Saturday, February 20, 2016

House committee passes Uber bill

The House Transportation Committee passed Wednesday a bill that will allow Uber and other ride-sharing companies to operate throughout Mississippi.  The bill requires them to obtain a license from the Mississippi Insurance Department and pay an annual registration fee as well.  The bill will pre-empt all municipal regulations on Uber if it becomes law. Bill history and status. Representative Gary Chism sponsored the bill.   Some highlights of the bill are:

*The bill states "transportation network companies" are not taxicabs.  It also prohibits any city from treating them as taxicabs or requiring the drivers to register.

*The TNC must obtain a license to operate from the Mississippi Insurance Department.  The annual license fee shall be $5,000.   MID shall regulate the transportation network companies.

*The fare calculations and schedules must be posted on either the TNC app or website.

*The app or website shall show a picture of the driver and the license plate number for the vehicle used to provide the service.

*The TNC shall provide a receipt that has the origin and destination of trip, time and distance of trip, and itemization of fare.

*Section 8 provides the insurance requirements.  Its rather complex but in a nutshell says each driver is covered by a million dollar policy.  

*Drivers will be independent contractors and not employees as long as the TNC does not prescribe set schedules for the drivers, assign territories,  and restrict driver from using company website.

*Company shall have a zero tolerance policy for drug and alcohol use while on duty. The company shall obtain a criminal background check for each applicant driver.  The company shall check the sex offender registries as well.

*A driver can not driver for a TCN if he has had more than three moving violations in the last three years or one major violation in the same period as well. (p.15, line 37). A driver can not have any convictions for felonies, DUI, hit and run, violent offense, or sexual offense in the last seven years.

*The driver must be at least 19 years old.

*Drivers can not accept street hails nor accept cash.

*The Commish may make random "spot" inpsections at any time. 

28 comments:

Anonymous said...

The bill creates a liability safe harbor for Uber and similar companies by making all their drivers independent contractors and requiring only $1 million in liability insurance. Sweet trade. That insurance limit is way too low. More likely than not every year one or more drivers regulated by this act the transportation company had reason to know was a danger to others will violate the rules of the road and cause a crash, generating millions of dollars in medical bills, not to mention destroyed lives. This bill shifts the burden of paying those costs from the responsible parties to the injured victims, their families and taxpayers. I'm all for business innovation, but not for giving corporations or individuals a pass when they cause preventable harm. Innovate, compete, show us how free enterprise is supposed to work, but don't ask for government immunity. Take responsibility for your drivers like other transportation companies do. And raise the insurance requirement to $5 million.

Anonymous said...

$1M for ALL drivers? It needs to be $1M for EACH driver. A life care plan on just one kid is what? 5-6M? Why should taxpayers have to pay that instead of the person or company that causes the injury? I'm already insuring, through my premiums, all the other under/uninsured drivers in Mississippi. I don't want to cover Uber's screwups, too.

Efficiency at it's finest said...

So the Jackson City Council just wasted all that time for nothing

Anonymous said...

Get in an UBER ride at your own risk.

Anonymous said...

I hope it means $1M coverage per driver.

Anonymous said...

For god's sake, you guys could have just looked at page 7 and found out for yourselves that it's a million per driver.

I heart Uber said...

Uber is the best! Always new clean cars and professional drivers as opposed to a beat up cab and a wacko cab driver

Anonymous said...

Always new clean cars and professional drivers ...

The drivers are professional how?

Anonymous said...

Uber is a good thing for our state & all cities that have them. Have you gotten in a taxicab lately? In addition to being poorly operated, they are high as hell! It's about time our poorly led legislature does SOMETHING right!

Anonymous said...

7:40

The driver's seat-back is in the upright position... not in the reclining mode.

Anonymous said...

Finally, Mississippi's seeing some actual, REAL progress.

Anonymous said...

The $1 million coverage is only during a "ride." If the Uber driver is jockeying for position outside of a club and hits someone, the smaller coverage applies.


This bill leaves any Mississippi small businessman in the dust. A guy with a van wanting to start a shuttle service will still have to contend with the likes of the local taxi boards or go through the TNC to get fares. This is a carve out for Silicon Valley.

Anonymous said...

I did understand it was $1 million per driver--that's just grossly inadequate. It should be at least $5 million per driver, per person, per accident. Three passengers, five in the vehicles he crashes into--One negligent Uber driver could easily cause $10 million in mayhem, $9 million of which will have to borne by the victims families and taxpayers as this bill essentially gives Uber and similar companies immunity.

Anonymous said...

Supplanting municipalities and consolidating power seems to be a theme of this legislature.

Anonymous said...

7:29 - What are the insurance requirements for taxis?

Anonymous said...

$1m per driver is plenty. What do the regular taxis have to have? Most people driving around MS have minimum limits (if anything at all) - $25k.

Anonymous said...

Mr. 6:15:

Get in a New Jack City cab at your own risk!

Anonymous said...

Uber is in the news today.

Kalamazoo killer Jason Dalton was an Uber driver who took passengers for a terrifying ride during spree

Kalamazoo police claim the 45-year-old man who went on a shooting spree Saturday night, killing six, was an Uber driver who dropped off passengers between shootings.

According to WOOD-TV, authorities are investigating reports that the suspected gunman, Jason Dalton, dropped off a group of people at a Fairfield Inn before going next door to the Cracker Barrel and opening fire on two vehicles, killing four people.


Good thing for Uber this guy wasn't an employee of theirs. Otherwise this committing murders while on the clock, they might have had some liability to the survivors.

But hey, on time, clean vehicle and all that

Anonymous said...

Supplanting municipalities and consolidating power seems to be a theme of this legislature.

Did you complain when the legislature nixed red-light cameras?

Anonymous said...

Nationally Uber churns through drivers. Once the drivers do the math the pay is not lucrative. As Uber struggles to replace drivers it is inevitable that they'll find, after the fact, some miscreants in their driver pool.

If Chaney's Involved, It's Suspect said...

Why make them register every year? For what purpose and at what cost and that money goes into whose piggy bank? Government will always figure out ways to regulate, control, tax and dominate.

Anonymous said...

11:54

Compare that to % of Postal workers-

Anonymous said...

Uber pay rates are changing...Lyft pays better and Uber will have to follow suit as Lyft grows in popularity.

Competition meet competition.

Kingfish said...

Yeah. Uber just cut their prices. Many drivers are pretty mad about it and say they can't make any money except for surge prices. But then, the free market can sort it out, not cartels that are sanctioned by the government.

Anonymous said...

5,000.00$ per year per driver fee? Who get that money?

Insurance Agent said...

It is $1 million per driver.

Anonymous said...

@1;38; Thanks Delbert or Delbert's main hired gun, J. Greg.

Anonymous said...

5:01 -- quite possibly about 1:38, but probably not. Delbert is nothing but for more regulation, more government and more fees. He would be upset if there is going to be a new fee and it doesn't go through his bank since he is the most important individual (if not office) of them all.



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