# Uber and Lyft score huge victory in Florida - TB Journal 4/19/17



## Michael - Cleveland (Jan 1, 2015)

http://www.bizjournals.com/tampabay/news/2017/04/19/uber-and-lyft-score-huge-victory-in-florida.html
*Uber and Lyft score huge victory in Florida*
Apr 19, 2017, 11:37am EDT

Statewide rules for ridesharing companies like Uber and Lyft are headed to Gov. Rick Scott for his signature after the Florida Senate approved the measure Wednesday. The Florida House of Representatives approved the bill earlier this month.

"Today we sent a strong message that Florida embraces transportation innovation," said Senate bill sponsor Jeff Brandes (R-St. Petersburg.) "The future of transportation options includes a focus on shared mobility, and as we move closer to autonomous vehicles on our roadways, the future of ridesharing is very bright. With this legislation, Florida will have a uniform set of standards for the services our businesses demand, our tourists have come to expect, and our residents deserve."

*The bill establishes guidelines for transportation network companies and replaces a patchwork of local regulations that can vary across municipal boundaries.* Local regulations have long been a problem in Hillsborough County as the industry's regulatory arm, the Hillsborough County Public Transportation Commission, struggled to approve guidelines companies agreed upon.

Previously proposed regulations in Hillsborough County threatened to drive Uber and Lyft out of the area. Both companies support rules approved in the legislature.

"The most exciting opportunities are yet to come, as millions of Florida residents and visitors, from Pensacola to Key West, will have permanent access to Uber," said Colin Tooze, Uber's public affairs director.

Debate in the past several years has centered on how drivers' backgrounds should be evaluated. Taxi companies and some elected officials wanted Level 2 background checks that utilized fingerprinting to search crime databases. Uber and Lyft pushed for Level 1 checks that don't require fingerprinting.

The final version of approved legislation includes the Level 1 with added protections, including checks through local, state and federal databases, a driving history and search in the sex offender registry.

The measure also calls for companies to provide $1 million in auto insurance coverage while a driver is actively transporting a passenger.

"This legislation will provide certainty for the many Floridians who use the convenient and affordable transportation services offered by Lyft," said Chelsea Harrison, senior policy communications manager for Lyft.

Support for statewide regulations gained steam this year as business leaders joined the fight calling on legislation to make Florida a welcoming place for innovation and attractive to young professionals who demand services like Uber and Lyft.

The measure heads next to Scott's desk for final approval, which he is expected to grant.


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## SEAL Team 5 (Dec 19, 2015)

Of course this is a big win for Uber/Lyft because now Florida drivers have the entire state to screw them over for pennies a mile. No fingerprinting required for Level 1 background checks in FL. Hopefully Senator Brandes doesn't have a daughter that one night may pass out in the back of an Uber and get raped.


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## heynow321 (Sep 3, 2015)

How will anyone in FL be able to drive? Isn't the entire population made up of felons and sex offenders?


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## JimKE (Oct 28, 2016)

The Level 1/Level 2 distinction in background checks is BS.

Opponents want fingerprints because they know they cost money, which will drive up competitors' costs. Uber/Lyft don't want fingerprints because they don't want to pay for them...or have their driver base reduced by people who won't pay to get printed.

The real issue is this: Are you sure the person you are investigating is the person who is driving the car? With the Uber/Lyft layers of documentation required, there is no doubt about who is being backgrounded. They are doing a very thorough background investigation.

The taxi companies should also be allowed to do Level 2 with the same documentation requirements.

Incidentally, Uber's background procedure is a great deal more stringent than these new Florida requirements (annually instead of every 3 years, etc), and I don't expect them to change anything. They will exceed the new requirements, IMHO.


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## Buckiemohawk (Jun 23, 2015)

They need to add a state wide minimumon the fars of 1.50 a mile and 35 cent waiting time. Also they ban Uber pool and Uber cannot charge the customer one price and pay the driver another


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## jonhjax (Jun 24, 2016)

If uber's background checks are so good how was a person with 24 aliases, 10 different social security numbers and an outstanding arrest warrant driving for uber in Houston, Texas? My source for this is whosdrivingyou.com. Also, while other states are enacting stricter regulations why is Florida relaxing them? I wonder how much Florida's lawmakers received in campaign contributions from the tnc lobby?


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## JimKE (Oct 28, 2016)

jonhjax said:


> I wonder how much Florida's lawmakers received in campaign contributions from the tnc lobby?


There was no disagreement about it. The bill passed the Florida House 115-0, and the Senate 37-1, with total bipartisan support.

I think the primary justification for this massive change is the greed and corruption at the local level, with places like Key West and Orlando being prime examples.

Visitors to WDW won't have to pay $60-$100 to get from the airport to their offsite hotel any more; they'll be able to Uber for $20. That's just one example of the kind of nonsense this bill was designed to eliminate, and it's kind of a big deal if you're a legislator wanting to look out for consumers.

Michael-Cleveland's characterization of this as HUGE is absolutely correct. This is a very big deal.

*****
The place where this is going to be really HUGE is Orlando.

Uber/Lyft have not been permitted to pick up at MCO, so Walt Disney World visitors staying offsite have been forced to either rent cars, or pay $60-$100 for taxi or car services for the 20-mile trip to their hotels.

They will now be able to Uber/Lyft for as little as $20.

The new law is REALLY going to hurt Orlando taxi drivers.


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## jonhjax (Jun 24, 2016)

Uber's rates are so low because uber's investors pay 59 per cent of every fare. If my math is correct the $20 fare will become about $49 just for uber to break even on the fares. This is with uber taking 25 percent of the fare. I hope I'm wrong about this but I think uber will try to raise its commission as much as possible while keeping rates as low as possible. When this happens drivers will make more money but how much, who knows. Anyways, taxis, limos and other vehicles for hire are the losers,economically, when this law takes effect.


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## TwoFiddyMile (Mar 13, 2015)

Taxis are and always will be fine.


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## FloridaUber (Feb 27, 2017)

Its good news for Florida drivers, no matter how some of you may spin it, no stupid city rules.

I don't think it will impact taxis anymore than how much they have already been impacted by uber/lyft.


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## jonhjax (Jun 24, 2016)

I agree with you florida uber. I lost more than $12,000.00 last year compared to 2015 and most of that was in the last half of the year. This year is worse than last year so far and I'm hoping it doesn't get any worse. The bright side for me is that I'll be retiring soon and won't be working crazy hours for crappy pay any more.
BTW, many of the city rules that were there were about public safety, i.e. insurance, inspections and background checks, in response to past bad incidents in the vehicle for hire industry.


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## Buckiemohawk (Jun 23, 2015)

FloridaUber said:


> Its good news for Florida drivers, no matter how some of you may spin it, no stupid city rules.
> 
> I don't think it will impact taxis anymore than how much they have already been impacted by uber/lyft.


Remember, you have to report to your insurance you are doing rideshare. have fun with that one


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## JimKE (Oct 28, 2016)

FloridaUber said:


> I don't think it will impact taxis anymore than how much they have already been impacted by uber/lyft.


It will affect taxis in some markets; it will have little effect here in Miami where we already have an open market.

In Key West, where Uber/Lyft are currently prohibited from picking up, they will now be in. We have drivers in Miami who used to go to Key West to work on weekends, so that's a good thing for them.

At the Orlando airport, only Uber Select is currently allowed to pick up. After July 1, ALL Uber and Lyft will be able to pick up at the airport. That will be a big deal for taxis, shuttles, rental car companies, WDW visitors staying offsite, and rideshare drivers. That's a huge new market for Orlando drivers.

I'm sure there are other cities, airports, seaports etc where the new law will really open things up.


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## BrunoG (Mar 22, 2017)

Reporting my ridesharing driving to my insurance company was a non-issue, since I got a ridesharing endorsement included on my policy's coverage.


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## JimKE (Oct 28, 2016)

BrunoG said:


> Reporting my ridesharing driving to my insurance company was a non-issue, since I got a ridesharing endorsement included on my policy's coverage.


What company?


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## BrunoG (Mar 22, 2017)

Foremost


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## JimKE (Oct 28, 2016)

BrunoG said:


> Foremost


Thanks.

In a related note, I got a nice email from Uber yesterday announcing their great victory. Unfortunately the email is in Spanish and I don't care enough to throw it into Google Translate.


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## Drivincrazy (Feb 14, 2016)

Farmer's has rideshare endorsement also, at least in Nevada.


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## UsedToBeAPartner (Sep 19, 2016)

This sounds just like what is happening in TX. The TX House (or Senate) has passed Statewide legislation that would eliminate the fingerprinting requirement after Houston showed that they had no problems at all during Super Bowl when Houston allowed any Uber driver from anywhere to come to Houston during that time period.
Assuming this passes the other 1/2 of the TX congress the new rules could be in place as soon as May or June.
Uber and Lyft would return to Austin and Lyft would likely begin driving in Houston. It might also mean that Galveston would have to open their market but I suspect the taxi folks in Galveston will only go down kicking and screaming.


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## jonhjax (Jun 24, 2016)

To those drivers planning to work in key west. Have you ever been there and realized how small the island is? Unless there is surge you'll be driving for minimum fares almost everywhere on the island. Why would you do this? If you go past stock island you'll make a little but there needs to be surge to make key west worthwhile, unless uber's minimum rate is $3.00 or more per mile. Lots of rides less than two miles.


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## Buckiemohawk (Jun 23, 2015)

jonhjax said:


> To those drivers planning to work in key west. Have you ever been there and realized how small the island is? Unless there is surge you'll be driving for minimum fares almost everywhere on the island. Why would you do this? If you go past stock island you'll make a little but there needs to be surge to make key west worthwhile, unless uber's minimum rate is $3.00 or more per mile. Lots of rides less than two miles.


Most of the areas in Florida are not worth it to Uber. And I wouldn't Uber in Key West to save my life.


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## Cableguynoe (Feb 14, 2017)

Buckiemohawk said:


> They need to add a state wide minimumon the fars of 1.50 a mile and 35 cent waiting time. Also they ban Uber pool and *Uber cannot charge the customer one price and pay the driver another*


When a contractor makes a purchase at Home Depot, they are given 2 receipts. One they can show the customer of what the regular price for the materials are. The other is what he actually paid, which includes his contractor discount.
This kind of thing is perfectly legal. As long an everyone understand upfront what they are being charged/paid, nothing wrong with pocketing extra profits.


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## Another Uber Driver (May 27, 2015)

Michael - Cleveland said:


> Florida embraces transportation innovation," said Senate bill sponsor Jeff Brandes (R-St. Petersburg.)


One is obliged to keep in mind that the definition of "embracing innovation" is agreement with T. Kalanick. The definition of "opposed to innovation" is disagreement with T. Kalanick.


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## kcdrvr15 (Jan 10, 2017)

TwoFiddyMile said:


> Taxis are and always will be fine.


what he said


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## JimKE (Oct 28, 2016)

Buckiemohawk said:


> Most of the areas in Florida are not worth it to Uber. And I wouldn't Uber in Key West to save my life.


I like Key West (like the Middle Keys better), but I wouldn't Uber there.

However, there are a number of veteran Uber drivers who used to spend weekends in KW because they did better than here in Miami. Sure there are a lot of minimum fare rides, but I assume they are quick and with surge -- otherwise experienced guys wouldn't drive 160 miles for the privilege.



UsedToBeAPartner said:


> This sounds just like what is happening in TX. The TX House (or Senate) has passed Statewide legislation that would eliminate the fingerprinting requirement after Houston showed that they had no problems at all during Super Bowl when Houston allowed any Uber driver from anywhere to come to Houston during that time period.
> Assuming this passes the other 1/2 of the TX congress the new rules could be in place as soon as May or June.
> Uber and Lyft would return to Austin and Lyft would likely begin driving in Houston. It might also mean that Galveston would have to open their market but I suspect the taxi folks in Galveston will only go down kicking and screaming.


You have to read the bills with any legislation. "The devil is in the details." The bills under consideration should be available online.

The Florida legislation was undoubtedly written by Uber lobbyists. It simply removes the cities and counties from the process and says rideshare is legal anywhere in the state. Except for very minor things like pickup areas and pickup fees, all local governments are prohibited from regulating or interfering with rideshare in any way.

I'm sure taxi companies are upset, but I also agree with the PP who said taxis will be fine.


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