The San Francisco Cab Drivers Association (SFCDA) is fighting back against rideshare startups, using the same technology that made them so popular.
SFCDA members have been taking photographs, recording license plate numbers, and gathering information about rideshare contractors, and compiling an online database of those drivers, accessible to insurance companies, police agencies, and the public at large.
The database documents those individuals who operate rideshare vehicles without the appropriate insurance and outside of their current coverage. It currently holds 3,000 entries.
Although insurance companies have yet to weigh-in regarding the coverage for rideshare drivers, the database is an attempt to increase visibility into the growing problem.
San Francisco, ground zero rideshare companies, has seen a clash of cultures, with taxi cab companies speaking out against rideshare services and their lack of responsibility for contract drivers.
The rideshare companies have been warned by the California Department of Insurance, and notified of insurance shortcomings.
“It’s ridiculous to say that they’re only insured when they’re on a call,” cabbie association President Barry Korengold told CBS San Francisco. “Taxi cabs have to be insured 100 percent of the time. They don’t just disappear when they’re not on a call. They’re still out there on the road, as demonstrated by this accident, causing a danger to the public.”
The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, in a further attempt to combat the influx of rideshare drivers, will be increasing the number of cabs in the city, committing to raise issued permits from 1,900 to 2,100 by the end of 2014.
As the city evolves, so must the transportation industry. If regulations are not put in place, more will be hurt, and less will be responsible. Rideshare companies may provide a valuable service, but at what price?
Hello, I’m Claude Wyle, a San Francisco automobile accident attorney. Have an idea for a topic you’d like to see covered here? Feel free to contact me or visit www.ccwlawyers.com
Claude A. Wyle is a partner of Choulos Choulos, and Wyle, a San Francisco based law firm dedicated to representing clients who have been injured by the wrongful conduct of individuals, corporations, public entities, and businesses. Mr. Wyle also frequently sits as a Judge Pro Tem for the city and county of San Francisco.
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