05 Nov What if Uber Comes to Beaufort Another Quality of Life Issue
While I am not aware that UBER has come to Beaufort, I find the following letter and the response by the City Manager to be something to think about. Should UBER come to Beaufort, which I would assume is likely as the company seems to be expanding exponentially, we are going to have to ensure the public is protected. BK
Message from local cab driver William:
My name is William. I am a cab driver in Beaufort County , SC. I have a question concerning Uber. My question is how is Uber allowed to operate without having to pay for the licenses and insurance we as cab drivers have to pay? Uber is a Taxi Service. The app is the dispatcher and the so called private contractors pic up fares dispatched through the app. Now in order for traditional cabs to make a profit with all the fees and insurance we carry we must charge a higher rate. The State in essence has created the unfair conditions which has allowed Uber to basically fool the state , the customers and the drivers. And then you have the MOM and POP cab companies that are forced to close down( Giddy Up Taxi….Hilton Head) for instance because Uber has been allowed to unlawfully operate. I say unlawfully because not one of their drivers have the commercial insurance we have to carry even though the vehicle uber drivers use are ACTUALLY cabs.
Now on a moral note…..Uber advertise that their fares are lower than a traditional taxi. They also advertise that drivers can make up to $1000 a week. Now if you do the math how is that possible to have low fares but drivers make that kind of money. It’s NOT. The business model of Uber is to have low fares to drive up demand and then when customers really need them to jack up the fares to ridiculous amounts sometimes 10x more than a taxi. Now how is that caring for the customers of our proud state? It’s not! And there at too many lawsuits and complaints online to deny what they are doing. I just ask how can yall allow this to happen while the people who pay to play by the rules go under . Pay attention to California the state where Uber started. There is a Class action lawsuit. Please can you clarify this for me. There are many people who feel like I do and would like answers because OUR LIVELIHOODS depends on our State to do the right thing and create a fair working envir!
onment. Uber likes to throw money around to fight people who stand up to them….That is a bully.
Response from City Manager:
Mayor: The State made an agreement and Municipal Association was part of it and agreed that Uber does not have to have local business licenses. They pay the state, through I believe MASC, a 2% fee and that is in place of business license. We cannot charge them and we are suppose to get back a % of what fees were paid that came out of Beaufort. Municipalities again left out of discussions all handled at state level. Bill