Fair enough, but when you sign up for Uber, they get your credit card and id information. Thorough background checks are made on the drivers. I suspect something similar is run on the riders.
No cash is involved, so the robbery risk is low. Also, drivers rate riders and riders rate drivers. Drivers can choose not to pick up low-rated riders, and low-rated drivers are kicked off the platform.
It’s actually FAR safer than taking a taxi — for EVERYONE.
They can discriminate against “low rated” passengers? Is the Justice Department on their case yet?
I can appreciate the safety factor - much like Ebay, drivers and riders earn a reputation.
What I don’t understand is insurance. Do most insurance companies allow Uber rides...or is there additional insurance required?
I also wonder if Uber might get legislated out of existence. As an example, a few years ago there was a growth in ‘roll your own’ cigarettes. Places were popping up where you bought the tobacco and papers in bulk, stuck them in a machine and pressed a button, and presto, cheap smokes. So RJ Reynolds developed an improved paper, that makes the cigarette go out if you don’t puff on it, for fire safety...and they convinced Fedzilla to mandate such papers...and their asking price for selling the papers or technology to the roll your own outfits was prohibitively high.
So, I wonder if the medallion holders might come up with some ‘safety feature’ or ‘driver certification’ to similarly put Uber out of business.