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Mitch PerryJune 10, 2015

The big news in the Tampa Bay area Wednesday morning is Mike Salinero‘s exclusive in The Tampa Tribune that Hillsborough County Administrator Mike Merrill is prepared to recommend to county commissioners and Mayor Bob Buckhorn that a half-cent sales transit tax be put on the ballot in 2016, with 60 percent of the revenue going to […]

Mitch PerryJune 9, 2015

Going back to a December 2013 meeting among the Hillsborough County state legislative delegation, Arthenia Joyner has always fought any moves to weaken the Hillsborough County Public Transportation Commission’s ability to regulate share-riding companies like Uber and Lyft. So it was no surprise on Tuesday when she again had the local agency’s back (as well as […]

Mitch PerryJune 9, 2015

(UPDATE: This proposal is now dead. See this report). Last month Florida Politics reported on how state lawmakers might bring back the issues of regulating transportation network companies (TNC’s) such as Uber and Lyft in the Special Session now underway in Tallahassee. But such legislation failed to make the official call as presented by House […]

Mitch PerryJune 1, 2015

Happy June 1, the beginning of hurricane season. Cue up the stories about how we are or are not ready for a major storm. Journalism can be so predictable sometimes. Much more important is that although Florida hasn’t been hard hit by such severe weather in a decade, a recent national report shows, Florida’s average […]

Mitch PerryMay 29, 2015

Among the many casualties in the aborted legislative session last month was legislation regulating ride-sharing apps Uber and Lyft. On the eve of the Special Session, though, Uber’s Florida General Manager Matthew Gore and other Florida business leaders have asked House Speaker Steve Crisafulli and Senate President Andy Gardiner to include transportation network companies in […]

Mitch PerryMay 14, 2015

Marco Rubio is being lauded in some quarters Thursday morning for the way he handled the inevitable question on Iraq that was posed by Charlie Rose at the Council on Foreign Relations on Wednesday afternoon. “Not only would I not have been in favor of it, President Bush would not have been in favor of […]

Mitch PerryMay 13, 2015

The Hillsborough County Public Transportation held a two-and-a-half hour public hearing on Wednesday on proposed regulations that would put ride-sharing companies Uber and Lyft into compliance with the agency’s rules. But at the end of the morning, they opted to punt on the issue once again, mandating that a subcommittee come back with recommendations next month. Ever since […]

Mitch PerryMay 8, 2015

As of early Friday afternoon, the ride-sharing app Uber had gathered more than 25,000 signatures on its website petitioning state lawmakers to address regulation issues regarding transportation network companies (TNC) when they convene in Special Session next month. One influential Republican said he wouldn’t be surprised to see such legislation brought up when the House and Senate […]

Melissa RossMay 6, 2015

Cooler heads will likely prevail as the Florida House and Senate troop back to Tallahassee in June. So says influential Jacksonville lobbyist and consultant Marty Fiorentino. “I think the Legislature will come back in Special Session and create a budget that’s good for Florida,” he said. “The leadership of both the House and Senate will […]

Phil AmmannMay 6, 2015

As Uber grows in popularity, so does scrutiny of the ridesharing phenomenon, especially among those in Washington D.C. But that scrutiny has not stopped many on Capitol Hill from taking advantage of the emerging on-demand service. Despite concerns raised by some lawmakers over Uber’s handling of private customer data, the Center for Public Integrity found […]

Tag: Uber

Mitch Perry Report for 6.10.15 — Game-changing developments?

Arthenia Joyner again stops proposal that would ease life for Uber and Lyft in Florida

Proposed state study could put local government regulation of Uber, Lyft on hold

Mitch Perry Report for 6.1.15 — It’s storm season outside, and onscreen

Uber requests that ride-sharing be part of Special Session in Tallahassee

Mitch Perry Report for 5.14.15 — Foreign policy fun with Jeb and Marco

Hillsborough PTC discusses Uber & Lyft regulations, but again fails to come to a resolution

Jeff Brandes says regulations for Uber could surface in special session

Marty Fiorentino: June Special Session should get results

Uber political caucus grows, as does popularity on Capitol Hill