'San Francisco Clamps Down On Monkey Parking App That Allows Drivers To
Auction Public Parking Spots'
http://sanfrancisco.cbs/san-francisco-clamps-down-on-monkey-parking-app/
<http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2014/06/23/san-francisco-clamps-down-on-monkey-parking-app-that-allows-drivers-to-auction-public-parking-spots/>
>
On 6/13/2014 6:11 PM, Richard J. Williams wrote:
There's Uber and there is Lyft and in some large cities, Sidecar - I
call it Uber-Lyft. It's a new technology, not a taxi service. You put
an app on your mobile phone and get a ride from an privately owned
vehicle; it's a new way to get a ride without waiting for a cab. The
vehicles are the personal cars owned by the drivers. You pay a little
more but you get a ride faster.
The driver uses their GPS to get you to your destination and you pay
with a credit card online. The cars are usually a lot nicer vehicles
too. In a taxi often you have to wait, sometimes a long time, and the
cars are most of the time - dumpy - it's like riding in a cage with
tacky advertisements stuck all over inside. And, sometimes you have to
wait over an to get a cab at a busy airport at certain times of the day.
Once, I drove a cab for awhile to make some extra cash, so I know a
little bit about it. Some contract drivers have to pay $75 a day to
the company and you have to drive for twelve hour shifts. You have to
pay for your own gasoline and pay the fee, even if you don't make a
profit - it works out to be less than minimum wage sometimes. Yes, I
drove a cab for a guy named Lloyd who owned over 100 Yellow Cabs in
Austin. One day when I returned the car for the next driver Lloyd was
sitting at his desk collecting cash and he quipped: "Money talks,
bullshit walks." Classic.
In some places, like L.A., S.F. and New York City, there is a lot of
blow-back with some cars getting impounded and drivers being issued
tickets. Cab drivers are mad as hell about this. The problem with the
new technology is that I guess it doesn't allow enough room for graft
to city officials. Go figure.
"Driver assaults and incomplete insurance may not be car service apps’
biggest regulatory hurdles — it may be airports."
'California Threatens To Shut Down Uber, Lyft, Sidecar Over Airport
Rides'
http://tinyurl.com/nebyah6
