Uber Plays Stupid in Tampa Bay

Uber Plays Stupid in Tampa court hearing. "we don't use taxi meters, we just use "stupid" phones, which computes distance, time and price somewhere on servers in California and that's how drivers get paid and customers get charged" ..................IS THIS FOR REAL?  ..........DO UBER THINK, THAT PEOPLE IN FLORIDA ARE STUPID?

picture by techcrunch.com

Uber-and-Ptc-square-off-before-hearing-officer-over-tickets

"...............Much of Monday's hearing centered around determining if a smartphone app can be considered a meter. If so, regulators argued Uber's drivers are operating in the same fashion as cab drivers, and thus subject to the same rules. But Uber representative Matthew Gore, general manager in Florida, said the rate is calculated by an algorithm on the their servers in California, not in the app.

"The vehicles are not taxicabs, and there is no meter installed," Gore said after Monday's hearing. "It's a new category of service that the regulators never wrote into their laws."............"

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Uber Taxi in London and Florida?

Guess what, Uber is flinching when black cabs of London go on strike,- instead 20% of Uber preset taxi rate, they ask from black taxis for only %5 of the meter as a "taxi booking fee".

Crashing Cabbies: Las Vegas, Nevada by Sasha

Taxi Cab Crashes into Garage at Fashion Show Mall

Stories and news articles on taxicabs are about awkward passengers, sticky situations; For the most part, it is rare that taxi drivers make headline news for their indiscretions or odd behavior. However, one taxicab driver in Las Vegas, Nevada managed to change the way in which people look at the expectations of a cab driver.
Shopping malls across America are filled with people shuffling around looking for the best bargains or the newest trends to hit the market. The parking lot is filled with cars smashed into tiny spaces; or taxi cabs lurking around searching for a passenger, picking up lunch, or simply running the meter while their customer is inside exchanging an expensive ugly sweater they got as a gift.

Fashion Show Malls

Fashion Show mall is another typical shopping mall in Las Vegas, Nevada and on April 11th, 2013, the stores were filled with people, cars were parked like sardines in the lot, and cab drivers did their normal run. However, an unidentified cabbie drove his taxi into the wall of the parking garage instead of fulfilling. According to investigators, the driver was taken to the hospital with serious injuries and yet there was no particular reason reported for the single-car crash.
Although the story is quite disturbing, it leads to the question of whether or not taxi drivers are held to a different standard because they are supposed to be the levelheaded ringleader. Whether or not the driver intentionally drove his (or her) car into the wall is irrelevant. In specific professions, there are standards that allow no room for human error. For example, patients in the medical profession hold their doctors and nurses to the highest regards, and students in a classroom think their teachers know everything and they expect to learn everything their teacher knows.
When these professionals make a mistake, it does not stop people from going to the doctor or to school; it just makes them more cautious. Is this accident going to make people at Fashion Show mall stop riding in a taxicab? Probably not, however, it will allow them to make a change in how they perceive their driver. It does not matter what their ethnicity, race, religion, or gender is. What matters is that they can drive and they know the difference between a cement wall and a paved road.

Credit Card Surcharge on Taxi Fares in Florida

By BR

It became legal for cab drivers in Florida and other 40 States to charge customers up to %4 extra of the meter if they decide to pay with credit card.
Great news for cab drivers and not so good for riders, but then again, some passengers pretend that they don't know how to use credit card applications and conveniently skip tipping procedures without asking a cab driver how to do it.
Sure guys, Tipping is a city in China, your grandpa was Kunta and I owe you until I die, even though we look alike and your skin is whiter.
.....Just because I came off the boat 25 years ago and I have an accent??!!
WTF?
I tip anybody and everybody who provides me with any kind of services in this country.
If I can not afford to tip, I either don't use their services or at least try to behave like human being and be thankful for helping me.
Next time you get your drunk ass in the cab to take you home, be thankful too and tip the driver, even if you pay with credit card, or even more so........


ABC News