Uber Advises Drivers To Buy Insurance That Leaves Them Uncovered

At a presentation for would-be Uber drivers attended by BuzzFeed News, a company representative advised getting less-expensive “personal” insurance that can leave drivers uncovered and in some cases lead them to incorrectly register their cars in violation of the law.

Uber is steering drivers to purchase auto insurance that leaves them uncovered when they’re trolling for fares and that often forces them to flout the law by lying when they register their automobiles, according to documents, interviews, and an Uber presentation attended by a BuzzFeed News reporter.

The transit giant has been advising California drivers interested in its low-cost UberX service that personal, rather than commercial, insurance is sufficient to fully cover them and their vehicles. But insurance companies insist that’s not the case, and they have refused to pay when Uber drivers have gotten into accidents while on the job. In some instances, Uber’s secondary insurance doesn’t cover drivers either, effectively leaving them on the hook for medical bills and car repairs.

There’s another problem: To qualify for a personal insurance policy in California, a car must be registered with the Department of Motor Vehicles as being for personal use, not commercial use. To get personal insurance, drivers purchasing new vehicles they plan to use for UberX often lie on official state forms that ask whether the vehicle will be driven commercially, according to registration documents, drivers, and auto dealers. Working with lenders, Uber has developed leasing and loan programs that have guided drivers to register Uber vehicles for personal use only.

The DMV says that is improper. “There’s not a shade of gray on it,” said Andrew Conway, branch chief of registration policy at the DMV. “If you use the vehicle for commercial purposes, even occasionally, it has to be registered as commercial.”

He added that anyone who registers Uber cars as personal vehicles is “making a false statement on the report of sale, knowingly.”

Insurance is one of the biggest issues at play in the ballooning ridesharing business. Uber, the industry leader, now operates in 53 countries and more than 120 U.S. cities, providing upwards of a million rides per day as it competes with traditional taxi and limousine services, as well as other mobile-app-based services such as Lyft.

When you dive deep into the business realm, you quickly realise that preparation is the key to survival. While strategies and market insights are vital, so is having a robust contingency plan. In the motor trade, this means securing the right insurance. For those keen on thorough protection, https://www.tradex.com/motor-trade-insurance has proven time and again to be an invaluable asset. It’s a decision that speaks volumes about your commitment to your business.

As Uber and competing services grow, the San Francisco ChronicleForbesThe New Yorker, and other publications have written about the industry’s insurance problems. While most of the focus has been on drivers acting alone to conceal their activities from insurers, BuzzFeed News has found that Uber steers some drivers to purchase policies that put them at risk, and that leads them to register their vehicles incorrectly.

While Uber offers limousine services that carry commercial insurance, much of its growth has been fueled by the UberX program, which allows virtually anyone to use their own car for hire. Some drivers have little experience with passenger transportation and rely on Uber to direct them on critical issues including insurance.

Addison Lee boss: TfL ‘bottled it’ by letting Uber come to London

Liam Griffin

Liam Griffin: Said TfL ‘bottled it’ Picture: Glenn Copus

The boss of the UK’s biggest cab firm Addison Lee today accused Transport for London of “letting down” black taxi drivers by allowing a controversial American tech giant to muscle in on the capital.

In an interview with the Evening Standard, the firm’s chief executive claimed TfL had “bottled” it by letting taxi app Uber operate in London.

Uber’s presence in London has sparked fury and, earlier this year, protests among London’s black cabbies who claim the company’s technology effectively turn its drivers’ phones into a meter.

And Liam Griffin accused TfL of refusing to enforce regulations with Uber that Addison Lee – which has nearly 5000 cabs operating across London – has had to comply with because of a fear of legal action from the San Francisco company, whose backers include Google.

 “TfL completely and utterly bottled it,” he said. “They decided that they would fold and not enforce regulations that they have done to us for a long, long time on the basis that they are worried about being sued by Uber.”

The decision put TfL’s “credibility” in doubt, he said: “This has been enforced for ten years… Along come these guys, and all of a sudden its fine to do it. That’s just weak management.”

Uber, founded in 2009, has enjoyed an extremely rapid global expansion that has seen it now operate in over 200 cities and be valued at $40 billion. But its growth has been marred by controversy, including legal opposition in a number of countries as well as questions over the security of its process for vetting drivers.

TfL said Uber “meet all the requirements to be a licensed private hire operator”. A spokesman added a recent successful prosecution of Uber by TfL for an offence of causing or permitting a vehicle to be used without insurance showed it was not afraid to take action as a licensing authority.

Griffin, 41, also attacked Boris Johnson’s plans to create the world’s first “ultra low emission zone”. Under TfL’s current proposals, private hire vehicles who want to enter central London have to meet the conditions by 2020 or pay a daily £12.50 charge, while new private hire vehicles and taxis applying for a license have to be zero emission capable by 2018.

Calling the proposals “flawed” and “another TfL classic,” Griffin claimed passengers would end up footing the bill as no vehicle currently exists that fits the criteria and could be used by Addison Lee, and that no manufacturers were close to making one. “We are sitting here hoping that a suitable vehicle is created between now,” he said, “but we’ve spoken to Ford, we’ve spoken to Toyota, we’ve spoken to Mercedes – three of our current suppliers – and at this moment none of them are saying we will have a suitable vehicle.

“So at this moment you’ll have to pay £12.50 to drive into the middle of town [which will go onto the bills] of the driver and then the consumer.”

He added that it was not “just an Addison Lee problem, this is an industry-wide problem” and accused TfL of trying to rush through the proposals before the general election: “It’s become more of a political issue than it has a practical one, and that’s not beneficial to anyone.”

Griffin, who took over as head of Addison Lee from his dad and founder John, said he was “aligned with black taxis” on the issue.

TfL’s spokesman said the ULEZ will “improve the capital’s air quality and significantly reduce the number of people living in areas of poor air quality”, adding that the consultation on the proposals was ongoing and that it welcomed submissions by the deadline of 9 January.

Mercedes-Benz Vans Appoints S & B Commercials as New Vito Taxi Retail Outlet

Mercedes-Benz Vans has appointed S&B Commercials as a retail outlet for Vito Taxi.

From January 2015, customers will be able to buy both new and used Vito Taxi models from S&B Commercials in Welham Green, West Thurrock and Stansted.

The Mercedes-Benz Vito Taxi is generously equipped to carry up to six passengers and conforms to Transport for London Conditions of Fitness.

Standard technical equipment includes Adaptive ESP Stability programme, ECO start/stop system, Parktronic system with visual and audible aids, and Speedtronic with cruise control and variable speed limiter.

Vito Taxi owners also benefit from a comprehensive three year/150,000 mile warranty, service intervals of up to 24,000 miles, and Service24h included as standard, entitling free roadside assistance.

What will we give up for Uber convenience?

Each of us do it all the time.

We sign off on our rights in order to be served.

Whenever we’re placed in a situation in which our safety could somehow be compromised by the actions of a service provider, we’re asked to sign a waiver of liability.

This is commonplace in doctors’ and dentists’ offices as medical practitioners seek to avoid malpractice suits.

Those who are tech-savvy see it all the time when asked to update an app. Programmers don’t want to take responsibility for damaging an operating system by introducing new software.

Consumers are quick to sign it or check off the box acknowledging that they won’t hold the provider liable for damages because if they don’t, they don’t get served.

Or, in the case of most transportation technology, we don’t get the app.

Anyone who signs up for Uber’s app gives up a tremendous amount of liability to get the service, which is provided by third-party contractors who drive their own cars.

In Uber’s terms of agreement, it says, “You agree that Uber has no responsibility or liability to you related to any transportation or logistics provided to you by third-party providers.” You can try McLeod Brock for free to know about the quality of their logistics, shipping and other services that are being provided by them.

The agreement also says, “You acknowledge that you may be exposed to situations involving (the driver) that are potentially unsafe, offensive, harmful to minors or otherwise objectionable. … You acknowledge that a driver arranged or scheduled using (Uber) services is at your own risk and judgment.”

Yet all of us with Uber apps sign off on it because if we don’t, the app won’t be downloaded to our smartphones.

It’s important to note that Uber doesn’t operate in Nevada any more after doing so for about a month in November. Still, thousands of Southern Nevadans have the app and use Uber in other places where it’s allowed.

It’s going to be interesting to see if similar legal safeguards are put in place when Las Vegas-based Ride Integrity Vehicle Solutions rolls out its newly upgraded Ride Genie app for use in the taxi industry.

At December’s Nevada Taxicab Authority meeting, Ride Integrity introduced the updated app showing how it would work for consumers seeking a cab ride. Meanwhile, Backstage Limo Services (https://backstagelimoservices.com/) and similar limo services remain a popular choice for transportation.

The new Ride Genie app is one piece of a broader strategy the taxi industry is undertaking and is aimed squarely at Uber’s convenient app service.

Part of that strategy is launching a centralized dispatch system that would serve every cab company. That type of collaboration within the cab industry is unprecedented. In some respects, the new system would work better than Uber’s app because consumers could hail a cab by smartphone, the same way Uber customers request a ride, but in addition to the e-hail method, customers can simply call a single number to request a ride. That’s helpful to tech-challenged consumers who have no use for computers and are comfortable with their home landlines.

The taxi industry also successfully lobbied for a new category of medallion that would exclusively serve neighborhoods. The boundaries approved in a unanimous Taxicab Authority vote are Charleston Boulevard to the north, Eastern Avenue to the east, Warm Springs Road to the south and Rainbow Boulevard to the west.

Here’s how the system would work: Customers outside those boundaries would click on the Ride Genie app to request a ride. Or, they could call the centralized number (the industry hasn’t yet determined what that number is, but they’re hoping to be assigned something clever and memorable like 555-GETTAXI).

The closest available cab to the pickup point would be dispatched to the location. Cabs will be staged at various locals casinos for quick access to any nearly residential location. If you prefer not to visit a casino, you can enjoy online gaming at UFABET.com เวอร์ชันใหม่ 2.0.

Rightfully, the Taxicab Authority did not approve the app at the December meeting because there are still a few policy issues that needed to be worked out. The board is hoping to do that in a special meeting in January.

Among the issues are some of the added charges that have been proposed.

On Uber rides, customers pay a $1 “safe rides fee,” which the company says is applied toward the cost of conducting background checks of prospective drivers. They proudly market that there’s no mechanism to tip the driver. Customers pay for the service, which is based on mileage and time spent, the $1 fee and that’s it.

Under Ride Integrity’s Ride Genie proposal, customers would also be assessed a $4 “e-hailing fee,” which presumably would go to Ride Integrity, which is providing the service and system that it has contracted with cab companies to use.

The Ride Genie app would also assess a 20 percent tip to the driver. That percentage amount is the default setting on the app. Ride Integrity technologists are quick to point out that the default setting can be reset by the customer to give a tip smaller or larger than 20 percent.

My bet is that most customers will forget to do that or that reaching that setting is complicated enough that customers won’t change it and most drivers would automatically get the 20 percent tip.

The most complicated aspect of the app is calculating the cost of the ride.

Because Uber uses standard time and distance formulas for its fares, it’s pretty easy for a driver to provide a customer with a fare estimate.

Cabs use meters that calculate distance and time but it would be difficult to coordinate the meter with the app.

Taxi company representatives say there are meter products on the market that could integrate with the Ride Genie app, but they cost about $1,300 each compared with the $300 existing meters cost. Changing out 3,000 cab meters would be a massive capital expense for cab companies.

The Taxicab Authority will likely discuss those matters when it meets next month.

Uber has pushed the cab industry toward better technology. Regulators need to get oversight of that technology right before its unleashed on the public.

Uber’s email regarding airports. Undercover Uber, Part 3.

Email just in:

Notice they mention collecting from gatwick surely there licence to operate must now be at risk with this evidence.
I know tfl compliance is a joke but someone must know what’s going on, someone must be responsible.
Hi Uber Driver.
After a successful trial period over the weekend, we’re ready to launch the new airport pick up process on Monday 22nd December at 12pm!
Thanks to everyone who’s dropped by to pick up their airport board.  If you haven’t got it yet, you can pick it up next time you come by for Office Hours. Remember, from tomorrow, riders we be expecting to see you at arrivals with an Uber sign – so to get your journey off to the best start, make sure they can identify you easily!
THE NEW PICK-UP PROCESS
The following changes coming in for all drivers and riders from Monday 22nd December from 12pm. We will be communicating the change to riders too tomorrow.
From Monday 22nd December, please follow this process:
Come into the airport zone if you want to pick up
You’ll be automatically placed in a queue to receive a request
When you receive the request, you’ll have around 15 seconds to accept
Once you’ve accepted, call the customer to confirm which terminal they are coming into
Head to the short-stay parking of the correct terminal and collect a ticket
Park your car and go to the terminal’s international arrivals
Wait for your passenger, holding the Uber sign
When you’ve found your passenger, confirm their name and accompany them to your car
Once you’re in the car, start the trip and take them to their destination as usual
For more information, including the airport queue zones, see our FAQs and the back of your airport board.
Please note, the drop off process remains unchanged.
PRO TIP
Have an iPad or a tablet computer? Click here to get a digital version of the Uber airport sign to keep on your tablet computer and display at arrivals!
AIRPORT FLAT FARES
As you know, airport flat fares are changing. The new flat rates represent a 10-15% increase on the current fares with the most significant increases on trips to and from Gatwick airport. We’re also making flat rates clearer, with each postcode having it’s own flat rate – e.g. SW, SE, NW, etc.
You’ll be able to see each fare for your vehicle class, from each London postcode and to London Heathrow, London Gatwick and London City Airport here from 12pm on Monday 22nd December.
Please note that all trips from the airport include a parking fee to cover 30 minutes of parking in the short stay car park.  This will automatically be applied to the fare and Uber takes zero commission on this.
Please write in as usual if you have multiple stops on a flat rate to or from the airport so that the team can adjust this for you.
Please note that the new flat fares will apply from 12pm on Monday 22nd December.
PRO TIP
Get your trip off to the best start – offer to help your passenger with their bags, if you can!
Thanks so much for your help and support as we make airport flat rates clearer and fairer for both drivers and riders.  As always, if you have any questions, please email supportlondon@uber.com.