# Flywheel Taxi sues state, says cities should regulate Uber, Lyft



## UberComic (Apr 17, 2014)

*Flywheel Taxi sues state, says cities should regulate Uber, Lyft*

*http://www.sfexaminer.com/flywheel-taxi-sues-state-says-cities-should-regulate-uber-lyft/*


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## Ara (Sep 5, 2014)

Good news


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## UberNorthStar (Jul 7, 2015)

Since some city councils don't have the backbone to stand up to Uber, I would like to see the states write minimum regulations.

Every TNC driver is fingerprinted for FBI background check.
Every TNC driver must carry the minimum amount of commercial liability insurance per state law.
Any other min requirements by state?

JM2cW


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## F-uber (Aug 1, 2015)

All vehicles that pick up random passengers on the streets should have a similar, readily identifiable trade dress. In other words, a vehicle with a top light and more decals than a Nascar.

I am only half joking. I have a feeling that more and more drunks are going to be hopping into vehicles that could turn into rape, robbery, and assault simply because they just wanted to get somewhere and they were too inebriated to match the driver and vehicle descriptions.


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## Another Uber Driver (May 27, 2015)

This is the major complaint that the cab drivers have against the TNCs. Everyone should have the same rules and regulations. You do not overregulate one merchant and almost not regulate another. Either everyone is overregulated, everyone is not regulated or everyone is somewhere in-between.

If you are going to keep up regulations, do this:

1. All drivers must have a licence. All drivers must go through the same overly and unduly burdensome process of going to six City agencies for documents, standing on line not only to receive those documents but also to pay the fees. All drivers must pay the excessive expenses involved in securing or renewing licences.

2. All drivers are subject to harassment from police and appropriate government agency inspectors.

3. All vehicles are subject to an inspection where they fail at least three times even though there is nothing mechanically wrong with the vehicle. Minor cosmetic items will be stressed in these inspections.

4. There will be a ridiculouly high fee for licence plates and special vehicle licences.

5. All drivers will report to a government office for licencing where they will be made to wait inordinate amounts of time while clerks work as slowly as possible. These same clerks will treat these drivers more rudely than usual.

6. The slightest misstep will result in revocation, suspension or denial of licences.

7. All drivers will be subjected to a government adjudication process for violations or complaints. In these processes, the driver will be presumed guilty even when proved innocent.

8. Vehicle must have a special paint job that is prohibitively expensive.

9. Drivers will understand that the thug who intends to rob, hurt or kill you has more rights than you do.

10. Drivers must meet all demands for service. Those working from an application must accept ALL requests for service. Taxicab drivers must pick up all street hails.


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## UberNorthStar (Jul 7, 2015)

I would like the TX legislator to do something to set up minimum standards for cities state wide. 

Houston already licenses TNC drivers if they are doing PU's w/n city limits or at the airports. The permit is put on the passenger side of the windshield & is scored 2 times vertically & 2 times horizontally so the sticker cannot be moved to another car. We also review e a badge to be worn while working.

I educate customers at Starbucks that if you call an Uber in the Houston area, & the car that replies does not have the sticker in the windshield on the passenger's side, that driver has not been through the Houston regulations that include an FBI check. Cancel & let Uber know the driver did not have a TNC license.


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## F-uber (Aug 1, 2015)

UberNorthStar said:


> I would like the TX legislator to do something to set up minimum standards for cities state wide.
> 
> Houston already licenses TNC drivers if they are doing PU's w/n city limits or at the airports. The permit is put on the passenger side of the windshield & is scored 2 times vertically & 2 times horizontally so the sticker cannot be moved to another car. We also review e a badge to be worn while working.
> 
> I educate customers at Starbucks that if you call an Uber in the Houston area, & the car that replies does not have the sticker in the windshield on the passenger's side, that driver has not been through the Houston regulations that include an FBI check. Cancel & let Uber know the driver did not have a TNC license.


This is great for hyped up passengers on caffeine. Drunks, however, are going to hop in any vehicle that seems even remotely legit. I have witnessed this on numerous occasions, and the criminal element out there will, if they haven't already, catch on to this.

I know that the rider bears responsibility here. It is just not practical. Many of the drunks don't know a left turn from a right nor can they even tell you where they live. To expect them to match faces and license plates or photos to ensure they got a legit driver is totally unrealistic. They simply can't or don't care to do it.

Scenario: hot looking but totally wasted woman orders an Uber and waits on a street corner.

Guy just randomly driving down the street (who perhaps has never even heard of Uber) looks at her. No trade dress on the vehicle. Or someone with criminal intent just tosses a phony placard inside the windshield.

"Are you my Uber driver?"

"Yeah! Hop on in!"

As one might imagine, bad things can happen. At least a cab is clearly identifiable as a cab. Having Uber X drivers plaster their car with decals and a top light would destroy their business model in a heartbeat.

Maybe I am delusional about this, but I still think that the public safety aspects of this will need to be addressed soon.


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## UberNorthStar (Jul 7, 2015)

I know Houston news has addressed it. Then not all people watch the news, especially most college-people if I use my children as an example.


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## GooberX (May 13, 2015)

Another Uber Driver said:


> This is the major complaint that the cab drivers have against the TNCs. Everyone should have the same rules and regulations. You do not overregulate one merchant and almost not regulate another. Either everyone is overregulated, everyone is not regulated or everyone is somewhere in-between.
> 
> If you are going to keep up regulations, do this:
> 
> ...


I hate number one.

I like driving without a license.


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## riChElwAy (Jan 13, 2015)

since Day 1, a critical issue that Uber has been getting away with is the classification of its rides as "pre-arranged" when in fact all rides are ON DEMAND .. there is nothing pre-arranged about an Uber or Lyft ride, it is all e-hail on demand and this lawsuit addresses it.. stupid ass taxi company only took two years to file this??


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## F-uber (Aug 1, 2015)

UberNorthStar said:


> I know Houston news has addressed it. Then not all people watch the news, especially most college-people if I use my children as an example.


See, I don't think that it is solely a matter of understanding the concept of not accepting a ride with a stranger or a less than legit driver. It is that with enough alcohol, all that goes out the window. That is why there are so many drunk drivers out there. I just don't think a wasted drunk is going to bother to examine stickers on a winshield. Highly intoxicated people have a strong predisposition to throw caution to the wind.

I don't know that there is any answer to this. I just suspect that a taxi is far more identifiable than a TNC vehicle. We shall see if this issue hits the fan. It might not.


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## observer (Dec 11, 2014)

F-uber said:


> See, I don't that it is solely a matter of understanding the concept of not accepting a ride with a stranger or a less than legit driver. It is that with enough alcohol, all that goes out the window. That is why there are so many drunk drivers out there. I just don't think a wasted drunk is going to bother to examine stickers on a winshield. Highly intoxicated people have a strong predisposition to throw caution to the wind.
> 
> I don't know that there is any answer to this. I just suspect that a taxi is far more identifiable than a TNC vehicle. We shall see if this issue hits the fan. It might not.


I think it will happen more and more, I can see this happening in Mexico and other countries for "express kidnappings".

Eleven pm, Hoodlum drives up outside a club, sees guy checking his phone, Hoodlum pulls up to him in shiny freshly washed car with fake uber sticker he printed on home copier.

Pax hops in car, Hoodlum locks doors after pax gets in to car. Starts driving turns around corner where Accomplice is waiting, Hoodlum opens lock and Accomplice hops in next to Pax. Accomplice pulls gun on Pax.

Pax is now SOL.

He is told to empty out pockets of everything, money, jewelry, wallet etc. They now have his home address, keys to his house, his phone with wife and kids numbers.

He is driven to an ATM where he is told to take out cash maximums on all his cards.

Hoodlum and Accomplice drive Pax around till after midnight, it is now another day. So, Pax again takes out cash maximums from all cards.

Pax is left on side of road in a commercial area.

Pax never sleeps well again because he doesn't know if or when the Hoodlum and Accomplice will come visit him at home.

Can't happen?

Yes it can, happens too often.


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## F-uber (Aug 1, 2015)

observer said:


> I think it will happen more and more, I can see this happening in Mexico and other countries for "express kidnappings".
> 
> Eleven pm, Hoodlum drives up outside a club, sees guy checking his phone, Hoodlum pulls up to him in shiny freshly washed car with fake uber sticker he printed on home copier.
> 
> ...


Damn, that was graphic enough to turn into a film script. I never considered Mexico because much, if not all, of that could happen in any city in the USA.


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## observer (Dec 11, 2014)

F-uber said:


> Damn, that was graphic enough to turn into a film script. I never considered Mexico because much, if not all, of that could happen in any city in the USA.


It actually happens pretty often in Mexico.

It happened to a friend of mine, except he was just picked up on a street corner by some random car with two people in it.

This happened a few years ago and what I wrote above is what I remember him telling me.


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## F-uber (Aug 1, 2015)

observer said:


> It actually happens pretty often in Mexico.
> 
> It happened to a friend of mine, except he was just picked up on a street corner by some random car with two people in it.
> 
> This happened a few years ago and what I wrote above is what I remember him telling me.


I thought Uber was outlawed in Mexico. Why did your friend enter the car and what makes you think this is frequent?

Not trying to put you on trial. Just curious.


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## observer (Dec 11, 2014)

https://www.thrillist.com/travel/na...ou-re-most-likely-to-get-kidnapped-for-ransom


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## observer (Dec 11, 2014)

F-uber said:


> I thought Uber was outlawed in Mexico. Why did your friend enter the car and what makes you think this is frequent?
> 
> Not trying to put you on trial. Just curious.


Uber is in process of being regulated but my friend wasn't picked up by an Uber. This happened before Uber, bout 10 yrs ago.

He was just standing at a corner waiting to cross the street when a couple guys in a random car pulled up and made him get in.


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## observer (Dec 11, 2014)

Stuff like this happens, there's all kinds of crazy stuff going on.

Just today, I got a phone call from my "cousin". Rings me up on my work phone, says "Hey primo, how are you? I tell himm pretty good, who is this? He says, its your cousin, i say who? He says your cousin the one that lives outside Long Beach. I say I don't have any cousins. (I do)
Then he hangs up on me.

No one knows my work number, I have never given it to anyone, it just connects me to the manager.

How did the guy know I was in Long Beach?

There are gangs in mexican prisons that cold call numbers and try and get personal info to later use in extortions.

But HOW DID HE KNOW I WAS IN LONG BEACH??

*One thing I forgot to mention is my phone is registered and has an area code from a different county.


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## F-uber (Aug 1, 2015)

observer said:


> Uber is in process of being regulated but my friend wasn't picked up by an Uber. This happened before Uber, bout 10 yrs ago.
> 
> He was just standing at a corner waiting to cross the street when a couple guys in a random car pulled up and made him get in.


Interesting. So a phony Uber driver would have the advantage of having the crime victim voluntarily enter the vehicle.

If several of these type of incidents, especially if they occurred in one particular local or city, could possibly result in a lot of publicity.

Sometimes I think Uber is a huge bubble built on a house of cards and investor greed. It wouldn't take a lot for the bubble to burst. Too many holes in their business plan.


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## observer (Dec 11, 2014)

F-uber said:


> Interesting. So a phony Uber driver would have the advantage of having the crime victim voluntarily enter the vehicle.
> 
> If several of these type of incidents, especially if they occurred in one particular local or city, could possibly result in a lot of publicity.
> 
> Sometimes I think Uber is a huge bubble built on a house of cards and investor greed. It wouldn't take a lot for the bubble to burst. Too many holes in their business plan.


Yupp, I thought something would happen in Mexico before now, but nothing has popped up in the news that I have seen.

Other than the five Uber drivers *who were kidnapped* and whose cars were stolen in Guadalajara.

*There were also six cars that were completely trashed in Mexico City.*

*edited*


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## observer (Dec 11, 2014)

F-uber said:


> I thought Uber was outlawed in Mexico. Why did your friend enter the car and what makes you think this is frequent?
> 
> Not trying to put you on trial. Just curious.


Also, two years ago, a guy walked up to my mother in laws house with a ski mask, told her he just wanted to see what she looked like for when he went to kidnap her. This happenned at 10 am.

The cops knew who it was, it was a cop from a different municipality. They knew who he was because my mother in law saw through the mask that he had green eyes.

Not too many people with green eyes in Mexico.

My sister in law flew down there that night and brought my mother in law back here.

A couple months later the chief of police and mayor from that municipality were gunned down as was a cop from in town who worked there.

I just went down there a few months ago and the town appears to be peaceful but there is an unmistakeable uneasiness in the air.

Everyone knows who these guys are, it's pretty obvious.


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## F-uber (Aug 1, 2015)

observer said:


> Stuff like this happens, there's all kinds of crazy stuff going on.
> 
> Just today, I got a phone call from my "cousin". Rings me up on my work phone, says "Hey primo, how are you? I tell himm pretty good, who is this? He says, its your cousin, i say who? He says your cousin the one that lives outside Long Beach. I say I don't have any cousins. (I do)
> Then he hangs up on me.
> ...


I hope you aren't getting paranoid. This happens to lot of cabbies for some reason.


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## observer (Dec 11, 2014)

F-uber said:


> I hope you aren't getting paranoid. This happens to lot of cabbies for some reason.


Lol, I was beginning to wonder the same thing. 

But phone extortion has been around for quite a while. Gangs in Mexico have even been able to jam phone signals for days at a time in certain parts.

For a while, they only used to make phone calls to the US that were less intimidating. Mostly collect calls where they try and keep you on the phone to run up the bill.

I fell victim to this myself a few years ago. Even though I knew people were being scammed, I accepted a collect call from a "Jose". Lol, theres only 25 million "Joses" in Mexico.

But, by chance my brother Jose happened to have gone to Tijuana that very day. So, I took the call. The guy started off asking how I was blah blah blah, I asked who is this he said "its your cousin, Jose". I said I don't have any cousins named Jose. He said, " Yes it's your cousin, Jose from Michoacan". I immediately hung up on him. I have NO relatives in that state.

My cost for that phone call was 90 dllrs, 30 dllrs per minute. I complained to the BBB and my phone company reversed the charges.

Lately, I've been hearing on spanish language news that phone callers are now extorting money.

It's not like the local police or FBI can arrest these guys, they're already in jail, in Mexico.

Oh, and BTW I'm not a cabbie.


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## Another Uber Driver (May 27, 2015)

For years, the State Department used to tell Americans not to get into VW Beetle taxis in Mejico.


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## LA Cabbie (Nov 4, 2014)

Heard about this new scam from Mexico on Kfi 640 a couple of weeks ago. These Mexicans call you up claiming to be a dear relative who happens to be in Mexico and desperately needs money wired. No, it's not ransom, but to avoid jail or pay off a debt of some sort. These criminals actually do a good research on you. It is enough to fool someone who doesn't know you all that well but cares for you, say, grand parents.

Folks, if you or someone you know ever gets a call like this from a supposed troubled loved one in Mexico, call that person or the person most closest to them first!


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## Lack9133 (Mar 26, 2015)

Over time, as companies use the Uber model to skirt the laws and regulations to give themselves competitive advantages, regulatory agencies will be forced to put the clamps down. Eventually Uber will be regulated or taxi will be deregulated. Both of which in my mind would be bad for Uber. Uber can only survive in a regulated taxi market and deregulated rideshare market. The minute they are forced to compete for drivers, there goes their response time.


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## observer (Dec 11, 2014)

LA Cabbie said:


> Heard about this new scam from Mexico on Kfi 640 a couple of weeks ago. These Mexicans call you up claiming to be a dear relative who happens to be in Mexico and desperately needs
> money wired. No, it's not ransom, but to avoid jail or pay off a debt of some sort. These criminals actually do a good research on you. It is enough to fool someone who doesn't know you all that well but cares for you, say, grand parents.
> 
> Folks, if you or someone you know ever gets a call like this from a supposed troubled loved one in Mexico, call that person or the person most closest to them first!


Or they were in an accident and needed to post bail or fix car. These guys have plenty of time to finesse their stories.

After thinking over when my "primo" called, he never mentioned my name and when he said "Long Beach" there was a slight hesitation, kind of like he had to check his notes.


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