Consumer Advocate to Florida Lawmakers: Ridesharing Proposal ‘Hell-on-Wheels’

The Consumer Federation of the Southeast (CFSE) has warned that consumers will be at significant risk if Florida legislators allow transportation network companies like Uber and Lyft to follow different consumer protection standards than other transportation services in cities and counties across Florida.

Walter Dartland, executive director of the Federation, said in a statement that standard, reasonable regulations on taxicabs and limousines ensure public safety and consumer protection on a level playing field. Legislative proposals that would allow newer transportation network companies (known as TNCs) to operate under a “loosely regulated and different set of rules would undermine provisions that protect consumers’ physical and financial safety,” he said.

Dartland also announced the launch of a new website – www.UberNightmare.com – to provide consumers with information about issues related to TNCs like Uber.

“It’s time to deflate the tires on this hell-on-wheels idea,” Dartland said. “It’s unwise and dangerous to ignore the risk that consumers face from barely regulated service providers. No one should have an unfair advantage in the marketplace, because it’s consumers who ultimately pay the price.”

Dartland, who has worked for more than four decades on the interests of Florida consumers, cautioned that proposed legislation would allow TNCs to conduct their activities largely free of regulations designed to protect the public. Dartland said for-hire transportation services should all play by the same rules regarding insurance requirements, passenger and vehicle safety, and consumer privacy.

“These companies insist they are not the same as taxi and limousine companies, and therefore shouldn’t be regulated the same way,” Dartland said. “But they recruit drivers, they market for passengers who need immediate transportation, they dispatch drivers, and they charge passengers for rides. If that isn’t the same as a taxicab or limousine company, then what is?”

Dartland noted that TNCs do not follow the same insurance coverage requirements as traditional taxi and limo services, nor do they make sure vehicles meet public safety requirements such as independent safety inspections and licensure as commercial vehicles.

Dartland added that it is imperative that the insurance required by TNC’s clearly disclose to the driver how normal auto insurance dovetails with other insurance.

In addition, Uber and Lyft have frequently drawn complaints over their practice of hiking up fares on a moment’s notice at busy times – so-called “surge pricing” – and declining to provide service to certain neighborhoods or at certain times.

Any changes enacted by the Florida Legislature, he said, should ensure that local officials are able to make decisions in the best interests of consumers in their communities. All similar transportation services should not bestow unfair competitive advantages to one service over another. Unfair arrangements rarely benefit consumers, he said, and end up posing greater risks to the safety of passengers and the public.
In addition to being executive director of the CFSE, Dartland currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Consumer Federation of America and Common Cause Florida, an organization dedicated to open, honest and accountable government. The CFSE is a not-for-profit consumer advocacy group founded in 2003 and dedicated to consumer advocacy in the Southeastern United States.

Source: Consumer Federation of the Southeast