Uber and Lyft received cease and desist orders to halt operations in Pittsburgh. The judges issuing the orders recognize they’re hosing residents.
“We are not blind or deaf to the public opinion, at least in the Pittsburgh area, that the transportation needs of many individuals are not adequately met by currently certificated carriers. Nor are we unmindful of the potential benefits of the service proposed by Lyft,” they write. “…Therefore, it may seem to some that our order here is contrary to the public interest in the ability of individuals to secure transportation in a timely manner.”
Uber intends to continue operating anyway despite the order.
Uber and Lyft continue to operate in Virginia as well despite being ordered by the DMV not to do so.
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Good. I’m moving to Pittsburgh and want to go car-less. No Uber/Lyft could make that much tougher. Regular cabs are terrible in the city.
Regardless of merit or popularity, how exactly does such a service continue to operate despite a lawful court order enjoining their activity, and get away with it?
Of course Uber (criminals) and their institutional investors of law-breakers want to keep going after a court order. Can’t wait for the arrests.
ObamaWorld is lawless.
Uber is getting screwed by the taxi establishment and state/local governments, but I don’t think disobeying a court order is a very good idea.
Civil disobedience is an American tradition that has upsides and downsides.
I applaud Uber for taking risks. Change doesn’t come easily.
Remember that this Friday, July 4. Civil disobedience turned an ordinary July 4 into a holiday. 🙂
@Amol I definitely don’t suggest you to take Uber in Philadelphia area. I agree that not all taxi drivers are as good as we want them to be, but at least all taxi drivers (at least in Phila) have to go through criminal background check, drug test, take safety class and driving test at PPA (Phila Parking Authority) in order to get PPA license, and as you understand not all drivers who want to drive taxi pass those tests (especially criminal background check and drug test). Most Insurance Companies that provide Commercial transportation insurance do their own training and driver screening in addition to PPA. Those drivers that do not pass all tests at PPA and are not approved by all/most Taxi Cab owners (due to being high risk and being rejected by insurance), just buy their own car and start driving Uber since they don’t have to be approved for all of the above to drive Uber… Of course, some Uber drivers are nice people and good drivers, but some of them are extremely bad, and the only thing that will happen to them if they do something wrong at Uber (and they have to do something wrong for some period of time, not just once) is their rating will go down and they will not be able to drive Uber, and since they can’t drive taxi/limo anyway, Uber just buys them some time. Unfortunately, you never know who will pick you up on Uber… Most taxi drivers are afraid to do something wrong just because PPA will take away their PPA license and insurance companies will reject them, and they will loose their job and $ (majority become taxi drivers because they can’t find another job). If Taxi driver has multiple accidents, he is not permitted to drive taxi by many Ins companies until his record clears up (which usually takes 3-5 yrs) and in some cases he will not be allowed to drive Taxi at all. Guess where will this driver go? – Uber! You have to take into consideration that Uber pays about $50/week for insurance (since they have to operate as Limo which is much safer due to the fact that Limo company has a record off all trips and passengers), whereas taxi cab owners pay anywhere $4000-$7000/year depending on the level of risk on the account (driving records of drivers on the account). As a result, all Cab owners want only safe drivers (cheaper insurance with same income from driver) and refuse to take bad drivers.
This info is from someone who is in Commercial transportation and Risk/Claims management for many years and who loved the idea of Uber at first, until he found out that Uber does not do any screening of drivers in addition to all the laws that they break.
Therefore, when Court order says that someone is not allowed to operate, you should really consider refusing that company’s services for your own good ;o)
@stay away from uber – it really does seem that (1) Uber’s background checks are more extensive than Pennsylvania’s are for driving a taxi, and (2) the insurance provided by Uber is of substantially greater value than what is required for a taxi as well. In my experience you get cleaner transportation that’s in better repair, and you get it promptly on demand.
Are you a taxi driver/owner ??
Licensed &
Insured
From insurance to background checks, every driver meets all local regulations.
I think Uber and their drivers needs to be regulated BUT I also think that cab companies has a monopoly and need more competition. The taxi medallion owners are unfairly getting a lot richer each year from the lack on fair and open competition (probably due to donations to the city politicians). Some cities have medallions going for over a million dollars. Cities should issue unlimited about of medallions for a set price for all that meet the safety/insurance/….records. This abuse of power is why many average people (many of whom never even used uber) support Uber.