Politics & Government

by Ryan King on June 1, 2016 60 Comments

Do Rideshare Drivers Need To Get Business Licenses?

Harry here. There’s been a lot of talk about business licenses lately with cities like San Francisco now requiring drivers to get one, but Lyft and Uber have remained quiet on the issue. Today, new RSG contributor Ryan King walks us through the situation and what drivers need to know. Even if you’re not in SF, this will likely be an issue you have to deal with at some point, so make sure you brush up on the rules now.

Update: Since SB 182 passed in California, California drivers now only need one business license to work statewide. Drivers can obtain this business license in the city where they live.

Like many drivers here in the San Francisco Bay Area, I received an official letter from the City & County of San Francisco Treasurer and Tax Collector in late April. Well, I actually received two copies of the letter. I assume this is because I drive for both Uber and Lyft. The letter basically told me I owe the city an annual business license fee for operating a business in SF.

The first thing I did was to try and gather information on this requirement. I read emails from Uber and Lyft about it, I found this article on our blog. But I couldn’t find much information about the requirement, and the more I looked, the more questions I had about it. Do I have to pay for two licenses because I got two letters (one for Lyft and one for Uber)? (No). Do I have to pay for previous years? (Yes). What will happen if I don’t pay? (I don’t know).

The whole thing seemed strange. I felt like I didn’t get support from Uber or Lyft about this unexpected bill, and I needed more information to make an informed decision about what to do in this situation.

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by Christian Perea on May 9, 2016 70 Comments

Why Uber And Lyft Are Leaving Austin

Harry here. Big news broke over the weekend that Uber and Lyft are leaving Austin, Texas. Today, RSG senior contributor Christian Perea breaks down exactly what went wrong and why Uber and Lyft are such sore losers when it comes to dealing with the government.

Over the weekend, 56% of Austin citizens rejected a proposition put forward by Uber and Lyft to overturn local TNC un-friendly regulations. Proposition 1 would have repealed a city ordinance enacted by the Austin City Council in December to require mandatory fingerprint-based background checks of all TNC drivers. The December ordinance also required the display of trade dress on vehicles, prohibited stopping in traffic lanes to pickup or drop-off passengers, and the sharing of some data with the city.

In the months leading up to the vote, Lyft and Uber formed a Political Action Committee called “Ridesharing Works for Austin” and poured a little over $9 million into it so they could carpet bomb the airwaves with messages to support their measure and send the city legislature packing with their tails between their legs. In contrast, the PAC against Proposition 1 only managed to raise $100,000. It didn’t matter though, because Uber and Lyft lost anyways.

Credit: Austin Monitor

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by Harry Campbell on April 29, 2016 10 Comments

My Experience Testifying For Driver’s Rights In Sacramento

Last week I traveled up to Sacramento to testify in favor of AB 1727 – a bill in California that would give independent contractors the right to collectively bargain. It was introduced by California State Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez, a Democrat representing the 80th Assembly District (South San Diego).

Although there’s been some media coverage for this bill, I hadn’t even heard of it until a staff member from Ms. Gonzalez’s office reached out to me. In short, the bill would allow for independent contractors, that operate through a mobile platform, to organize and collectively bargain with their employer. The bill would cover a lot of different industries but in my estimation, Uber drivers would be the largest group of workers affected.

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by Christian Perea on February 26, 2016 23 Comments

Should Rideshare Drivers Be Required To Get Fingerprinted?

Harry here. We’re no fingerprinting experts, but today with the help of RSG reader Tony (who is) and RSG contributor Christian Perea, we talk all about fingerprinting and whether it should be a requirement for rideshare drivers or not. Uber’s safety checks have been in the news a lot lately and with the latest incident in Kalamazoo (even though the driver did pass a background check), those safety issues have been brought front and center again.

Fingerprinting is a recurring issue for TNC companies throughout the US. Local governments often attempt to adapt their regulatory structure to react to the onslaught of drivers that suddenly appear on their streets sporting Us and ‘staches.

The most recent battleground has been in Austin, where city officials were advocating to have drivers fingerprinted while TNCs such as Uber and Lyft are threatening to leave the market.

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by Christian Perea on July 24, 2015 27 Comments

The Real Reason Behind Uber Leaving Broward County (Florida)

Today, we’re trying something new and reporting on a current event in the world of rideshare and how it will affect drivers. Our regular rideshare round-up of all the top news stories from the week will be published tomorrow. But today, RSG contributor, Christian Perea, takes a look at the real reasons why Uber is leaving Broward County. There is a lot of good analysis in this post and we break down exactly why these fights between Uber and local governments are breaking out and what they mean for drivers and passengers.

If you drive in Florida, you need to be aware that an important deadline is about to pass in Broward County on July 31st. A complete pull-out by Uber and Lyft from the Broward market. So if you are one of the unlucky Broward drivers whose job is on the line, that really sucks. But at the end of the day, this is all a political maneuver on behalf of Uber and Lyft. So let me explain how it works.

The Real Reason Behind Uber Leaving Broward County (Florida)

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