ride in Miami, but when he tapped his white Uber button on his smartphone, the Florida Republican came up empty.

“I was bragging to someone about this service in Washington and I clicked onto my app … and up comes a message saying, ‘Sorry we can’t pick you up in Miami because the county commission won’t allow it,’” he recalled. 

That incident was the impetus for Rubio's Monday visit to Uber’s Washington headquarters, where he used the struggle of a growing and fashionable tech company to underscore his case concerning overburdensome regulations.

“We should never allow government power and government regulations to be used to protect an establishment incumbent industry at the expense of an innovative competitor,” he said.


Operating in 37 U.S. cities, Uber is a transportation company that allows a customer to order a taxi, town car or SUV to a specific location with just a click of a phone app. All transactions are paperless and tips are included in the fee. The service quickly gained popularity in Washington due to frustration with the lack of available cabs in certain parts of the city and the inability to pay with credit or debit cards......."

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When Is a Taxi Not a Taxi? Uber fights to change Taxi industry perception forever

When Is a Taxi Not a Taxi?

The new car service company Uber exposes the idiocy of American cities’ cab regulations.

Uber is a company that’s exciting, innovative, useful, and arguably shouldn’t exist at all. It is a solution to a ridiculous problem created by cartels and overregulation.

“I wanted to be able to press a button and get a classy ride,” explained CEO Travis Kalanick when I asked him to describe Uber’s origin story to me at a launch event for its D.C. branch on Wednesday. So last year Kalanick, Oscar Salazar, and Garrett Camp founded a company originally known as UberCab in San Francisco.

The original name made perfect sense, since at root what Uber provides is a taxi service. Just about every major city in America has, in addition to its heavily regulated cab drivers, a largish fleet of private sedan drivers who do things like take businessmen on pre-arranged drives to and from airports. These limo services generally feature nicer cars, higher prices, and—crucially—different moments of peak demand. Car services get a lot of business weekday mornings, and to a lesser extent in the afternoon rush hour. But very few business travelers need a ride from the airport late on a Friday or Saturday night, which is the time lots of drunk young people want a ride home or maybe to a different bar.

These are two fairly distinct market segments. Airplanes take off and land at defined.........

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P.s.

Warning to Uber and Lyft drivers

"Uber Destroyed My Life

I was looking for a way to generate some extra income to supplement my veteran pension, give me something to do with my spare time, and most importantly help make the $409/month payments on my 2013 Chrysler 300. I saw an ad from Uber guaranteeing a very lucrative job as well as great working conditions and a secure future. I hired on as an Uber driver and at first everything they claimed seemed to be mostly true. I was earning decent money (though not as much as their ads promised) and was getting plenty of work. All was good until one day I became involved in an accident. It was only then that I discovered that my personal liability insurance did not cover me because my car was being used for commercial purposes. Uber’s mythical “1 million dollar liability coverage” only covered Uber, not me or my car. I am now being sued by the other driver’s insurance company for thousands of dollars and my smashed Chrysler 300 sits in a junk yard racking up storage fees. On top of all of this, no traditional taxi companies will touch me now because of the accident on my driving record.
I was only trying to earn an honest extra income and now I have no car, just the $409/month payments and a huge pending lawsuit. None of this would have happened if I had been working for a legitimate taxi company that is required by law to provide both a car and commercial insurance for their drivers. If only I had known then what I know now. Uber is a lying, dishonest company that does not give a damn about their drivers and is only out to make a dishonest buck.DO NOT WORK FOR UBER OR THIS MAY HAPPEN TO YOU LIKE IT DID TO ME! "

Glory Days in Tampa Bay taxi / limo industry

Super Bowl Gives Florida Operators Big Boost

TAMPA, Fla. — Super Bowl XLIII in Tampa had the potential to be a true shot in the arm for limousine operators and transportation companies in the Tampa and Orlando metro markets.

But as the big game approached, events began to vanish. Playboy and Sports Illustrated canceled their annual parties while many corporate events were scaled down. The economic downturn was extending its reach to America’s favorite pastime.

So with all of the festivities now over, how exactly did the event turn out for operators?

Marcos Lopez, owner of Tampa-based Embassy Limousines and Sedan Service, said the Super Bowl was an overwhelming success. Lopez normally runs 19 vehicles in his fleet. He supplemented it with six additional rented SUVs and brought in 13 additional vehicles from out of town affiliates (Ft. Lauderdale and Orlando).

“We went after the corporate business early and got a good portion of our business months before the event,” explained Lopez. “The Super Bowl hasn’t been a stretch limousine event in the past couple of years. Stretch limousines were the last thing for us to book. The corporate.......>>>

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Taxi and Limo Insurance for Saint Petersburg, Tampa, Clearwater, Sarasota

White Hoskins Cook Insurance Agency is an independent Insurance Agency, founded in 1956. With over 55 years of experience, we are committed to finding the best insurance solutions for you, your family, and your business. White Hoskins Cook Agency is located in St Petersburg, Florida and services Florida's Sun Coast.....


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