Boston Taxi Owner Suit Latest Legal Salvo in Rideshare Wars

By and | January 20, 2015

  • January 20, 2015 at 12:25 pm
    Jame says:
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    It doesn’t take a PhD to figure out that uber’s service is a unlawful barely-regulated taxicab operation.
    It simply is and masquerading it behind fancy words won’t change the fact.
    The uber “sharing” operation is an app-dispatched taxicab service that evades taxicab municipal payments and local dues by claiming to be a “technology” company
    Yet – a taxicab operation is exactly what they are.
    In fact, app-dispatched taxicab services existed long before uber was even conceived. But those “suckers” didn’t lie – they paid their fares and dues
    as laws and regulations require.
    It’s is here that uber had to obfuscate truth and invent new “innovative” words to grow and pave its way to billions.
    And the word was invented – they called it “ride-sharing”.
    The only so-called “innovation” in so-called ride-“sharing” (where no ride is factually shared, it’s a 100% misdirection) is not in the app (those existed even before uber), and not in the technology (again, applications of it existed for years) but in blatant refusal to comply to laws and regulations.
    Why? Because “ride-sharing”, of course.
    And confused, those who questioned it remained…
    Fair to the existing small transportation businesses? Nope. Not really.
    In fact, not fair at all.
    And that’s exactly the reason that uber has been banned in many counties including France, Germany, Russia, Korea, Israel and the list is growing.
    Naturally, uber claims not to be banned but they are.
    They are forced to comply with existing law and regulatory framework and work with existing taxicabs thus running a fully legit taxicab business.
    That is an Ok way to operate. No problem. But that is NOT the way uber operates in states.
    Somehow US lawmakers and regulators are behind the curve on this
    one. Perhaps they are still hypnotized by this intentionally-mystifying almost-magical word -“ride-sharing”…..

    • January 20, 2015 at 1:37 pm
      wayne smith says:
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      Your “fancy words” means legal as far as I’m concerned. This service is proving their is a demand for a competitive, cheaper product and yet all the cab companies can do is stomp their feet to spread misery evenly rather than actually compete and improve their product.

      • January 20, 2015 at 2:30 pm
        Libby says:
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        Unless you have a problem with reading comprehension, his fancy words meant no such thing. Of course they have a cheaper product. They are skirting the law and not paying taxes/fees nor complying with regulations. This is why they are being banned in so many places. How can a taxi cab, that has to register as such, pay taxes as a livery service, puchase mandatory insurance coverage at certain limits, and regulate the maintenance and use of their vehicle supposed to compete against Joe Schmoe driving his 2006 Prius around town with no insurance?

        • January 22, 2015 at 3:14 pm
          uct says:
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          Calling it “ride-sharing” doesn’t make it legal. They should be forced to abide by the same rules as the Taxi Services.

          Here is a better example Wayne; If I decide I’ll insure your house for 1/4th of the price of your homeowner’s carrier, but I am not a registered business, nor do I have the proper certifications, or the money in reserves to pay for your home should something happen, is it legal if I call it “homeowner’s sharing”? No. lol

          The so called ride sharing services are trying to skirt fees. What happens in the end? Cab Companies are going to RAISE their rates as their incoming money goes away. Who pays? WE DO. I’m only speaking for myself here, but I’m not getting into a vehicle with anyone I don’t know, isn’t certified to be a driver, doesn’t carry the correct insurance and carries virtually no liability if I’m killed because of their reckless driving.

  • January 20, 2015 at 12:32 pm
    Samuel says:
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    Uber is a criminal enterprise that is breaking multiple laws, ignores regulations, evades local taxes and municipal dues on the scale of billions of dollars worldwide.
    Thousands of small transportation businesses are following these existing laws, complying with regulations, paying dues, taxes and surcharges frequently while offering SAME technology – apps, websites, manned-dispatch centers. Why should $44 billion dollars
    Uber corporation be excluded from all those requirements and burdens at the expense of
    thousands of local small transportation businesses?
    Citibank offers an app. Do you see Citibank self-excluding itself from following banking laws
    and regulations? Does it stop being a bank? Of course, not.
    Uber Is nothing short of a criminal organization facing RICO charges in multiple jurisdictions
    and bans all over across the globe. Overpaying for underinsured unlicensed unregulated ride in an Uber vehicle while risking your life and safety is not worth it.

    • January 20, 2015 at 1:38 pm
      wayne smith says:
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      Uber is meeting customer demand. Too bad old school cab companies stomp their feet and demand misery be spread evenly rather than trying to improve their product and fight for less regulation, not more. The government is the real criminal enterprise.

    • January 20, 2015 at 1:51 pm
      MM says:
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      But Samuel, the thing is that the market has said that it IS worth it. Customers have every choice between a regulated cab and an unregulated Uber, and they are more and more choosing the latter. For you personally it may not be worth it but that’s not the case for thousands of other users.

      • January 20, 2015 at 2:33 pm
        Libby says:
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        Those are the uninformed MM. Uber is a livery service, plain and simple. They need to comply with the same regulations as every other livery service, including paying fees and taxes and complying with the law.

        • January 20, 2015 at 2:42 pm
          MM says:
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          That’s quite an assumption you’re making. What if we have done our research and still choose to use Uber? Uber is regulated in my city, they do pay taxes, they do pay fees, and they follow the laws here. Are they the same laws as a taxi service? No. Is that fair? That’s a different question than whether or not they are breaking the law.

  • January 20, 2015 at 1:29 pm
    Emma says:
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    What happened to the free market ideals that our economy is based on? A rigid structure that favors entrenched and under-whelming serice providers such as cabs is only going to stifle the economy, not encourage it. Just look at AirBandB for a hugely successful example that clearly shows the benefits of a less regulated marketplace.

    • January 20, 2015 at 2:35 pm
      Libby says:
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      Airbnb is not breaking any laws. Uber is.

      • January 20, 2015 at 2:49 pm
        Former Status Quo says:
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        Libby have you ever looked at your hotel bill to see the kinds of taxes that you pay to spend a night?

        Well i doubt that Air BnB or the person subleting the room are paying those taxes back to the municipality.

        • January 21, 2015 at 12:42 pm
          CL PM says:
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          Former SQ – do you have any evidence they don’t? I don’t know either way but wonder why you doubt they are paying taxes.

      • January 21, 2015 at 1:38 pm
        KY jw says:
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        Technically, Uber isn’t breaking laws. Many jurisdictions have different laws for Uber & Lyft and the companies comply. Some places have banned the service, and the companies comply. I don’t think the ride sharing service is identical to taxis.

  • January 20, 2015 at 2:02 pm
    Trish says:
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    Jame and Samuel are correct. Uber isn’t “meeting customer demand”. They are just trying to compete for regular business. Uber isn’t going into the “areas not served by taxis”… the Uber drivers want as much or more money as regulated taxis charge. Uber alerts its drivers when a big event takes place in a city and tells their drivers to increase their rates because demand is higher… so their drivers rip off the public – especially tourists who may have come in to town for a big event. The taxi product is well designed. Taxi drivers must pass a physical, a drug test, take and pass the CPR course, pay for their medallion (taxes to the city), bring their cab in for cleanliness and safety inspections twice a week. EXACTLY WHAT does an UBER driver have to do? And if a passenger has a problem with a taxi driver, they can call dispatch. What does an Uber passenger do… oh… they can post a message on Facebook!

    • January 20, 2015 at 2:14 pm
      Former Status Quo says:
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      Sorry Trish, but you are incorrect. I have lived in two major cities over the past 4 years where the regular cab companies did not service parts of the city and focused only on downtown areas. You could call for a cab and spend 40 minutes on hold or book a cab on the website only to have it cancel 5 minutes before arriving. Uber fills that demand. There are several cities out there with “taxi deserts” and Uber is like the oasis.

      If the cities want to get Uber out then start paying attention to customer demand.

      • January 21, 2015 at 12:45 pm
        CL PM says:
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        Former SQ – I’m glad to see that Uber is watering those deserts, but still don’t understand why they believe they can ignore the laws.

    • January 20, 2015 at 2:28 pm
      MM says:
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      Even if they are in places where other cabs serve and are competing for regular business, I would take Uber over a cab every time. The customer service experiences I’ve had with Uber and Uber drivers has FAR exceeded the experiences with cab drivers and cab companies.

      They increase prices to attract more drivers when demand is high. You are given a clear message on the app that the price is higher. People are willing to pay those prices. Their model is working in a market economy.

      And finally, what does an Uber passenger do when they have a problem? Oh… they call Uber customer service. I mean, you can post a message on Facebook I personally would go with the highly responsive, easy to contact customer service department.

    • January 21, 2015 at 1:40 pm
      KY jw says:
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      I thought the rates for the ride sharing was negotiated online, not by the driver.

  • January 21, 2015 at 2:53 pm
    Amy says:
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    I admire this company. Uber uber ales.

  • January 27, 2015 at 2:44 pm
    blu lightning says:
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    At the end of the day, the playing surface isn’t level. Taxi services are highly regulated-and it was for the comsumers benefit as there were and continue to be bad actors out there.
    If its ok to have Uber and Lyft in the market-ok fine, then its time to deregulate the taxi industry so that they can compete on an equal footing and let ’em duke it out.
    It’d be interesting to see what the Uber and Lyft spokespeople have to say about actually having to compete.



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