Bob,
I have no idea about what life is like for taxi drivers at this time. I
suspect that it depends on where they live and work. My uncle did that kind
of work for a time after he stopped working in the millinary factory where
he and my father had been working. But that was perhaps, 55 years ago. I
gather that many of the cab drivers who demonstrate against Uber now, do so
because they believe that Uber is an unfair competitor since the traditional
drivers have to comply with certain rules and regulations and may have
expenses that Uber manages to avoid. But again, that appears to vary from
location to location.
Miriam
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Bob Hachey
Sent: Sunday, July 19, 2015 10:24 AM
To: blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [blind-democracy] Re: uber fined in cal partially for violating ada
Hi Miriam and all,
No question about it; life is and has been deteriorating from a financial
perspective for the majority of Americans over the last 30 years. I'm
skeptical of how good working conditions are for the average traditional
taxi driver. I'd say that any guaranteed income is minimal and the bulk of
income is based upon tips and trips driven. I doubt that many taxi drivers
get paid vacation. They probably do get some sort of healthcare coverage. It
sounds like Frank was once a taxi driver; if so, then perhaps he can
enlighten us further. Already, from what he has said, working as a taxi
driver appears to be no picnic.
Information on the Uber site suggests that they are doing background checks
on their drivers. I would be interested in a comparative analysis of
background checks done by companies like Uber VS. those done by traditional
taxi companies.
Finally, I just learned this morning that the Massachusetts Attorney general
is looking into complaints against Uber for disability-related
discrimination. No question that local and state governments ought to be
vigorously investigating all such discrimination whether the perpetrator is
a ride sharing company like Lyft or Uber or a traditional taxi company.
Bob Hachey
