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Republican Governor Charlie Baker signed the nickel fee into law this month as part of a sweeping package of regulations for the industry.
Ride services are not enthusiastic about the fee. "I don't think we should be in the business of subsidizing potential competitors," said Kirill Evdakov, the chief executive of Fasten, a ride service that launched in Boston last year and also operates in Austin, Texas.
Some taxi owners wanted the law to go further, perhaps banning the start-up competitors unless they meet the requirements taxis do, such as regular vehicle inspection by the police.
"They've been breaking the laws that are on the books, that we've been following for many years," said Larry Meister, manager of the Boston area's Independent Taxi Operator's Association.
The law levies a 20-cent fee in all, with 5 cents for taxis, 10 cents going to cities and towns and the final 5 cents designated for a state transportation fund.
The fee may raise millions of dollars a year because Lyft and Uber alone have a combined 2.5 million rides per month in Massachusetts.
(Score: 2) by archfeld on Monday August 22 2016, @09:23PM
I would not begin to try and decide what you want for you, my objection was purely from a selfish point of view. You are willing to ride in a vehicle that has no insurance for your medical injuries should an accident occur. I know that I am upset at the fact that I have to bear the additional costs for the medical care in the case that you are injured while on the road without proper insurance coverage and would just as soon see people who knowingly put themselves in that position put down rather than pay those costs.
As for regulating taxi's that is indeed a local government decision and I can fully support/understand your opinion on that issue. You have the right to do as you decide, but that right ceases to exist when it infringes on my life, income and my pursuit of happiness.
For the NSA : Explosives, guns, assassination, conspiracy, primers, detonators, initiators, main charge, nuclear charge
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 22 2016, @11:04PM
By chance are you a Supreme Court justice? Because your ever expanding idea of what you are responsible to pay for fits nicely in their idea of the commerce clause.
Unless you can use your supernatural powers to verify that you live in the same local as OP, you aren't paying for shit. Insurance rates are set locally, as well as the uninsured costs borne by the healthcare system. Somewhere out in the world, someone is eating beans, which will contribute to the production of methane, which, is a greenhouse gas, which contributes to global warming, which affects the world economy, which increases the prices you pay.
That doesn't give you the right to "regulate" what that person eats.
And what's good for the goose is also good for the gander: I demand a full audit of every aspect of your life so I can determine which parts I have been subsidizing, with a check issued to me post-haste for any incursions beyond your allotment. I don't take kindly to freeloaders.
Uber is essentially a high tech version of sticking out your thumbing, catching a ride, and offering to chip in a couple bucks for the gas. It just so happens to also be a business model for taxi service as well, otherwise none else would really give a fuck and life could keeping humming along without you feeling imposed upon by a private transaction between two individuals that really has fuckall to do with you.
(Score: 2) by archfeld on Tuesday August 23 2016, @03:47PM
Uh you really don't understand insurance liability do you ? Nor apparently do you approve of people having an opinion different from yours. The 'business' model of Uber is FAR from sticking out your thumb for an occasional ride otherwise there would be no business, just a few people getting a ride share. The medical costs alone far exceed the scope of what you are referring to. As to where the OP lives I'd be willing to bet based on the story we both reside in the US and that makes the medical costs part of my life. As for the full audit of my financial 'life', I send it to the Fsck'n Federal government every year just like every other citizen does to ensure that I pay my full share. While you seem to scoff at the idea of the butterfly in China affecting the weather in Cincinnati, most of us realize the world is a closed space and everything we do affects everyone else's lives.
For the NSA : Explosives, guns, assassination, conspiracy, primers, detonators, initiators, main charge, nuclear charge