INDUSTRY IN REVIEW

By Don McCurdy

Say what?

Now everybody knows, okay, maybe they believe, that Uber drivers are not taxicab drivers. That said, how is it that the “head” of the New York State Federation of Taxi Drivers is demanding an apology from the police after one of their detectives verbally abused an Uber driver?

I thought Uber was the bane of the industry, the devil incarnate? Now they’re represented by the same group representing taxicab drivers? How is this possible?

What does Indian community leader Bhairavi Desai think about the state federation representing the Uber driver as a taxicab driver? Isn’t the New York Taxi Workers Alliance building its own app to compete against Uber? What’s really important is an opportunity to get in front of cameras and act important.

Uh, oh!

A recent ruling by the Nevada Supreme Court stated that taxicab drivers are entitled to the state’s minimum wage. Wow, that could cost a bundle. Apparently, there was a law exempting taxicab drivers from the minimum wage law, but the state constitution trumps that law.

The lower court ruled that taxicab drivers aren’t entitled to minimum wage but the Supreme Court overruled that court. Unlike the independent contractor model most taxicab companies in other states use, Nevada rules taxicab drivers are employees.

With lawyers involved we can all bet we’re going to end up looking back and finding out how much drivers have been paid versus how much they “should” have been paid. Vegas taxicab company owners should probably start saving their money.

Chicago, Chicago.

Nope, not my kind of town. Chicago medallion holders are feeling the pain of the government not taking care of business.

For decades Chicago has been a medallion city, with Chicago medallions selling for upwards of 600k. Now, if |you could sell your medallion you would. What happened? Well, Uber changed the rules and now you don’t have to have a medallion to provide on demand ground transportation.

It’s a sad tale for a lot of people who were stupid enough to enter into an agreement with the city government. They have now lost their ability to earn a living with the medallion that used to give them the exclusive right to provide on demand ground transportation.

How is that an agreement with the city you might ask? Well, the city sold those medallions with an implied exclusivity that is now gone. Had the city stated up front that the medallion would not provide exclusive rights to provide on demand service the medallions would have been all but worthless. Now these dupes are stuck with worthless pieces of paper for which they owe $600,000. Can’t get too much good government.

Meanwhile, in a not so nearby medallion Mecca…

Yes, that would be New York, New York. A member of the City Council is proposing a bailout of the medallion owners since the city’s inaction has brought some of them to the brink of having to drive one of their own cabs. Well, okay, it’s not that bad, but they are struggling.

You can’t siphon off a big chunk of the industry’s gravy and expect that the drivers and owners aren’t going to be financially affected. While other cities don’t seem to have a grasp of the effect the arrival of “ride sharing” services have had on their taxicab industry NYC seems to get it, not that it matters if they get it or not.

While the medallion owners seem to have attracted the attention of one of the city council members, it will take a few more than that to get them to part with the good citizen’s money, not that anybody views money the government has in its possession as actually still belonging to the citizens. However, keep a good thought.

It may end up that a judge somewhere makes the city share the loss, but I doubt they’re going to do it voluntarily. A side note to this tale of woe is the city’s budget which is lacking the millions the taxicab medallion sales would have brought in if they were actually able to sell the now worthless tin. It would appear that what goes around comes around.

“Cultural Sensitivity” training?

DC taxicab drivers are now set to get “cultural sensitivity” training. While it is probably the reverse of what they’re planning, a huge number of taxicab driver need cultural training in how to handle American culture.

Not unlike Jerry Kozubal, I see a pattern of Middle Eastern drivers getting in trouble by their actions involving single women traveling alone. Classic example is the recent arrest of a driver in Denver for rape when he took a drunken woman to his house rather than to hers. Now he’s going to go to jail for lack of legal and cultural understanding of what is permissible and what is not. Not good to be him.

A long time ago I was warned that professional drivers owe a higher degree of care to a passenger than a regular driver does. That means that you cannot take advantage of their inebriated state nor can you assume that a woman traveling alone is “asking for it.”

Women take taxicabs in a variety of situations, but especially when they need a safe ride home. If that’s not in your culture get out of the business.

That was close!

Ontario Court Justice Andrew Buttazzoni almost sentenced the thug that beat up a taxicab driver to jail! The justice told the defendant that taxicab drivers are vulnerable and must be protected. Protected? The driver is reported to have had a broken nose, a black eye and an injured knee. That makes it an assault with bodily injury and by golly the assailant almost got thirty days?

I’ve a suggestion for you judge Buttinski, how about you drive a night shift or two, get assaulted by a drunk and then see if you can figure out a way to “protect” the drivers a little better? You force them, under threat of license loss, to pick up people they think better of picking up and this is what may happen, they may get thirty days for assaulting a driver?

I don’t know what the gun laws are in Ontario Canada, but that boy might just have got himself shot here in Texas. Here we’re allowed to protect ourselves from violent thugs without a justice having to “send a message.”

Of course, they’re much more civilized in Canada. Well, at least the honest citizens are. Unfortunately, not all of the population is that civilized everywhere.

Uber buying a Toronto Taxi Brokerage License?

Reports are that Uber is applying for a taxi brokerage license, but only for its taxi operations. Huh? Uber Black, Uber SUV and UberX will continue to operate as unlicensed services.

Until right now I had no idea that Uber wanted a taxi license anywhere. Live and learn I suppose. The company and the city of Toronto have been at odds for a while with a lawsuit about to be ruled on in Toronto. The city claims that using unlicensed taxicab drivers poses a safety risk to the city. Can hardly argue with that, considering some of the insurance situations.

The mayor hopes that Uber can continue to operate in the city. Since he has a pen and a phone I suppose it’s a foregone conclusion. Oh yeah, that’s here.

We’re not in Kansas anymore, Toto.

Uber has left the building, at least in Kansas. Compelling drivers that carry passengers for compensation to have large insurance coverage is reported to be the root of the “problem.” Well, that is pretty much what taxicabs have had to live with for years.

Regardless of how you slice it, Uber drivers are providing a ground transportation service. Compelling taxicabs to have one level of insurance and other forms of ground
transportation to have less is hardly serving the public.

What Uber wants is to play by its own set of rules. I get that. My observation is that a company policy, that only covers the vehicle when an Uber dispatched trip has been accepted or the dispatched customer is otherwise on board by way of an app, has a serious hole in it.

Taxicab drivers will often wait for a good fare if they know the customer is needing another ride in a short while, for example, a return trip. This would leave the Uber vehicle uncovered if the driver waited and used his own credit card business arrangement. That is potentially serious when a collision with injury to a passenger occurs.

Being independent contractors, taxicab drivers are encouraged to develop personals or specials that call them directly. I would assume that Uber does not encourage their independent contractor drivers to do the same since Uber would then be cut out of the payment loop. Uber is utilizing the usual tactic of attempting to apply political pressure to get special treatment.

Speaking of the usual tactic…

With a year and a half to run the presidential race is on. While the republicans have yet to figure out who they are the democrats already know.

Like the republicans of old, the democrats have their tired old warhorse that has patiently waited her turn. Shades of Dole and McCain. The demonstration of Communist leader, playbook author and political strategist Saul Alinsky’s tactics by Hilary Clinton during the Benghazi fiasco precluded me from ever considering her for anything beyond the political dung heap.

She stalled her visit to congress to explain Benghazi. She and the administration made us the laughing stock of the world by declaring that she was too ill to attend. “Oh, the secretary fell and she is looking forward to testifying as soon as she is well.”, or some such nonsense.

Then when she does testify at a later date it’s “at this point senator, what difference does it make?” Well, it makes a big difference to me. Their antics made the American people appear bewildered. The American people proved as much when they reelected her boss.

I’m looking forward to an Internet video alright, her concession speech, whether to another democratic challenger or whoever runs against her. If she wins I will just accept the fact that, yes, we are that bewildered and confused.

If you have any comments regarding this or any of my articles please feel free to contact me at don@mcacres.com. —dmc

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