It's been fairly widely reported that Google, Uber and Tesla are racing to develop the driverless car. Now, a new startup, nuTonomy, has entered the fray. The company is said to have passed its first "driving test" and is on the road testing in Singapore.
Reportedly, testing in Michigan during white out conditions, the vehicle did well using its location acclimation based on building locations. The vehicles are reported to be electric so there is quite a bit of excitement regarding the substantial decrease in emissions.
The company was reported to be formed last year after the technology group got no attention from the big players looking to perfect the technology. Could this be the next Microsoft?
Philadelphia taxi, Uber Black and limousine drivers are reported to be threatening to boycott and picket the democratic convention in July. Yawn. The real story in the article is the interesting comments about the 'ridesharing" companies UberX from the limousine industry representative and the taxicab industry representative.
Rideshare drivers are accused of violating the labor laws by driving without paying for a special license. Labor laws? Now, I'm not an attorney and I've never even played one on television, but I'm not sure how not having a special license violates the labor laws.
They are further reported to say that they do not guarantee a minimum wage. I admit it has been a long time since I drove a vehicle for hire, but I don't recall anyone guaranteeing me minimum wage. I think the main reason they're boycotting the convention is because they're afraid the Sanders supporters will demand the rides for free.
Without fear of contradiction, I believe that anyone who has driven a taxicab in the US, that grew up in the US, has heard the song "Taxi" by Harry Chapin. It has been reported by his brother, Tom, that the object of Harry's affection was Harry's former lover Clare Alden Macintyre-Ross who died on March 9th of this year.
While I never knew that Sue was real, I suspected that there was a memory in the song that was deeply felt. Chapin is reported to have never driven a taxicab but Sue's parents did not want her riding the subway so she frequently took a cab. This prompted the song.
The song is a favorite of taxicab drivers to the point that one of Houston Yellow Cab's consummate taxicab drivers is nicknamed "Harry keep the change." Through the too many miles and the too little smiles we all remember Sue.
The New York City Taxicab and Limousine Commission (TLC) is reported to be proposing new rules for sexual harassment complaints. Okay. The devil is in the details as they say. How will the case be prosecuted? What type of proof will be required to convict? Whose definition of sexual harassment is going to be used?
I'm all about providing a safe ride home for passengers of any sex, race, ethnic persuasion, religion, state of inebriation or political party. However, I am also all about equal justice, a safe workplace for the driver and proof before conviction.
In the 90's, I recommended to drivers that they get a recording device in their taxicabs to prevent he said, she said complaints for perceived or real slights by the driver. In most every case, the driver was exonerated by the recording.
Some were simple misunderstandings while others were outright lies on the part of the passenger. Keeping meticulous records is important when dealing with potentially serious allegations. Good records can demonstrate a pattern of abuse where a single complaint can easily be a misunderstanding.
The TLC would be wise to exercise caution in generating harsh punishment without reasonable cause. Or course, often with a governments zealous and expanded perception of "reasonable cause", reasonable cause can easily amount to an indictment.
Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport is reported to be developing rules for transportation network companies to pick up at the airport. Yeah, yeah, whatever. But wait, there's more. In the article it was reported that Houston demands fingerprint background checks for Uber drivers. Uber complains that fingerprint background checks limits the number of part time drivers it can hire due to it being too much of a hassle to get a fingerprint background check. Yeah, and?
The city of Houston is reported to have discovered, with their FBI fingerprint background checks, that background checks other than fingerprint background checks have been terribly unsuccessful. Drivers who had already been cleared by a commercial criminal background check, other than fingerprint background checks, had past charges and convictions including murder, assault and battery, sexual assault, indecent exposure, fraud prostitution, DWI, and aggravated robbery. Uh, gee, that kind of shoots a major hole in the "we don't need no stinking regulation" mantra of Uber et al.
Considering the potential liability Uber faces if its background check doesn't show a serious charge and one of its drivers does something untoward to a passenger, you'd think they'd be lining up to get fingerprint background checks. Oh yeah, that's already happened. Passengers have been assulted. Basing their existence on "public safety" I would think that regulators worldwide would be paying attention to these situations.
Reports are that Toledo Ohio is planning a change in ordinance to allow GPS based meters. The taxi company claims it would better to be able to determine if a driver went out of the way on a trip. It claims it would lead to a more consistent charge to customers. Cool.
The software is also supposed to tell you where your taxicab is once you've ordered one and how long it will be before it arrives. Based on the information provided, a taxicab company could solve a lot of driver related issues with this type of software. No mention of who the vendor is.
One of the things I'm quoted as saying about the taxicab industry is that "you never have to make up any stories." That said, I'll share a story, not made up, and a comment.
As a taxicab company manager in the late 90's in scenic Austin, Texas, I had occasion to have drivers' meetings. Anytime you had any kind of change, software, hardware, management and so on there had to be driver's meetings. It was at one of those driver's meetings that I met my first every transvestite taxicab driver.
He was very tastefully accessorized and was not dressed flamboyantly in any way. While possibly noteworthy, it was not exceptionally unusual in an exceptionally diverse industry. The driver's meeting did prepare me somewhat for the irate female passenger who wanted me to help her understand how she was to explain a man wearing a dress to her eight year old daughter.
Uh, well, good luck with that. Fast forward to the current day hysteria regarding who uses what toilets in North Carolina and I had to laugh out loud. I'm glad I didn't have to explain to the woman why some forty year old man with shaved legs was sharing the ladies room with her.
While it has become fashionable for companies to take sides in these political misadventures, Paypal is a current consensus contributor. Celebrities like Bruce Springsteen is a current consensus contributor. When organizations and high profile individuals get their panties in a wad over some cause or other it makes you wonder: Is this a national crisis?
Let's see, the elected officials of a state think that a grown man using the ladies room is not a good thing. Well, despite Paypal and Bruce I agree with them. Remember the good old days when most of us agreed that what two consenting adults do in the privacy of their own bedroom was pretty okay? I know I do. Well, now it seems that whoever is doing whatever in public places is pretty okay too.
Well, not really. While I don't condone discrimination I sure don't see requiring someone to use the potty designated for their biological gender to be discrimination. When the new Bruce Jenner has his/her first child call me back and maybe you can talk me back from the edge.
Meanwhile, I can only quote another singer to Mr. Springsteen and Paypal "...Minding other people's business seems to be high toned. I got all that I can just to mind my own. Why don't you mind your own business?" Sorry Hank.
If you have any comments regarding this or any of my articles please feel free to contact me at don@mcacres.com.
—dmc
