Email insights: Uber wants you to have a really great night for Valentine’s Day

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  Bob Howard

  February 11, 2015 at 3:18 pm

  I’m Perplexed!There seems to be a great deal of confusion and misinformation when it comes to the taxi industry (and the transportation industry in general),Uber, Lyft and similar companies, as well as, with those governing bodies who regulate the transportation industry within certain counties in Florida. With this being said, I’ve decided to try and help clear up some of this confusion while trying to help all of those concerned to better understand the industry as a whole.For the purposes of this letter, I’ll be referring to Uber, Lyft, Sidecar and any other similar companies as TSPs, Transportation Service Providers, since this is what they actually are.Yes, I am a taxi driver and, yes, I have issues with these TSPs, but, for the most part, not for the reasons you might think.First of all, even though these TSPs claim that they are “technology companies” and not “transportation companies”, they are, in fact, TRANSPORTATION SERVICES PROVIDERS. They provide a service in which customers can order transportation and the companies get paid for the usage of this service. Granted, they do not have a local call center, but they are still connecting customers with drivers. THAT IS A SERVICES PROVIDER! That is exactly what all taxi companies do. The key difference is that most taxi companies (including various other forms of transportation companies), have local call centers where you are able to talk to a live operator. Many of these local companies also have mobile apps where you can order your transportation just like you do with the TSPs and some even have the capability to receive text transportation orders. Where the TSPs only have the mobile app services.It can be worded any way you so choose, spin it as you will. … it’s providing transportation services to the general public. The drivers preform for-hire services on behalf of the customers and the companies they are affiliated (or contracted) with. If these TSPs were merely technology companies, then there would be a flat fee charged for the app paid by the customers and/or the drivers (ya know, just like almost every other app or software companies does). If they are merely providing an app, they would not be requiring basic background checks, drug screening, some basic vehicle inspections and providing extra insurance coverage.Technology companies for the transportation industry such as cabmate, MTDATA, PC dispatch and etc do not require background checks and drug screenings nor do they provide umbrella insurance policies. Neither do taxi magic and various other companies like it, which are app based companies where customers can order a cab from their smart phone. (When a cab company contracts with these companies)True technology companies like those listed above charge the cab companies a fee for their products and some charge monthly fees for support, but they do not charge the drivers percentage of every call they run like these TSPs do.Taxi magic and other apps like it do charge the cab companies a fee or a portion of the credit card charges, but they do not contract with drivers to provide the services, instead cab companies use these apps to help service their customers. Again, these true technology companies do not require background checks, drug screens, vehicle inspections and they do no provide insurance coverage for the drivers and passengers. Why? Because they are true technology companies. These companies either contract with legitimate companies or their programs/apps are purchased by legitimate transportation companies. The transportation companies (taxi companies) and/or the counties/cities where transportation services are regulated are the ones who not only require very stringent background checks, but also require drug screenings, vehicle inspections and high levels of continuous insurance coverage on each vehicle, in accordance with State law.These TSPs refuse to abide by the local governing authorities, such as the Hillsborough County Public Transportation Commission. These authorities have, in may instances, been established by the Florida Legislature and have full authority to regulate this transportation industry in their respective areas. Their authority should be respected and should be enforced in accordance with the laws established, not only by the regulating authorities themselves, but by local law enforcement and the States Attorneys of each county. Failure to do so is disregarding the authority to establish and enforce laws as established by the Florida Legislature.I also believe that the State of Florida, in an effort to protect the general public and tourists alike, should require by law that every county within the State establish and enforce some sort of minimum laws regulating the transportation industry. We have a state wide laws regulating gaming in Florida, which regulates the Lottery, para-mutuals, and the handful of casinos, but yet no statewide mandate to protect the citizens of this state and the tourists alike from the thousands of gypsy cabs (unlicensed, under-insured and unregulated for-hire vehicles) and these TSPs. No consumer safety there huh?For those of you who do not fully understand the taxi industry, let me give you a little insight on how it works.Your average cab driver, at least those of us who work for legitimate and legal companies, work in excess of 80 hours per week on average, with many of us working on excess of 100 hours per week. Shocking, isn’t it? But it gets more jaw dropping.Could you imagine starting out everyday owing money to 2 different companies BEFORE you are able to put any money in your pocket for your own bills? Well that’s exactly what most cab drivers do, everyday of their lives.You see, in addition to having to pay for all of our own gas (company 1), we also have to pay a lease to the cab companies for the taxis we drive (company 2). This daily/weekly lease amount ranges from $525 to in excess of $600 per week, with the legitimate companies here in the bay area. (Those who abide by both local and state laws) Add to this a minimum of $300 plus per week fuel cost (and yes it can be much higher) and you’re talking a minimum deficit to the driver of at least $825 per week. Trust me, this deficit can easily be in excess of $1,000 with high gas prices combined with those companies that charge higher leases. Yes we pay A LOT for the privilege of diving those cabs and for the privilege of driving you the consumer around.Although a driver can, on very rare occasion, make up this $137 – $167 daily deficit (based on a 6 day work week) in a few hours, 99% of the time it takes a driver 4-6 hours to make this amount up BEFORE HE PUTS A PENNY IN HIS POCKET FOR HIS OWN BILLS. Could you imagine working 4 – 6 hours for free, before you actually started to get paid?The lease I speak of is a fee paid to the cab companies for the use of the taxi by the driver. The lease monies go towards paying for the costs incurred by the cab companies for things like phones, personnel, vehicle repair and maintenance,utilities, technology (computers and software), 2-way radios and, of course, the astronomical costs of taxi insurance. Not to mention the monies set aside for the eventual replacement of vehicles and technology upgrades. I’m sure there are many other expenses which I missed, but you get the point.Taxi insurance is one of the most expensive types of automobile insurance there is, because cabs are on the road constantly. A cab can literally be on the road 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The more time a vehicle is on the road the higher the chance of an accident.Now there are companies where the driver gets a percentage of the total meter fares for the day (and pays his/her own gas) but only a few companies do this and in reality, it punishes the hard working driver by making them pay more to the company than the driver who books only a minimal amount of calls on any given day. A driver who only does $150 in fares pays the company $75 and pays his own gas, whereas a driver who catches a great call or works his tail off and does $300 in fares, pays the company $150, based on a 50/50 split of the taximeter, plus their own gas. Most companies actually get 60% though. These drivers typically work 12 hour shifts which are dictated by the company, which brings up some legality issues because the driver, as an independent contractor, is required to start and stop at specific times as mandated by the company. Kinda skirts the employee/independent contractor line a little. ( limo, luxury sedan and, i believe, shuttle drivers also pay their companies a percentage of the fare as well)Now back to the addressing the confusion and misinformation.These TSPs are nothing more than cab companies without local call centers, but yet, they do have local managers who preform the interview process and the contracting process for them. And yet, they still claim that they are merely a technology company.These TSPs are providing taxi type services, via their contracted drivers, to the general public. The majority of their clientele are those customers who typically ride in cabs. They are not the clientele who typically ride in town cars or limos. They are not some sort of special new breed of customers who have never used transportation services before. These are customers who typically need some sort of transportation service on occasion or regularly.Some of these TSPs clearly state on their websites that they provide direct ON DEMAND door-to-door service. This is for the majority of their customers, with only a fraction of these calls being scheduled in advance. This is EXACTLY what taxis do!These TSPs also claim to be faster and cheaper than cabs. Yes they may be cheaper when surge pricing is not in effect, but then, you get what you pay for. I’ll explain this in more detail later.These TSPs provide a service which connects customers to drivers via a smart phone. Cab companies use smart phones, computers, tablets and radios to do the exact same thing.These TSPs charge on a per mile rate and charge for waiting time, based on an algorithm in some computer server somewhere. Cabs charge per mile and charge for waiting time via, at least for the legal companies in Florida, a state certified taxi meter which is tested, calibrated, sealed and certified by the Department of Agricultural, or their representatives. These are the same people who certify those gas pumps we use every day. However, the taxi meters are sealed and can not be adjusted at the company’s (or driver’s) will, whereas the algorithm used by the TSPs can be adjusted at any time, and is adjusted during peak business times…. Their surge pricing.Additionally, these TSPs decide what rates are to be paid by the customers (regardless of local laws) and collect 100% of these monies from the customers. After which, they refund the driver’s portion, less what they owe the company. Taxi companies have to go through multiple steps to change rates, including approval from local governing authorities and, in some areas, advertising the proposed rate changes in the legal notices of the local newspapers.Some of these TSPs even have requirements in their terms and conditions that the customer is not to give the drivers any cash, even the tip.All tips go to the company. Since all transactions are required to be via the app, they want the tips going through the app as well. WHY? Because they can charge the driver 20% of their tip as well. Yes, these TSPs screw their own drivers. If it’s a $10 ride and you tip the driver $5, the company gets $3 from the $15 total instead of the $2 they should have gotten (based on the 20% fee). Kinda pathetic huh?Then there is SURGE PRICING.This is claimed to be done in an effort to entice drivers to come out and work when it’s extremely busy. I say this is nothing more than greed! Drivers are naturally going to work when it’s busier.Although it may be in their terms and conditions (a.k.a. FINE PRINT), but a company who is about actually “servicing” the public would, at bare minimum, notify the customer that surge pricing is in effect BEFORE the customer confirms their trip. Ya know, give the customer the opportunity to choose if yet want to pay these drastically escalated prices. I have heard that Uber is now doing this. They all should have done this all along and from my understanding, they have not. Otherwise why would so many of their former customers have been so upset at the end of their rides? Why would there be so many complaints about this online?Additionally, the practice of surge pricing is theft. I don’t care what the terms and conditions may say, this is theft. Price gouging, if you will, but without the declared state of emergency. No company has the legal right to suddenly raise and lower their rates at will. Customers can literally take a ride at one rate then 5 minutes later be charged a substantially higher rate to go right back to where they started. UP TO 10 TIMES AS MUCH!What would you do if your electric company did this…… Hey, you know what, demand is awfully high today, let’s charge our customers up to 10 times as much. Or better yet, I’m sorry ma’am, that milk is now 25 buck, cause it’s the holidays and everyone loves milk and cookies right now. But hey, December 26th, the price will go back to normal.I’m sorry, but this is theft and it’s on a nationwide level, maybe even globally. I personally believe that not only should our local law enforcement investigate this, but our Attorney General, should as well. There should be an immediate statewide cease and desist order put into place until ALL of these monies are repaid to the customers in Florida. I also believe that the Federal Government should look into this too and do the same thing. PAY BACK THE MONEY! Doesn’t that fall under some sort of Racketeering definition? Definitely sounds criminal to me.Taxis don’t discriminate, but the TSPs do.The rules are very simple in Hillsborough County and inmost, if not all regulated areas as well, taxi drivers (and companies) are required to provide transportation services to ANY orderly person who has the ability to pay the fare. Simply put, as long as you’re not violent and you have money. ..you get a cab. Doesn’t matter if you haven’t bathed in a year or you’re a complete jerk and have the personality of a rattlesnake (Trust me, there are some extremely nasty and rude individuals who use taxis on a regular basis), we still HAVE to provide transportation services to you. However, the drivers for these TSPs don’t have to. They might once or twice, but they can rate customers to the point that you are not allowed to use the services.If this isn’t bad enough, with these TSPs, you MUST use a credit or debit card. NO CASH! It’s even in at least one of these TSP’s terms and conditions that customers are NOT ALLOWED to give the drivers cash, even if it’s a tip.This means when you and your friends are heading back to your place after a night out and your friend, who only uses cash, decides to go home instead (and this happens a lot), either you’re paying for the ride or he’s stuck on your front lawn waiting on a cab. So, if you’ve had a run of bad luck or just don’t like using banks and credit cards. … no shared ride for you!Yes I said shared ride! This is one of the TSP’s ploys to try and skirt around the established laws, they claim they provide “shared ride services”.While it is true that they do provide shared ride services occasionally, the majority of their work, at least locally, is the direct door-to-door services I mentioned earlier. Could you imagine heading out for a night on the town with your date and having to stop by and pick up other passengers? Maybe drop them off first too? Oh hell no!However, these TSPs are NOT shared ride providers, at least not as defined by the Florida Department of Transportation’s rules and regulations.Blanket / Umbrella Insurance.These TSPs provide a blanket insurance policy to help cover the drivers and passengers in case of an accident. Although this is noble on their part, it is provided merely as a ploy to make themselves look good to the general public and to help protect themselves from any liability for their contracted drivers actions.This is where my main problem with these companies begins. You see, in the State of Florida, any vehicle used to transport people or goods for money is considered a “for-hire vehicle” according to state law.F.S. 320.01(15)(a) “For-hire vehicle” means any motor vehicle, when used for transporting persons or goods for compensation; let or rented to another for consideration; offered for rent or hire as a means of transportation for compensation; advertised in a newspaper or generally held out as being for rent or hire; used in connection with a travel bureau; or offered or used to provide transportation for persons solicited through personal contact or advertised on a “share-expense” basis.This is just the beginning of the State laws that pertain to “for-hire vehicles”. Florida law also goes on to allow the Department of Motor Vehicles to establish a classification for each type of vehicle titled and registered within the State.Privately owned vehicles are code class 1 while for-hire vehicles are code class 9. These classifications are used to determine the taxes paid when registering all vehicles, the renewal dates for the registration, whether or not the title is required by law to have any specific notations or stamps on it (police car, for-hire vehicle, taxicab and so on) AND what insurance coverage is required on said vehicle.Florida law requires any vehicle used as a for-hire vehicle to have the title stamped as such, AND it is a misdemeanor to sell a vehicle that has been used as a for-hire vehicle without the stamp on the title and without notifying the buyer that the vehicle has been used as a for-hire vehicle. This is also Florida Law.For-hire vehicles are required to carry minimum insurance coverage of $125,000/$250,000/$50,000 according to F.S. 324.032. While the blanket policies offered by these TSPs may provide for adequate supplemental liability coverage, these policies only apply when the driver is in route to a dispatched call or when the customer is actually in the car. However, insurance  required to cover the vehicle, continuously,24 hours a day, 7 days a week, with no lapse in coverage, otherwise, the vehicle is not properly insured. Although there are provisions for umbrella or blanket policies for vehicles, for-hire vehicles require higher insurance coverage and the provisions for umbrella policies on liability also have max limits listed in the Florida Statutes and strict rules concerning the whole insurance process.Florida Statute627.733 Required security.—(1)(a) Every owner or registrant of a motor vehicle, other than a motor vehicle used as a school bus as defined in s. 1006.25 or limousine, required to be registered and licensed in this state shall maintain security as required by subsection (3) in effect continuously throughout the registration or licensing period.(b) Every owner or registrant of a motor vehicle used as a taxicab shall not be governed by paragraph (1)(a) but shall maintain security as required under s. 324.032(1), and s. 627.737 shall not apply to any motor vehicle used as a taxicab.Florida Statute324.032 Manner of proving financial responsibility; for-hire passenger transportation vehicles.(1)(a) A person who is either the owner or a lessee required to maintain insurance under s.627.733(1)(b) and who operates one or more taxicabs, limousines, jitneys, or any other for-hire passenger transportation vehicles may prove financial responsibility by furnishing satisfactory evidence of holding a motor vehicle liability policy, but with minimum limits of $125,000/250,000/50,000.The blanket policies provided only apply to when the driver has been dispatched to a call or when the customer is in the car. However, when the driver drops off the customer and backs out of the driveway over your neighbors child or into another car, that falls on their own private insurance? Not the higher levels above, but basic coverage. Now the driver’s livelihood and everything they have is on the line. Were the drivers encouraged to set up a LLC? NOPE! Cab drivers are at least semi protected by the companies they contract with, although we should probably all have LLCs too.The laws go on to state what is required for maximum coverage and deposits. But to put it very simply, basically NONE of the drivers who contract for Uber, Lyft and the rest of these similar companies are insured to the minimum standards as dictated by Florida Statutes.Of course these TSPs don’t want the drivers to know that these insurance levels are required, because there are only a handful of companies that provide true for-hire insurance coverage and they are VERY EXPENSIVE. They don’t want their contracted drivers to know about the requirements to properly register the vehicle with the Department of Motor Vehicle as a FOR-HIRE VEHICLE, because once they do, they will be required by law to carry the proper insurances AND most regular auto insurance companies DO NOT insure for-hire vehicles.Who in their right mind is going to get rid of their great insurance rates where they are saving 15% or more over the competitors rates to pay substantially more for higher insurance? This is why the TSPs don’t fully inform their drivers of the laws!Did you know that at least some of these TSPs share your information with third-party companies? It is even in some of their terms and conditions. What makes this even more repulsive is that by accepting the terms and conditions of at least one of these TSPs, you agree to pay higher rates if you opt out of the third-party information sharing and advertising. CAB COMPANIES DO NOT TO THIS!At least one of these companies has areas where they can not legally charge for rides (not in Florida as far as I know), so they have suggested donations. However, if you DO NOT donate and you DO NOT notify the company that you don’t want to donate, they will automatically charge you the suggested donation amount.These TSPs charge you a fee if you cancel or are a no-show when the driver arrives. This is also something that taxi companies DO NOT DO. Taxi drivers have to take the loss if the customer cancels or is not there. The taxi driver losses the possibility of a valid call and wastes his/her own time and gas running on a cancel or no-show, but yet these TSPs feel it is perfectly OK to charge the consumer a fee for canceling or for not being there when the driver arrives. I wish we were able to do this, but we aren’t. We, the taxi drivers eat the costs when you, the consumer, have plans that change, however, these TSPs charge you anyway……. And charge the driver a percentage of the fee collected. Again….freakin greed!Lastly, these TSPs claim that they help bring more jobs into the community and to the state…….WRONG!!!!! If anything it’s a break even number. For every TSP driver on the road, there is a direct impact on the legitimate cab drivers out there. Every TSP driver operating in Florida has a direct impact on the number of taxi drivers in Florida, or the reduction in numbers thereof. Furthermore, when you reduce the number of taxi drivers, you reduce the number of call takers, dispatcher, mechanics, managers and other personnel needed by the companies. This does NOT increase the number of jobs in Florida, but may even decrease them.Although I agree that there exists a need for some changes in the transportation industry, however, it is an atrocity to allow companies to continue to operate in Florida who not only cost jobs in Florida but who also:1. Fail to require that their contracted drivers properly register their vehicles,2. Fail to require their contracted drivers carry the proper insurance coverage as required by Florida Law,3. Refuse service to cash only customers,4. Refuse service to customers who the drivers don’t like,5. Perform surge pricing practices and steal monies from customer,6. Share and possible sell your info to third-party companies,7. Refuse to abide by local laws and the governing bodies as established by the Florida Legislature,8. Refuse to require their drivers to abide by the same laws above,9. Charge a percentage on all tips given to their contracted drivers (when processed through their credit card system as required by the terms and conditions),10. Charge customers even if they do not ride with the driver, and11. Generally ignore the laws of the State of Florida with flagrant disregard for the general public in the State of Florida.For all local and State governing authorities not to step in and stop these companies immediately, would be a disservice to the public and tourists alike.Let me be perfectly clear, these TSPs may have a place in Florida, but not under the guidelines as they are set now. Propose changes to the laws and, if approved, then begin operations, but DO NOT break the laws and expect the laws to be made to conform to your ideas. The laws apply to one and all, and should not be waived for those who think they laws do not apply to them. These laws apply to all and everyone of these TSPs should be issued an immediate cease and desist by the State of Florida. Failure to do so is a gross violation of the Laws of Florida and slap in the face of every consumer and tourist that the State of Florida is required, by law, to protect.Bob [email protected], FloridaHey Florida, how about a State sponsored transportation app where locals and tourists alike can easily find a nearby cab (or other transportation) that has been properly licensed and insured, in accordance with Florida Law and the local governing authorities. THIS sounds like the perfect way to not only make sure that the tax payers and voters of Florida are always able to easily find a safe ride, but also the perfect way to make sure all of those tourists who pump millions into our economy are protected as well. Consumer protection and tourism safety all in one nice little app.

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