Uber sued by family of six-year-old killed in San Francisco crash(theguardian.com) |
Uber sued by family of six-year-old killed in San Francisco crash(theguardian.com) |
Note that since cab drivers can't usually afford hundreds of thousands of dollars for a taxi medallion, they have to lease them--so it's primarily people with a few hundred thousand dollars to spare (taxi companies and their investors) not drivers, that benefit from this hamstrung competition.
A lot of people criticize Uber because "it isn't really innovative, they are just skirting regulations." Well, maybe avoiding the regulations is the innovative part. It's a loophole, and to me (not a lawyer) it seems shocking that it's legally workable. But they've dramatically increased the incomes and freedom of cab drivers, and substantially decreased the price of cabs (I only take UberX, and it's at least 30% less than an equivalent cab here in Orange County, CA). And now that drivers and customers have experienced a medallion-free taxi system, the taxi companies are going to have a hard time regaining control.
http://setexasrecord.com/news/280325-east-texas-family-files...
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/23/nyregion/new-york-taxi-dri...
Uber is awesome -- ut the costing model fucking sucks.
When in SF I lived in Presidio and Upper Market/Noe Valley area...
Getting the SF cabs to come to my house was so infuriating; nobody wanted to come pick me up in Presidio or Noe Valley.
I was actually banned from multiple cab companies, as - it turns out - they share caller data: I was calling multiple cab companies to my house (Because nobody would show) as a shotgun approach to getting a cab. A dispatcher told me I was blacklisted due to this practice; my response was that if the cab had shown up, I wouldnt do this...
They didnt care. (I had MANY calls where I called 20+ times and waited 2 hours.)
FUC THE SF CABS. PERIOD.
HOWEVER; I think that Uber (and ALL cabs) are way over priced.
The fact that I had to pay $75 to take me from SF to SFO - where I was FLYING to LAX from SFO for $99 - I found this ridiculous!
The fact is that all CAB fees are just not congruous with the service.
When A cab ride from a home in SF to SFO costs ~$80, but takes ~30 minutes, you're paying the equiv $160K per year for the services of a DRIVER...
This is not sustainable.
The reason Uber black car costs $65 (not sure if they charge more from Presidio) is because it is still cheaper than taking a black car limo from an agency. Black car is a luxury good.
Uber is great for within the city and UberX is now cheaper than a cab in a lot of cases. $7 home for me vs $12 for a cab. It replaces cars for a lot of people and the demand they've had for it shows that it IS sustainable. It's an amazing alternative over cabs, price included.
Uber should be liable once driver taps on the button and a customer is locked in. He's rushing to get there, like any other taxi who sees a customer flag them down across the road.
Makes sense no? That said, this is any company's nightmare. Why don't they just settle and be a good citizen.
I don't think this case is going to have any dispute about the facts. He did not have a passenger, was not enroute to a passenger, but had the Uber App on and was driving around waiting for a fare.
[1] http://www.sfexaminer.com/sanfrancisco/uber-driver-arrested-...
Uber app on means he's ALWAYS hunting for business. Uber enabled that. Uber's insurance should protect the driver.
My guess is that he had recently dropped off a passenger and was trying to get back to a location that he thought would make it more likely for him to be selected for another ride.
Do you think Uber should be liable then?
http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2013/08/27/senders-of-texts-to-driv...
Granted it happened in NJ, not CA, and it isn't directly applicable anyway, but they might have a hard time with the same sort of idea applied to the way their entire dispatching model works.
I would think if the plaintiffs could prove conclusively the guy was actively operating the Uber app at the time of the accident (which they tend to imply in these stories but I have no idea if that's just spin) it would be nearly a slam dunk case in front of your average jury.
[1] http://webaccess.sftc.org/Scripts/Magic94/mgrqispi94.dll?APP...
First legal case against uber? My ass it is.
When I get a ride on Uber, I pay Uber. Uber pays the driver. Uber cancelled the drivers account. They fired the driver. Uber is screwed. Luckily, they have a lot of money.
So why would Uber be responsible if their driver was using their app? Especially if Uber says to their drivers not to use it while driving.
Interested to hear thoughts here.
Simple;
If Uber app is on = cab driver makes money
If Uber app is off = cab driver makes no money.
Only way to circumvent that is to shut off the App if you're not going to be picking up anyone or you're in a buffer zone, grabbing lunch etc.
Am I wrong?
Let's say I am a developer working at FooCorp and my employer provides an insurance for any accidents caused during work.
Now while I was having my lunch, there was a fire in kitchen that killed 2 employees. Now would it be fair for my employer to say that since the 2 employees weren't writing code when the accident happened, they are not liable for the accident?
Per your analogy, I'm guessing that for the sake of argument in your mind, Uber driver was working for Uber.
Your analogy goes:
1. A has employee B.
2. A has insurance for accidents affecting B during work.
3. A was physically associated with an accident that affected B.
4. B was not working at time of accident.
5. If, 1, 2, 3, and 4, then A is not liable for accident.
6. Therefore, A is not liable for accident.
I think the point of contention in the Uber case is whether #4 is true. If #4 is false, your conclusion doesn't work. Ways that #4 can be false have already been discussed thoroughly in these comments.
Again, I haven't decided for myself whether or not Uber should be liable. But this argument doesn't convince me that Uber shouldn't be liable.
No, the Uber app operating is proof that the cab driver is amicable to getting paid.
My guess the driver is going to be 90% liable, Uber 10%. California is a joint and several liability state, so Uber is going to pay all damages not covered by the driver's insurance. I am not a lawyer, but this seems so clear cut that it will never go to court.
But then again, if you think about it, being an Uber driver is unlike any other contractor. If I were an Uber driver, i'd have my app open as much as possible. every second is potential income, and every ping to my app is guaranteed income.
Can a php contractor say that by having their email client open all day?