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This should make a lot of you happy that want to 'shun' traditional, established taxi cabs. Of course certain ones here will probably 'whine' about the number of 'rules' involved based on 'they (supposedly) know best'.
From the Buffalo News:
Quote:
By Samantha Christmann Wed, Jun 7, 2017
Ride-hailing services such as Uber will be legal in New York State beginning June 29, and rules are now in place to regulate the new industry.
Laws for ride-hailing companies include:
-Companies must have an app that connects drivers with passengers.
-They must submit an application to the Department of Motor Vehicles with a $100,000 application fee. If the application is rejected, the DMV will return $90,000.
-There is an annual renewal fee of $60,000.
-Vehicle liability insurance in the amount of $1.25 million must be provided.
-Companies must provide workers' compensation coverage for drivers.
-Anti-discrimination policies must be put in place.
-The state's Transportation Network Company Accessibility Task Force will advise companies as to how to serve people with disabilities.
Rules for drivers include:
-Drivers must pass a criminal background check and undergo a driving record review.
-Companies must enroll drivers in the DMV's License Event Notification System, which will track their driving record.
-Drivers must have a valid license issued by the DMV.
-Drivers must be 19 years old.
-Companies may have specific vehicle requirements, but the DMV does not.
Other regulations include:
-The ride-hailing app must show an estimated fare before the ride begins.
-It must also display the driver's photo; the make, model and color of the car and its license plate number.
-Vehicles must have the ride-hailing company's logo displayed on the passenger side of the front window so passengers can identify it.
-The Department of Motor Vehicles must create procedures for consumer complaints.
-The DMV must establish complaint procedures for license violations of ride-hailing companies.
Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo this week signed legislation that moved up the start date for allowing ride sharing in upstate New York.
Last edited by videobruce; 06-09-2017 at 06:50 AM..
Can't these companies play by the rules and keep everything above board??
From the Buffalo News;
Quote:
By Tom Precious Thu, Jun 8, 2017
ALBANY – Just weeks before ride-hailing is set to begin in upstate New York, the industry’s largest player in the United States has paid a $98,000 fine for underreporting how much it spent on lobbying. Uber Technologies Inc. failed to report $6.3 million in lobbying costs in its 2015-2016 biennial registration report, the Joint Commission on Public Ethics said.
A spokesman for the state agency said Uber originally reported spending a total of $3.07 million on all lobbying expenses in 2015 and 2016, when it should have reported $9.38 million. Most of that spending, according to spokesman Walt McClure, occurred in 2015. Uber hired a battalion of lobbyists with various political connections at the Capitol and spent millions on advertising to press legalization of ride-hailing in upstate and on Long Island.
In the first four months of 2017, the company reported spending $875,000 on ads, mailings and phone banking operations. That does not include money spent on in-house and retained lobbyists. In the period involved in the settlement, Uber also had a major lobbying battle in New York City over proposals to impose additional regulations on ride-hailing companies there, where the service already is legal. JCOPE, which regulates and monitors lobbying costs by companies, unions and special interest groups on both the state and local levels, said it found a “material discrepancy” in Uber spending during the 2015-16 registration period. It said Uber acknowledged the discrepancy and then subsequently reported $6.3 million in lobbying expenses it had not previously disclosed.
The settlement agreement blames the original error on an outside “filing firm,’’ and acknowledges that Uber cooperated with the financial review. Uber agreed to pay the $98,000 within 30 days. “We updated our reports because there were unintentional omissions from our initial disclosures. Uber NY has revised its processes and no longer uses the third party filing firm who prepared these disclosure statements,’’ said Uber spokeswoman Alix Anfang.
Under legislation approved in April, ride-hailing will expand to upstate and Long Island beginning June 29. JCOPE on Thursday also released its annual report for lobbying expenses in 2016 and Uber placed fourth on the list. It was the only single corporation to make it into the top 10 list for lobbying expenditures, topped only by groups representing New York City landlords, hospitals and nursing homes and a union representing nurses. In all in 2016, lobbying expenditures across all sectors and interest groups in New York – which includes both expenses for lobbyists and advertising costs – totaled $242.7 million, flat from the previous year. There were 7,300 registered lobbyists in 2016 working the halls of the state Capitol and local governments.
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"They must submit an application to the Department of Motor Vehicles with a $100,000 application fee. If the application is rejected, the DMV will return $90,000."
The DMV is charging a $10,000 penalty if they don't like your application, talk about highway robbery.
"They must submit an application to the Department of Motor Vehicles with a $100,000 application fee. If the application is rejected, the DMV will return $90,000."
The DMV is charging a $10,000 penalty if they don't like your application, talk about highway robbery.
Crazy. I wonder what the ratio of approved/denied applications will be? Deny 100 applications and there's a million more in Cuomo's hands, um NYS's coffers. Gotta pay for the Excelsior Scholarships somehow.
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Crazy. I wonder what the ratio of approved/denied applications will be? Deny 100 applications and there's a million more in Cuomo's hands, um NYS's coffers. Gotta pay for the Excelsior Scholarships somehow.
I was always under the impression that Uber could flourish in more progressive locations because they don't have to pay the "hack fees" that traditional taxis do. At $100K for a license I see Uber like most businesses tell the state where they can put it.....
I think the state would have a heart attack if "slugging" become a popular means of commuting.
Is uber being permitted to pick up street hails in NYC? If so, I can see blood shed in the streets. God forbid the yellow cabs clog up the airports and major NYC intersection with a sit down/turn it off protest.
"They must submit an application to the Department of Motor Vehicles with a $100,000 application fee. If the application is rejected, the DMV will return $90,000."
The DMV is charging a $10,000 penalty if they don't like your application, talk about highway robbery.
Did you ever consider that maybe done to protect the long established taxi cab companies that will take a massive hit with this???? Or isn't that important? (and no, I'm not a cab driver and don't even know any, I just think of others)
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Originally Posted by videobruce
Did you ever consider that maybe done to protect the long established taxi cab companies that will take a massive hit with this???? Or isn't that important? (and no, I'm not a cab driver and don't even know any, I just think of others)
With the multiple ingrained layers of corruption in New York's business affairs I am quite sure that is the primary reason that they did it. So once again the average person must suffer because heaven forbid the status quo is upset.
Sorry, but I don't feel bad for the traditional cab companies, at all. Downstate, at least, they have been rude to customers and overcharging people for years because they knew they could. The ratings model on Uber keeps people nice and pleasant, and their cars clean.
Same thing with gas stations. Once a Wawa or Quick Chek comes in to the area, the other gas stations close down. Wawa employees ask in clear English "How can I help you". Not: "What?" come on I don't have all day, buddy. F- em. Good customer service, clean bathrooms, and friendly cashiers I'm going there every time.
$100,000 application fee is ridiculous too. How can an upstart company compete with that?
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Opps...............Uber cheated
