Bernie Sanders Says He Has "Serious Problems" With Uber Because It's "Unregulated"

Source: Reason Magazine article dated August 7, 2015

Bernie Sanders Says He Has "Serious Problems" With Uber Because It's "Unregulated"

Sen. Bernie Sanders, the self-described democratic socialist currently running for the Democratic presidential nomination, says he has "serious problems" with car service company Uber because it's "unregulated." 

Sanders made the remark in an interview with Bloomberg News. There doesn't appear to be any additional context to the quote. But for Sanders, there probably doesn't need to be. The fact that Uber is big, successful—it was recently valued at $51 billion—and relatively innovative is problem enough. The only way to solve that problem with regulation. 

Or, perhaps, more regulation. Sanders seems to be wrong to say that Uber is unregulated. A spokesperson for the company told The Hill that 54 different jurisdictions already have regulations for ride-hailing services in place. That's just what's in place already. Cities like New York and states like California have proposed and debated a slew of additional regulations over the last year or so. Uber, in other words, is already regulated—and, sadly, likely to grow more regulated over time. 

Read Reason's Brian Doherty on the various regulations faced by Uber and other ride-sharing companies here, here, and here.