California is trying to pass a law to shut down Uber and other ride share organizations

I don't want this to happen. Cab drivers in San Diego assume everyone is a tourist and takes advantage of their patrons. They drive the wrong directions to jack up the cost. They are always late when you call them, sometimes they don't even show up. Cab companies are lobbying to create laws so they have the monopoly.

If this law passes, I can only imagine how many more drunk drivers will be on the road.

http://go.uber.org/california/

Some of you may not know about Uber & Lyft & Sidecar, but what they do is:

Allow you to schedule a pick up from your smartphone.
They come pick you up in less than 10 minutes in every major California city to my experience.
You can see their car in real time on a map as they get to your location.
They charge from one point to the next so there is no overcharging.
They are usually half as expensive as taxis.
Their employees are happy and like working for them. They employ thousands if not hundreds of thousands in California cities.

Sorry, if this is political I will remove it. I didn't think of that. Please let me know if this is offensive to anyone.

Well, it's certainly offensive to licensed cab drivers, who thought their political support and contributions had bought them a solid monopoly, disguised as "regulations to protect the public" - who are too careless to trust with their own choices, you see. :)
To many of us, "tiki" symbolizes a type of freedom. To many people, so does Uber and Lyft, and AirBnB, I expect. I'm not in California, so I have no participation, there. But I'm interested to see how this type of conflict plays out. Though how to react to these new types of business models IS a political question, the possible answers don't neatly fit into one or another party. The clash can be with the political establishment and status quo of any locality. Threatened businesses want regulations, ordinances, codes, licensing, etc., enforced, ostensibly to protect the public, but in fact to make it costly and difficult for upstart competition to enter the arena.

No opinion on the politics of it.

I do, however, ask that you pass the popcorn as we watch this play out.

Down here in the dick-end of the state we are watching a similar battle...Miami Cops are (were) setting up sting operations for Uber Drivers because they aren't licensed or certified or something along those lines. Which is entertaining because Uber just launched in Ft Lauderdale and the only problem seems to be more passengers that drivers available.

On 2014-08-20 10:17, Chip and Andy wrote:
No opinion on the politics of it.

Down here in the dick-end of the state we are watching a similar battle...Miami Cops are (were) setting up sting operations for Uber Drivers because they aren't licensed or certified or something along those lines.

More like there not union like the cops.
http://www2.orlandoweekly.com/news/story.asp?id=12335

“It’s about money and power. They pay everyone off,” he says.

Mears and its executives are heavy contributors to the powers that be. They showered more than $5,000 on Mayor Buddy Dyer’s 2008 re-election campaign. Other city council members also have received substantial support. In 2007 commissioner Patty Sheehan received $3,000 in campaign contributions and commissioner Sam Ings got $2,500. In 2006, Ings and commissioner Tony Ortiz each got $1,000 and commissioner candidates Belinda Ortiz and Mable Butler each received $500.

Chip & Andy - I was surprised that Miami and the rest of Florida didn't have Uber when I traveled in January. It seems like a perfect fit! I talked with locals and they said the same thing; cab companies have the monopoly and are blocking them out. Too bad, I think it benefits everyone, including cab companies. Taxis have had years to utilize this technology, but they choose not to implement it. They would rather use their shady tactics to extort more money from their patrons.

I was in Chicago a few months ago. The taxis there do utilize the Uber app. You can request UberX or taxis. It makes everything much easier to know how long the cab will take. There is room for both and Chicago is proof.

That would suck. A lot of countries seem to be banning it and I love uber :(

On 2014-08-20 10:17, Chip and Andy wrote:
No opinion on the politics of it.

I do, however, ask that you pass the popcorn as we watch this play out.

If there's Red Vines,
I'm in too!