Uber Launches in St. Louis Today, Defying – and Suing – Taxi Commission

They’d slowly ticked through a list of changes Uber said it needs if it is to return to Broward County.

September 17-Broward County gives a final vote Thursday to a law that’s Uber-friendlier.

-CAR INSPECTIONS: County-approved mechanics must be used to inspect vehicles, and cars six years or older must undergo twice-a-year checks, under what’s proposed.

The County Commission has agreed to shift to a self-regulatory model, allowing Uber or any other “transportation network company” or traditional taxi operation to vouch for its own drivers, vehicle and insurance coverage. But with much debate ahead of them, and a long day behind them, commissioners put the controversy on pause until October . 13.

Uber’s public policy director for the Southeast United States, Trevor Theunissen, said at the September 1 Broward hearing that there were “some issues” that need to be reworked, but he was confident it could be resolved. You guys have lost it. You’ve been routed.

Uber also accused the “taxi-dominated commission” of acting “to protect its financial interest at the expense of the public” through anti-competitive conduct. Despite that, the driver’s spot hasn’t been occupied in over two years. Without waiting to see what was passed, the company launched service in St. Louis and St. Louis County, where the commission governs vehicles for hire, on Friday morning. He said he’s approaching the legal scheme from a broader perspective than just one that appeases Uber.

“The department has greater concerns than citing or arresting Uber drivers”. The commission has said fingerprinting is a requirement by state statute.

“Finally, we’ve joined the rest of the country”, Sommers said.

Commissioner Stacy Ritter said leaving in the term “for hire” would be tantamount to a “poison pill” that would prevent Uber from doing business here.

But one remains a sticking point.

“When I’m in other cities, I have the freedom to Uber whenever I want”, said the plaintiff, Marsha Wallen, in a release. “…They don’t care about fingerprints, they don’t care about insurance, they don’t care about this, that or the other. They don’t care about insurance”. Voting against it were Commissioners Dale Holness, Barbara Sharief and Lois Wexler.

Uber says it has given 6 million rides in South Florida since arriving here past year . “… I’ve returned every single email I’ve gotten, and that’s over 3,000, so if we want to come back and defer this, I’ll be in the same place I was tonight, looking to get this done”.

The ride-sharing companies must also provide proper accommodations for disabled passengers.

That could prove to be a problem for Uber. A vote to delete the convict ban got support from Ritter and Commissioners Marty Kiar, Chip LaMarca and Bogen, one vote short of a majority.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you might have noticed that taxi drivers aren’t too f***ing happy with Uber round these here parts. However, they said they’d review the possibilities. It also requires fees to be paid in the future at the airport for pick-ups and drop-offs, and a real-time notification system be installed so each car’s presence there can be recorded, via transponders.