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While taxi fares are set by the county government, Uber adjusts its fees to meet demand. The local taxi industry casts Uber as trying to operate a pseudo cab operation in Miami-Dade without obeying the regulations designed to protect passengers. A session before the Miami-Dade commission dedicated to changes in for-hire rules was canceled this week on the heels of the Transportation committee dismissing a proposed ordinance backed by Uber and its smaller competitor, Lyft.
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It failed to secure a change in Florida insurance regulations needed to mesh with its corporate approach to insuring its drivers only for when they’re on a fare authorized by an app. It’s been a rocky year on the political front for Uber in the Sunshine State. While the county’s regulatory arm counts nearly 2,000 citations against Uber drivers, the county’s mayor and tax-funded tourism bureau are urging commissioners to change the law to legalize Uber and its competitor, Lyft. Uber claims double the number of drivers in its Miami-Dade network than the nearly 5,000 licensed cabbies in the county’s capped taxi system. (By comparison, Philadelphia, where UberX launched in October, has lured 6,000 drivers who had earned $9 million as of April, the company said.) Since the company launched in Miami-Dade in June 2014, more than 10,000 active driver-partners have taken home more than $30 million through more than three million rides, the company said this week - net which doesn’t include above the company’s commission, typically less than 20 percent.
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Whichever side ends up winning, McGillis’ brief, lucrative stint as an Uber driver provides another window into the company’s success as an upstart transportation provider in Miami-Dade County. “Generally, taxi drivers aren’t under the same level of control as Uber.”Ī source familiar with Uber’s operations but not authorized to discuss legal strategy said the company has successfully overturned similar administrative actions in other states “Uber is trying to sell itself as this branded service, which is how Uber sets itself apart from taxis,” Shannon Liss-Riordan, a Boston lawyer leading a class-action suit against Uber. But the dispute opens another local front for what may be the most besieged business model in America, with Uber operating illegally in Miami and elsewhere but still reaping millions in fares. A class-action suit against Uber in California asks a judge to declare Uber drivers employees of the San Francisco-based company.Īn Uber spokesman declined to comment on McGillis’ claim, and a DEO spokeswoman said the agency can’t discuss individual cases. The state decision on McGillis’ employment status can be appealed, and Uber is fighting similar designations on multiple fronts across the country. She tried part-time jobs, including a stint as a waitress, but the hours were long and the pay meager. She said Uber’s flexibility and compensation filled the financial gap after her son’s frail health led her to leave her $40,000-a-year job as a legal assistant.
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“My husband, who is a barber, started telling me about how some of his customers had become drivers for Uber and were making good money,” she said.
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