What do you guys think of Uber's threat to leave Houston

We don't have Uber/Lyft in Eugene and I hate it. We used to, then Oregon passed laws on background checks and healthcare and Uber did not want to comply. They do follow through with it, and the consumer suffers.

 

I thought Uber was threatening to leave Houston because the city insisted on a type of personnel checking that actually made it too easy to become an Uber driver, not the other way around.

Edit: http://abc13.com/news/riders-drivers-react-to-ubers-threat-to-leave-houston/1311906/

Nevermind, apparently the article I read had it backwards.

Not really sure why fingerprint checks are needed. Don't they require some other type of ID that would clearly point them out as a prior criminal?

Most of the time when cities fight Uber it is simply because the council is bought and paid for by anti-Uber lobbyists. This is probably no different.

 

The strange thing about this particular fight is it apparently came out of nowhere. City officals had previously met with Uber and there had been no indication of issues with the regulations at the time.

 

$omeone ¢hanged their mind$

 

Basically . . . it seems to me . .. . with the advent of Uber/Lyft
It made all the licensing to be a Taxi Driver Moot

Either
1. Require Uber and Lyft to follow the same guidelines as Taxis
or
2. remove those guidelines for everyone

Rocket River

 

Basically I guess . . .Uber and Lyft cut the city out of some licensing money

Rocket River

----- http://www.dmv.org/tx-texas/special-licenses.php ----
For-Hire Driver Requirements

In the state of Texas, the Department of Public Safety (DPS) does not have state-wide requirements in place for hired drivers to obtain a special driver's license.
However, each city or district within the state may have its own requirements. This includes for:
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Taxi drivers.
Limousine drivers.
Other chauffeurs.
Depending on the company you'll be working for and the city you'll be working in, for-hire drivers may be required to:
Meet a minimum age requirement.
Provide proof of citizenship.
Agree to a criminal background check.
Agree to a driving history check.
Submit an application to the city.
You may also be required to have a contract from an approved company. Some cities require for-hire drivers to be represented by a company before you can apply.
Complete required training, such as:
Training classes conducted by the city.
On-the-job company training.
Complete a medical examination completed by a registered medical doctor.
Pass a written examination.
Pay the required fees.
Upon completion of the requirements, the city will provide documentation and permits stating your qualifications to operate for-hire vehicles within the specified district. For more information on the exact requirements to operate as a taxi driver, chauffeur, limousine driver, or similar occupation, contact your city transportation department.

 

I feel 10 times safer in an Uber/Lyft than I do in a Taxi.

Holy hell those guys suck.

 

The background checks that Uber performs on their drivers have a history of not being thorough enough.

 

Its because of Austin. Austin passed the same rules as Houston and Uber and Lyft went nuts. They're funding a referendum in Austin to repeal it.

As a way of increasing pressure on Austin voters, they're putting out press releases saying that they're going to leave Houston because of the background check requirements.

it is truly upsetting to see a company (or companies in this case) think that they can just bully a city or cities around like this. They're bankrolling an entire referendum and buying off people left and right in Austin to back them. It's disgusting if you ask me.

 

Uber is a fundamental right of the people. Not everyone can afford a fancy CLA or entry level Tesla.

 

I've gotten two or three cold calls informing me of the vote in Austin and trying to convince me to vote for the ordinance. It's a good service, but eff that noise.

 

Are you similarly upset over a city being persuaded by special interest groups to run companies out of town?

 

Hipster heads will explode and beards will catch on fire.

 

I love Uber, so I really don't want it to leave.

But this isn't the only market where Uber is having these issues.

 

If you're referring to the taxi industry, then of course. But that's not the history of the fingerprint requirement. The fingerprint requirement happened after an Uber driver in Houston raped a passenger. And that Uber driver had a federal drug charges and was still cleared by Uber.

In fact Uber never protested the original Houston ordinance (which happened days after the incident). They largely couldn't as it was obvious that Uber's system had failed and so the city mandated that Uber drivers be licensed by the cities via its own system.

What Uber doesn't like is the fact that cities are now modeling requirements around Houston's. This was never initiated by the taxi industry. This happened because a real criminal incident and the city in its interest of protecting people passed new laws to regulate drivers.

This is corporate bullying of government because Uber fears that they won't recruit as many drivers thanks to new background check requirements. Uber was the one that failed in this instance. Uber even sued the city of Houston to prevent the city from releasing records related to the effectiveness of the city background check system.

 

Parker is out of office and all of a sudden the issue appears again? Someone is in someone's pocket.

 

Actually I'd suggest the opposite. I think they were hoping for someone like Bill King and a significantly more conservative council to repeal the mandate.

Instead, they got Sylvester Turner (who wont change the fingerprint requirement) and the council's orientation didn't change that drastically. So now they're resorting to hostage taking (especially with the Austin vote coming up).