By Robbie Werth
The proliferation of so-called “ridesharing” companies has spread to over 130 cities across the world. In each city, the story is the same. Uber and Lyft force themselves on cities by doing two things: ignoring existing transportation laws and instilling fear among government and elected officials.
The fear that these companies attempt to instill is that a city or state is “anti-innovation.” They bully governments into thinking that if they don’t swing open their cities’ doors then they will become some stagnant, jobless backwater. Their petulant tantrums are part of their tactic.
The real question is: Why should innovation come at the expense of public safety? Hundreds of licensed, regulated taxicab companies use apps to connect passengers every day with drivers who have been fingerprinted and given a police or FBI background check, and who show up in a vehicle that is 100 percent insured at all times, 24/7.
Uber and Lyft don’t. Their passengers sign a waiver (knowingly or not) that indemnifies these companies of any wrongdoing in case of an accident. Their insurance is murky, their responsibility to public safety is paper-thin, and they have been proven to have allowed felons into their pool of drivers.
On June 6th, Virginia’s Department of Motor Vehicles, after many communications warnings, issued cease-and-desist orders to Uber and Lyft for operating in violation of state law. Their offense: Operating a for-hire transportation fleet on Virginia’s streets without proper registration, licensing and insurance. These actions by Uber and Lyft violate the basic responsibilities of a common carrier to hold a higher degree of responsibility towards the public they serve.
Why should such enforcement cause an uproar? Isn’t it standard operating procedure for businesses to be shut down when they operate outside the law? Doesn’t it benefit the community to have regulators make certain taxi companies are operating in a safe manner before potentially putting citizens at risk? Virginia didn’t require that Uber or Lyft cease operations forever; the state simply asked these companies to apply for easily obtainable operating authority or to wait until legislative changes could enable them to operate safely.
Uber would like states to believe their technology is so radically new that all applicable laws should magically melt away—at least for them. To prove their point, these companies forcefully gain entry into their markets with a “better to ask for forgiveness rather than permission” stance. They won’t take “no” for an answer—and thus attack all who stand in their way as anti-innovation (i.e. anti-jobs).
Well, Virginia believes otherwise. Driving a vehicle commercially—whether it is a taxi, limo, bus, charter or so-called “rideshare”—requires meeting certain standards so the state can ensure its passengers, pedestrians and other drivers are safe. Though so-called “ridesharing” companies claim to be something other than taxicabs, the fact remains that people are being transported for money, therefore making it a commercial transaction. Period.
By issuing these cease and desists, the state is announcing that its number one priority is the safety of its citizens and enforcement of the rule of law. Until Virginia figures out precisely how Uber and Lyft should be regulated, the state can’t risk having its drivers, passengers and pedestrians placed in harm’s way.
Virginia is not the only state raising concerns. One third of all U.S. states, and nearly half of those in which these companies operate, have issued warnings to their consumers that the insurance provided by ‘ridesharing’ companies is unsafe. Lawsuits against Uber and Lyft are popping up all across the country and mainly involve uncompensated insurance claims and operating outside the law.
Uber and Lyft act with an arrogance that is appalling. Crawling out of the shadow of the recession, many cities fall for the scare tactic that opposing these companies is opposing innovation. This simply isn’t so. Requiring Uber and Lyft to obey laws won’t cause your city to lose jobs or the state’s technology industry to pack up and move away. Virginia is already home to hundreds of thriving tech companies that don’t break the law to do business.
Most businesses don’t embrace every regulation they face, but they recognize laws as the price of public safety. The transportation industry is certainly changing, yet as technology evolves the state’s right to safety and accountability for its citizens must prevail. If Uber and Lyft want to compete with taxis, let them. But they should do it in a way that is fair and safe for all.
—Werth is President of Diamond Transportation, a Virginia-based provider of transportation for persons with disabilities. He is a member of the Virginia Taxi Association and serves as the President of the international Taxicab, Limousine & Paratransit Association.
