[On April 7th,] Hawaii legislators voted to take Senate Bill 1280 into conference as the final weeks of the 2015 legislative session approach. SB 1280 seeks to regulate Transportation Network Companies by appropriating funds to the state Public Utilities Commission for the purpose of regulating Transportation Network Companies (TNCs) and their drivers. The bill would also mandate that TNCs register as businesses with the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs. It would also establish insurance requirements and qualifications for ride-hailing drivers.
“Drivers shouldn't feel like they can't make a living or make part-time money transporting passengers,” said Dale Evans, President of Charley's Taxi. Evans also said “Our company will happily help any Uber driver who wants to keep driving legally as a Taxi driver. We'll assist them with following the necessary steps to get licensed, get the correct equipment and have the proper insurance. Nobody should lose out on their ability to earn money because of SB1280.
(Score: 2) by FatPhil on Saturday April 18 2015, @10:50AM
Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday April 18 2015, @11:56AM
Competition for drivers is a good thing. The CEO of uber is on the record [theverge.com] wanting to get rid of drivers all together.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday April 18 2015, @12:43PM
We shouldn't even need goddamn taxis. We need cities where transportation is possible without having to pay some third-worlder far too much money for shitty service, or where we have to pay some hipster far too much money for riskier service. Taxis were very limited before the 1950s, when cities still had proper infrastructure like trams and streetcars, and trains carried people across longer distances.
Taxis are the problem. Uber is the problem.
(Score: 2) by frojack on Saturday April 18 2015, @08:23PM
Cities have NEVER had adequate infrastructure for mass transit. The great Los Angeles "Red Car" myth is always thrown up when this discussion comes up. It might be worth looking into it. Red Line was itself a conspiracy of land developers, and never actually served the cities needs.
Channelized transportation (rigid rail/bus lines) is every much as big of a problem for the modern world as is point-to-point transportation.
No transportation structure will survive with more than a 30 minute headway (interval between departures from any given place to another). Yet cities plan lines around the 30 minute headway all the time, thereby assuring the financial failure of their systems. They then wonder while ridership is down.
No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.
(Score: 2) by davester666 on Sunday April 19 2015, @06:54AM
Yes. Just have a network of catapult's, trebuchet's and mattresses for public transportation within cities.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by number11 on Saturday April 18 2015, @01:09PM
Exactly. Taxi companies support turning Uber drivers into taxi drivers. This 1) increases their labor pool, and helps keep wages for drivers low, and 2) gets rid of the competition from Uber.
I seriously doubt that taxi drivers support this.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday April 18 2015, @03:27PM
> This 1) increases their labor pool,
Man you are really reaching for straws with that. It isn't that hard to become a taxi driver in the first place. In fact, it is probably easier than becoming an uber driver because most taxi companies provide the vehicles while uber drivers need to provide their own.
(Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday April 18 2015, @11:42AM
Will the taxi drivers hold and aim the penises of the Uber drivers while they urinate, too?
How far will these taxi drivers really go to help the Uber drivers? Will they go that far?
(Score: 2) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday April 18 2015, @12:28PM
Whoever fucked up the moderation of the parent totally missed the point. Uber is about being independent. It's not about getting help from the establishment. It's about shitting on the status quo at all times. It's about doing what's right over doing what's orthodox. It's about independence. It's about, as they say in America, holding your own penis when you piss.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday April 18 2015, @01:24PM
That's some bad modding.
How can the parent comment be 'spam' when there's no commercial aspect to it?
Spam, by its very definition, requires a commercial aspect.
Some product must be hawked.
If it's not hawking some product, it's not spam.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday April 18 2015, @03:29PM
Dude, quit responding to your own posts to bitch about the moderation.
Get a life. Nobody fucking cares that your feelings were hurt.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday April 18 2015, @04:05PM
Why are you responding to your own comments, yelling at yourself for responding to your own comments?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday April 18 2015, @05:27PM
Because I'm a total schizo nutjob, if that wasn't clear by the 2nd post it was painfully obvious by the 3rd.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday April 18 2015, @06:47PM
You're really fucked up, son.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday April 18 2015, @08:33PM
Yes you are.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday April 18 2015, @10:18PM
Your autism is showing.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday April 19 2015, @02:14AM
That's really just my persecution complex. I don't have assburgers.
(Score: 1, Disagree) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday April 18 2015, @12:57PM
Clearly this submission is a dud. It has been up on the front page for hours now, but it still has only 5 comments. Nobody cares about this topic, apparently.
When this happens, the SN software should automatically select the next queued story, and get it on the front page. A good story will easily get 30 or more comments within the first hour.
(Score: 3, Informative) by Nerdfest on Saturday April 18 2015, @03:50PM
It's 06:30 (I'll assume that's converted to my timezone, Eastern). This is a very lowvolume time for a very large segment of Soylents. I don't really think it wood matter if you put up a vi vs. emacs story, it wouldn't gather comments very quickly.
(Score: 2) by isostatic on Sunday April 19 2015, @05:37AM
American idol and tea with the cardassians get large numbers of viewers. That doesn't mean they're good shows.
(Score: 2) by jasassin on Saturday April 18 2015, @09:17PM
Start using that money to lobby against bill sb1280, among other things. Push to repeal laws! Go offensive! Fight!
The run is over cash out?
jasassin@gmail.com GPG Key ID: 0xE6462C68A9A3DB5A
(Score: 2) by aristarchus on Saturday April 18 2015, @11:09PM
Push to repeal laws! Go offensive!
But, what if having insurance is actually a pretty good idea, since if an Uber driver leaves you in a wheelchair for life, you might want some compensation. And might it be a good idea to have some qualifications for drivers? So, like, they don't put you in a wheelchair.
Next up: Uber Surgeons!
(Score: 2) by jasassin on Saturday April 18 2015, @11:35PM
.
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/breaking-news/os-richard-petty-fatality-20150412-story.html [orlandosentinel.com]
Every passenger and driver has immediate feedback on uber. If the driver smelled like booze or drove dangerously he won't be on there long. If the passanger puked in your car... etc. If its the first time this person fucked up and paralyzed me I highly doubt a medallion and a foreign accent would have saved me.
jasassin@gmail.com GPG Key ID: 0xE6462C68A9A3DB5A
(Score: 2) by aristarchus on Sunday April 19 2015, @12:12AM
It is the maiden voyage of HMS Ubercardriver that worries me more. No reviews, no yelp, no nothing.