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Hillsborough County Public Transportation hearing on Lyft & Uber

Victor Crist the county commisioner and head of HCPTC
I got a call from Rob Searcy yesterday. He wanted me to attend the Hillsborough County board hearing about letting ride-sharing companies such as Lyft and Uber coming into the area. They are already here. What I found amusing was that they were discussing the issue at all. let me explain.
Rob Searcy defending our position
I got my hair cut yesterday and could not help but notice the number of permits and licenses the barber had on his mirror. I guess that goes for any business. Could I set up a booze cart in front of a bar and sell liquor for half the bars price without a license? NO! There is no business in which you can do that. So, why is Hillsborough county even considering such a thing as illegal taxi services. All businesses have regulations based on the local, state, and federal laws. There people, however, think they are above the law. You could sense their arrogance. What I hear is that Victor Crist is leaving them with no out. At some point, he will order them out of our county.

The insurance agents testimony about Uber having only a "surplus lines carrier" was damning. James River Insurance is Uber's carrier and they are not recognized by Florida as a primary carrier. UBER THEN HAS NO INSURANCE IN THE STATE OF FLORIDA. Are you seeing now why important industries need to be regulated for the public safety.
Lyft drivers at the meeting
Lyft drivers showed up in mass wearing pink shirts and pink mustaches. They seemed to be organized. My only question was why were they no being arrested? They were sent a "cease and desist" order months ago. They are now in non-compliance with that.  Since they were more then willing to step up to the microphone and admit too illegal activities, the bailiffs should have put them in handcuffs. I am legal and must pay a high sum for licensing. I really don't get it.
I'm in the front row in the yellow shirt holding the camera on the tv monitor
One by one taxi drivers and owners went to the podium and talked about how they comply with the law, and get all needed permits. One lady representing Uber, could only talk about the ease of their service. It was pointed out to this bitch that Uber does not even have the needed insurance to operate in the state of Florida. Again, why are these people not in jail. That was the proposition I insisted on when I spoke and I could hear the Lyft drivers booing in the background. My position was:
  1. We will be a society of laws
  2. Lfyt and Uber do not comply with those laws
  3. They should not be allowed to comply because they have already received a cease and diciest order
  4. The framework in which they operate makes them a limo service
  5. As limos they cannot charge taxi rates.
  6. They have no license.
  7. Like ISIS, they should be destroyed. Do not negotiate with them.
They did not like me one bit. Several of them commented so at the mic.
Uber bitch trying to justify her companies illegal operations in Florida (notice the Lyft drivers behind her.
After an hour of this, we were done. We went outside as the meeting continued. We met up with an ABC Action News truck and they agreed with us. The black camera man said there was no way those punk Lyft drivers work the hood.

With the news reporter outside.
I was glad to see that Lyft and Uber Bitch were getting nowhere with the commission. I seems anyone with a rational mind can figure this out. Afterward, I got a call from big Micky. He was watching on TV at home. He seems to like this kind of stuff.




Look at all the strange Lyft drivers sitting on my row on the second floor of the county building. They were wearing pink stashes.



How did I let the enemy get that close to me?
posted from Bloggeroid
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Comments

  1. AnonymousSeptember 10, 2014 at 5:40 PM

    hey Tim, you misspelled word "Lyft" in the title , it says Lfyt
    otherwise, it's a great post and great pictures
    I think, you should write some more to discourage future Lyft and Uber drivers from making "$70,000 a year or $35 / hr" BS





    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousSeptember 13, 2014 at 12:33 AM

    This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete

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