Drew Wilson
The Florida Taxicab Association announced in a Monday email that it had released its second ad attacking ride-sharing companies such as Uber and Lyft for their “lax driver background check procedures.”
“The release comes just hours after a bombshell news report by BuzzFeed that leaked internal documents from Uber show the company may have over 6,000 rape complaints, 5,827 sexual assault complaints and a policy that advises customer service reps handling non-consensual sexual contact cases to ‘determine media interest’ before taking more serious action,” the email states.
“The Florida Taxicab Association believes all vehicle for hire drivers, whether they be taxi, rideshare, or Transportation Network Company (TNC) drivers should be required to pass a Level II background check that includes fingerprinting and Uber drivers should be required to have adequate insurance 24/7.”
The email points readers to a webpage, whosdrivingyou.org, that features a repository of newspaper reports from around the country on ride-sharing assaults, kidnappings and murders. Many of the same headlines pop up in the video.
“It’s hard to imagine some of these stories could be true,” the ad narrator states as headlines scroll across the screen. “There’s no way all these stories are true. Are they?”
The FTA email said its “Make Ridesharing Safer” ad will air in the Tallahassee and Orlando markets, which will put it up against Uber’s own ad, also announced Monday, pushing for a Senate vote on the House ridesharing bill.
