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Reporter Dan Sleva has the latest on Tuesday’s Lyft/Uber ruling:
Rideshare companies Uber and Lyft have been ordered to immediately cease operations in the City of Pittsburgh following a ruling issued late Tuesday. (Update: But in a late-day Twitter announcement, Uber said it planned to continue offering service through the July 4 weekend; see the end of this story for more.)
A panel of two Public Utilities Commission administrative law justices ruled in favor of the PUC Bureau of Investigation and Enforcement today, granting an emergency cease-and-desist order against both Lyft, Inc., and Uber Technologies.
The San Francisco companies began operating in Pittsburgh earlier this year, connecting contracted drivers with passengers and charging fares. Before launching, the companies were told by the PUC that they would need to obtain a certificate of public convenience. That is the permit granted by the PUC to any car service, taxi or broker that transports passengers for compensation in the commonwealth.
In the opinions, judges Mary D. Long and Jeffrey A. Watson sided with the PUC against Uber writing, “The evidence presented at the hearing established that neither Uber nor the drivers who provided rides to Officer Bowser when he initiated a service request using the Uber app hold authority from the Commission to provide transportation services. Officer Bowser paid for each trip that he took.”
Similar language was used in ordering Lyft to cease and desist its Pittsburgh operations.
“We are not blind or deaf to the public opinion, at least in the Pittsburgh area, that the transportation needs of many individuals are not adequately met by currently certificated carriers. Nor are we unmindful of the potential benefits of the service proposed by Lyft of ‘enhancing access to transportation alternatives, supplementing existing public transportation, reducing single occupancy vehicle trips, vehicle ownership and usage, and assisting the state in achieving reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.’” The judges wrote. “Therefore, it may seem to some that our order here is contrary to the public interest in the ability of individuals to secure transportation in a timely manner.
“However, the Commission is charged with a higher duty than just the public convenience. The Commission is also charged with ensuring the public safety. The General Assembly determined that before transportation can be provided to the public for compensation, a certificate of public convenience issued by the Commission is necessary. It delegated authority to the Commission to determine how and by whom those services should be rendered by determining that ‘the granting of such certificate is necessary or proper for the service, accommodation, convenience, or safety of the public.’ Indeed, the public relies on this Commission to ensure that the traveling public is transported safely.”
Lyft spokesperson Paige Thelen said in a statement: “Today’s decision will make it harder for the people of Pittsburgh to access safe, affordable and modern transportation options. The city’s residents enthusiastically welcomed Lyft’s arrival in February; passengers have come to rely on Lyft for community-powered rides, and Lyft drivers enjoy the economic opportunity that it provides. We remain committed to finding a path forward for ridesharing in Pennsylvania and are working with elected officials to ensure that consumers continue to have access to peer-to-peer transportation.”
This is not necessarily the end of the road for either company in Pittsburgh. According to a PUC spokesperson, the companies have seven days to file briefs with the PUC. Then, within 30 days of receipt of the order, the commission will do one of the following: continue, revoke or grant a stay of proceedings, or determine that the certification was improper and return the matter to the presiding officer for resolution.
UPDATE: Uber, at least, appears to be sticking to its guns: In a tweet sent out late this afternoon, the company pledged that “Despite the order, we will continue to operate bringing PGH safe, reliable rides this holiday wknd.”
Stay tuned.
This article appears in Jun 25 – Jul 1, 2014.
Taxi companies protesting against Uber is akin to telegraph companies protesting against email. Evolve or perish. Go to http://www.lyftvsuber.com/ to try out Uber or Lyft for yourself! The website compares the two most popular ride-sharing services. $30 of FREE ride credit for new passengers and $500 sign-up BONUS for new drivers!! Drivers can make as much as $40/hr! Hope you can see what all the hype is about 🙂 Thanks!!
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I drove for Uber for slightly under two months and what I found is Uber is dangerous for public safety . Taking your eyes off the road to tap on your Uber device to receive a fare and more takes your eyes completely off of the road . Concentrating on your Uber device to receive fares can easily cause accidents due to distractive driving . Even if you, yourself cancels the fare you must proceed with why you are cancelling to the little icons on your Uber device and doing so is a distraction, period . There are 6 icons on your Uber device requesting why your cancelling & you must select one by tapping on one of the little green icons . This is usually done while driving diverting your eyes off the traffic ahead of you . This happened often ………. the client will cancel for one reason or another . You receive the cancellation notice while your driving and while your driving your eyes are taken off the road so you can respond to the beeping sound coming from your Uber device . This beeping sound indicates that the client has cancelled the fare . When getting close to the pick up location you are required to notify the client by again having to locate your Uber device while driving then tapping on the “ arriving now “ icon. This is equal to and just as dangerous then texting while driving . Distractive driving laws were put there for safety reasons which thus far Uber has ignored .
Furthermore, there is no time limit to driving . Unlike Taxi drivers who are limited to a ten hour driving period in, San Francisco an Uber driver can drive for 20 hours straight or more . Too much driving creates fatigue often leading to confusion, , falling asleep, hallucinations, dozing off and considerably more inattentiveness which can cause accidents resulting in injury and even death .
Being an Uber driver means you are subjected to violating traffic law such as take eight passengers in your car when there are only four seat belts or you will be FIRED by Uber . In my case I got a call to take nine passengers . Including myself that would have been ten people total all in a mini van . The weight itself is enough to cause my tires to rub against the wheel wells of my van creating sparks from stones trapped in the threading of my tires which could ignite the fuel tank causing an explosion even killing all those passengers that are trapped inside my mini Van . So, because I didn’t take all nine passengers out to, Isla Vista from downtown Santa Barbara and only took the legal amount of five, the passengers gave me a one rating . They were upset because they had to to order another Uber car to Isla Vista costing them more money . So, over safety concerns I was FIRED for doing what was lawfully right and after I explained to my, Santa Barbara – Uber representatives via email numerous times about having to take too many passengers creating unsafe driving conditions so I could be reinstated my repeated requests were ignored . The bottom line is i was FIRED by Uber for refusing to do something that was unlawful and dangerous . You are rated after each fare by your passenger(s) from one to five and if your rating is too low you will be blocked or for a better term
2. “ fired “by Uber . This causes drivers to violate traffic laws in order to maintain a high rating or their driving privileges and account with Uber will be deactivated .. So the rating system encourages drivers to violate the law such as the impeding of traffic or abrupt stopping, so you won’t miss the client(s) destination . If your client is in a hurry the rating system will also cause drivers to run traffic signals at their passengers request . Again if you don’t you will be graded on your performance from 1 to 5 and in most all cases you will be given the lowest rating such as a one and you will be fired by Uber .
There are no vehicle inspections required by Uber drivers meaning if your car’s brakes are failing or wipers not working it is still OK to drive in the rain . Does Uber care your brakes are failing or wipers aren’t working ? Probally not . They just want their 20% share of your fare and will claim no responsibility if your involved in an accident because they will say your an independent driver . Then if a claim is put against the driver’s insurance Company that claim will be denied because you were using the vehicle commercially . It is illegal to use your vehicle commercially unless you get commercial registration and insurance . Not getting commercial plates, insurances, licenses, permits will mean the loss of millions of dollars for States, Cities and municipalities . Uber drivers do not have commercial insurance, license plates, permits or registration for their vehicles so driving commercially for Uber is technically illegal .
Lucas Laramie didn’t drive for Uber. he just knows how to copy and paste the same crap every cabbie is.
http://goo.gl/VCCB3R
The Taxi companies need a wakeup call. If you’re soooo worried about Uber and Lyft maybe you should take a look at the service you offer. If you were reliable Uber and Lyft would be no threat to you. I don’t live here but visit often. Getting a cab for a trip downtown is impossible. I would never have even tried Uber if the yellow cab was even close to being reliable. Now I am the biggest Uber fan. Go hide in the corner and stuck your thumb yellow cab. Let the better ride service do their job.