HOW SAFE ARE TNC OPERATORS SUCH AS UBER OR TAPP COMPARED TO TAXI DRIVERS?
RECENT CASE HISTORY:
Last Saturday I hired a TNC car and I took the trouble to ask him if he has had any problem customers on board. The most serious so far in his career as a PFHV driver was that about a couple of weeks ago, he actually had a person run from the car without paying.
What!? you may ask. Aren’t Uber/Tapp trips to be booked in advance with a credit card?
WELL INDEED YES: TWO DRIVERSWITH BOTH TAPP AND UBER ADVISED ME OF DANGEROUS SITUATIONS INVOLVING UNRULY CUSTOMERS. BOTH INCIDENTS INVOLVED TRANSPORTATION FRAUD, THREATS IN ONE CASE, AND USE OF STOLEN CREDIT CARDS.
THE FIRST INCIDENT INVOLVED A RUNNER WHO FORCIBLY EXITED THE CAR THEN RAN LIKE A JACKRABBIT. THIS FELON BOOKED HIS RIDE WITH A STOLEN CREDIT CARD THAT HE USED BEFORE THE LAWFUL CARDHOLDER COULD VOID IT. IT WAS VOIDED DURING THE COURSE OF THE TRIP.
SUCH AN EVENT DISCLOSES THE NEED FOR MANDATORY DASH CAMS IN IN UBER/TAPP CRS EVERY BIT AS MUCH AS IN TAXIS.
Contrary to what Uber’s been telling its drivers you are not perfectly safe merely because you’re not carrying any cash. Most violence in a taxi is the result of nonpecuniary interests but simply unruly behavior over fare disputes, road rage, sexual assaults and carjacking.
Moreover, cars may, unbeknown to the driver, be hired for criminal activity which in far too many instances involve organized crime such as drug running and prostitution.
You need those dash cams for your own protection and to aid police. It is moreover, your silent witness in the event of a traffic accident or customer complaints.
DID YOU KNOW THAT TAXI DRIVERS ARE MORE LIKELY TO DIE FROM OCCUPATIONAL HOMICIDE THAN ANY OTHER OCCUPATIONAL GROUP INCLUDING PEACE OFFICERS AND PRISON GUARDS?
HOW SAFE ARE TNC OPERATORS SUCH AS UBER OR TAPP COMPARED TO TAXI DRIVERS?
RECENT CASE HISTORY:
Last Saturday I hired a TNC car and I took the trouble to ask him if he has had any problem customers on board. The most serious so far in his career as a PFHV driver was that about a couple of weeks ago, he actually had a person run from the car without paying.
What!? you may ask. Aren’t Uber/Tapp trips to be booked in advance with a credit card?
WELL INDEED YES: TWO DRIVERSWITH BOTH TAPP AND UBER ADVISED MY OF DANGEROUS SITUATIONS INVOLVING UNRULY CUSTOMERS. BOTH INCIDENTS INVOLVED TRANSPORTATION FRAUD, THREATS IN ONE CASE, AND USE OF STOLEN CREDIT CARDS.
THE FIRST INCIDENT INVOLVED A RUNNER WHO FORCIBLY EXITED THE CAR THEN RAN LIKE A JACKRABBIT. THIS FELON BOOKED HIS RIDE WITH A STOLEN CREDIT CARD THAT HE USED BEFORE THE LAWFUL CARDHOLDER COULD VOID IT. IT WAS VOIDED DURING THE COURSE OF THE TRIP.
SUCH AN EVENT DISCLOSES THE NEED FOR MANDATORY DASH CAMS IN IN UBER/TAPP CRS EVERY BIT AS MUCH AS IN TAXIS.
Contrary to what Uber’s been telling its drivers you are not perfectly safe merely because you’re not carrying any cash. Most violence in a taxi is the result of nonpecuniary interests but simply unruly behavior over fare disputes, road rage, sexual assaults and carjacking.
Moreover, cars may, unbeknown to the driver, be hired for criminal activity which in far too many instances involve organized crime such as drug running and prostitution.
You need those dash cams for your own protection and to aid police. It is moreover, your silent witness in the event of a traffic accident or certain kinds of customer complaints.
DID YOU KNOW THAT TAXI DRIVERS ARE MORE LIKELY TO DIE FROM OCCUPATIONAL HOMICIDE THAN ANY OTHER OCCUPATIONAL GROUP INCLUDING PEACE OFFICERS AND PRISON GUARDS?
New Zealand government takes aim at illegal Uber drivers
- October 2016 by ttchef
The app-based taxi service Uber is at loggerheads with the NZTA, the New Zealand Transport Association, the transport regulator, after it began to allow its drivers to operate without a “P” endorsement in New Zealand. NZTA has sought legal advice over whether it can prosecute Uber for flouting New Zealand laws, and is targeting drivers without the correct licenses. The New Zealand Herald reported on this spat.
The app based taxi service is at loggerheads with the Crown agency after it began, in March, to allow its drivers to operate without a passenger, or “P” endorsement – a legal requirement for small passenger vehicle drivers, including taxi and Uber drivers. The endorsement requires police vetting and checks on past and pending convictions in New Zealand and overseas. The Government says the endorsement system is “fundamental” to ensuring passenger safety, but Uber calls the process cumbersome, costly, unsustainable and unnecessary.
Documents obtained by the Weekend Herald show that NZTA requested legal advice in May over its ability to include the company as a second party for aiding and abetting offending in the case of prosecutions taken against Uber drivers operating without the endorsements. When questioned this week, the agency would not expand on what advice was given, citing legal privilege, but Fortune Manning transport law expert Shafraz Khan said there was no way Uber allowing its drivers to operate without the endorsements was lawful.
“I see no reason why NZTA could not prosecute Uber as a second party to a driver infringement, as they are facilitating the drivers’ work without the proper licences,” Khan said. Though Uber drivers were self-employed contractors, it did not absolve the company of responsibility, he said.
Uber –as usual- did not respond to questions about whether they too had sought legal advice on the matter. In a report to associate minister of transport Craig Foss on May 9, NZTA access and use manager Celia Patrick said the agency was investigating “potential breaches of the law with a primary focus on [Uber] drivers with a criminal or medical history of concern and complaints received.”
“A number of these investigations have already resulted in compliance action including formal warnings and breach notices,” Patrick said. The agency was also taking “enforcement action” against Uber drivers without P endorsements, and investigating any complaints received.
On May 16, Patrick told the minister “we also expect to receive final legal advice on our ability to include Uber as a second party for aiding and abetting offending in the event of prosecution taken against Uber drivers.”
Between March 31 and September 23, NZTA sent out 2703 warning letters to prospective Uber drivers, issued 118 formal warnings, 141 infringement notices and ordered 29 drivers off the road.
According to the document, police have undertaken an “Uber operation” at Auckland airport and NZTA was targeting “suspected Uber drivers with high-risk factors such as failed medical or fit and proper checks or suspended or revoked P endorsements.”
TAXI TIMES
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