Uber storm on the horizon

Thunder crackles in the distance as I wait for a call on my tablet. Summer storms in Central Florida are one of the few predictable things left in my life. There is another storm brewing on the horizon and it will involve the future of all connected to the transportation industry In Tampa. There is a county commission meeting Friday which will be the final meeting to decide the fate of uber in the Tampa Bay area. These meetings have been going on for a year and a half and I'm at least relieved to know that some end may be in sight. It just seems to me that the rideshare companies have been dragging this out to gain time and an advantage. The real advantage may be ours in 20 days.

There have been many things I have counted on in my life to bring psychological security. One of those has been a sense of reliability in the systems that are in place to ensure order and our society. That, combined with a sense of right and wrong, allowed me to sleep well at night. I knew when I awakened in the morning that I would be facing predictability. Now, a company has come along that ignores all the rules that apply to their realm of operation and they have been getting away with that. This is wrong. This must stop. The rule of law and order must pre-sale.

Do not be confused people. Just because someone has a slick application and a novel business model, does not mean that they have any integrity, honor, or commitment to the community in which they operate. The transportation industry in Tampa is regulated to ensure the protection of the public and provide reliable insurance that folks will be picked up in a timely manner. Yes, there are antidotes about people being stranded by a rude taxi drivers, poor service, and so forth. But to be realistic about it, you can find those complaints in literally all industries. There is nothing about transportation that would make it immune from these type of urban myths.

The truth is that everyone benefits when you have rules in place. This is not just about a temporary cheap discount to gain a foothold and destroy businesses that have been in place for years, this is about serving a community and all of its residents, not just the hip people, the rich people, the coffee Cafe people, While ignoring a wide swath of the population that is poor and locks technology. I really hope the judge in this case will do the right thing as they have done in other counties in Florida, and throw these Uber bums out of town. Thank you.

posted from Bloggeroid