California Approves Ride-Sharing Driver Insurance

This article was sent to me by one of the ride share companies I work with:

Insurance policies are being offered that close the gap in insurance coverage and help protect drivers, passengers and pedestrians when ride-sharing vehicles are on the road.

Source:
http://www.govtech.com/fs/California-Approves-Ride-Sharing-Driver-Insurance.html

(TNS) -- Personal taxi-type services like Uber and Lyft have changed the landscape for those working for and using them in some unexpected ways, and related industries are just starting to catch up.

Case in point, State Farm is introducing a new coverage endorsement in California to help fill insurance gaps for its policyholders who use their personal cars to provide rides for this type of Transportation Network Company (TNC), State Farm officials said.

Madison Voss, spokeswoman for Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones, said State Farm is one of eight insurers offering coverage to TNC drivers.

“Commissioner Jones has encouraged insurers to develop auto insurance products for TNC drivers and we are pleased to see one of the state’s largest insurers offer a product that protects drivers, passengers and pedestrians.”

State Farm’s new product will be available beginning March 21, according to the California Department of Insurance website.

“More insurers are stepping up to meet the changing needs of California’s sharing economy,” Commissioner Jones says on the site. “State Farm has created a product that closes the gap in insurance coverage and helps protect drivers, passengers and pedestrians when ride-hailing vehicles are on the road.”

The TNC industry is rapidly changing the livery/taxi industry by using the latest mobile technology to facilitate rides for hire,” State Farm officials said. “With these new transportation services in the marketplace, drivers are exposed to new risks.

Insurance provided by TNCs may be limited in scope and coverage, and personal auto policies don’t generally cover the use of personal cars as taxis or livery vehicles, State Farm spokesman Sevag Sarkissian said.

State Farm is adapting to “changing customer needs” by offering a Transportation network Company Driver Coverage endorsement in California, starting March 21, he said.

“This new product is an example of our commitment to our customers and provides them coverage, and peace of mind, when they use their personal cars to provide TNC services,” State Farm Senior Vice President tom Conley said in a statement.

California’s TNCs provide $1 million liability coverage while a driver has a paying passenger or when a driver is on the way to pick up a passenger, but they provide a much lower liability coverage limit when drivers are “just available for hire,” State Farm officials said. They may not provide any medical payments, comprehensive, or collision coverages at all, and they may not cover the driver for injuries or for damage to the driver’s personal car, they said.

The new, optional State Farm TNC Driver Coverage endorsement, fills this gap, company officials said.

“This cost-effective endorsement provides the driver with the full liability coverage limits (s)he has under his/her auto policy during the times the driver is ‘available for hire,’ and provides all other coverages applicable to the driver’s auto policy during all periods of TNC driving,” Sarkissian said.

An Uber website identifies no drivers specifically in Vallejo or Solano County, though Lyft has a Napa/Sonoma counties territory that appears to cover most of Solano County, including Vallejo, Fairfield and Vacaville, according to its website.

©2016 Times-Herald (Vallejo, Calif.) Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Dealing with Smokers

Nobody should be subjected to the unpleasant odor of a smoker who just put out a cigarette and stuffed the used butt in his or her pocket or cigarette pack.

I recently picked up a gentleman who was not feeling well and leaving work early. It was an Uber Pool and on the way I got a ride request for a second passenger. When we got to the pick up point this woman was on the phone, smoking a cigarette. She put out the smoke and stuffed it in her pocket. Within moments she stuck up the car.

Enough is enough!

I have decided to put this on my LYFT profile and I am placing signs on the windows of my car:

"If you smell like smoke please request another car. This driver is no longer transporting smokers."

Drivers with Uber, Official Super Bowl Partner, Plan Super Bowl Strike

This article has gone viral on social media:

Source: SF Weekly

Super Bowl 50 arrives bearing gifts for San Francisco. Hometown hero Uber, for example, is an official partner of the Big Game — which, according to Super Bowl Host Committee spokesman Nathan Ballard, means that Uber drivers can use taxi stands when ferrying passengers to and from the various events in Super Bowl City, U.S.A., including the parties in San Francisco and the game itself at Levi's Stadium.

That's a nice perk for Uber drivers, some of whom are organizing to make sure no driver takes advantage of it. 

Some of the organizers of yesterday's protest of Uber HQ — demonstrated, but the first one to earn national press — in which 200 or so Uber drivers circled from City Hall to Uber's 1455 Market Street offices and back honking horns, are trying to get as many Uber drivers as possible off of the road before Sunday. 

It's an Uber Super Bowl strike, a show of driver solidarity in the months leading up to the pivotal court decision on whether Uber drivers are employees or contractors. Will it work? Can it work?

Uber drivers say that working conditions, in a word, suck. After the company takes its cut, and after drivers cover their costs including gas and maintenance on their cars, hourly wages fall as low as $8, they say.

To fix this, Uber drivers are presenting succinct demands: fair pay, good hours, and recognition that the $60 billion company is treating its people — or, of course, its contractors — poorly. 

To get the point across, a select cadre of drivers — some of the 200 who descended on Uber HQ and on City Hall — are vowing to shut down the service over Super Bowl weekend.

The timing is auspicious. If Uber shuts down with many famous and well-heeled visitors in town, it could go a long way to damaging the company's image — and perhaps could shame the company into addressing the clear issue with the working conditions for its contractors. 

Uber, meanwhile, appears to be taking note. According to one of the protest organizers, a man who gave his name as Mario, Uber has shut down his account and other accounts of "partners" organizing against the company.

But will it work? How many drivers will take part — and will users give a shit? 

Drivers did not respond to requests for comment from SF Weekly on Tuesday. Though in comments on social media posts, one self-identified Uber driver said he'd be happy to take the customers left hanging by his striking co-contractors.

How to Get a Ticket at LAX

Someone posted this photo in an Uber/Lyft Drivers group on Facebook. This improper display of Trade Dress can result in a ticket by LAX Police. Fines could be up to $1000 and vehicles may be impounded until fines are paid.

They do not play games at airports and drivers need to know the rules.

One trade dress is permitted per vehicle at LAX.

The trade dress should be on the lower right hand corner of the windshield.

The LAX permit should be the dashboard just under the trade dress.

Caught on Video: Ride share passengers should behave themselves

Bratty rich doctor gets drunk and makes a huge fool of herself in Uber car.

Initially she was identified on the Web as Anjali Ramkissoon, a University of Miami medical student. The "100 pound girl" was so drunk that she tried to get into someone else's Uber and the confusion resulted into a horrific melt down.

Shortly after the video went viral the University of Miami released a statement saying that she has no affiliation with the University but is "a fourth-year neurology resident employed by Jackson Health System, has been placed on administrative leave, effective immediately, and removed from all clinical duties. Jackson has launched an internal investigation. The outcome of the investigation will determine if any disciplinary action will be taken, up to and including termination."

The incident was caught on video and released on social media. Now the young lady earned her 15 minutes of fame.

Source: http://icandoitlater.com/bratty-rich-doctor-anjali-ramkissoon-gets-drunk-and-makes-a-huge-fool-of-herself-uber/

We’ve all seen drunken idiots before, but this takes the cake. She tries to take someone else’s Uber ride, but the driver won’t let her. Then she gets in the car, won’t get back out again, and starts throwing all his paperwork, scissors, phone and other articles straight out the window!

All while mocking him for calling the police, because as she says, she’s a ‘5 foot tall, 100 pound girl’. No one can touch her, right?

"Eventually the driver gets out and says he’s calling the cops to get her out of the car. After a couple of minutes of the driver pretending to talk to the cops (im assuming he was pretending because they never showed up at first), the girl decides to reach into the front seat, grab his keys, and start walking away with his keys in her hands…. That’s where the video starts…

The police finally showed up after this video ends. The girl was in a taxi cab about to leave when the showed up and they had to stand in front of the taxi and tell him to stop. The girl eventually got up from the area the cops had told her to sit and wait, and tried to walk away from the scene.

Once in handcuffs, she then tried kicking some of the police officers on the scene. It was only when they put her in the police car that she started crying, apologizing, and claiming that she would lose her medical license (she claimed to be a neurologist) if she got arrested.

The Uber driver was too good of a person and decided to take a cash settlement instead of pressing charges. In his words, “…she was crying (and) said (she) was sorry for everything.” I don’t want to disclose the amount the driver was paid, but can say he could only use the money to pay his cellphone bill and maybeee his cable bill."

So she even managed to bribe her way out of getting in any real trouble!
Or did she…

Well, she said she was a neurologist. This disgraceful video might have been her career ending moment!

So now we know her as drunken uber pest Anjali Ramkissoon, second year neurology resident. Maybe, ex-resident soon? Because I wouldn’t be getting treated by someone who gets up to this behaviour.


For more information go to: http://www.irumormill.com/iRumors/100-pound-uber-drunk.htm

SideCar - Why we sold to GM

Why we sold to GM

source: https://www.side.cr/why-we-sold-to-gm/

JANUARY 20, 2016

Yesterday news broke of General Motor’s acquisition of Sidecar assets. Why the sale? In short, we were forced to shut down operations and sell. We were unable to compete against Uber, a company that raised more capital than any other in history and is infamous for its anti-competitive behavior. The legacy of Sidecar is that we out-innovated Uber but still failed to win the market. We failed – for the most part – because Uber is willing to win at any cost and they have practically limitless capital to do it.

When it was clear we needed to sell the company, it was important to the board and me that we continue Sidecar’s spirit of innovation and land Sidecar employees in great jobs. Finding a buyer like GM fulfilled our goals. Once the term sheet was signed with GM in December and the strategy was clear, we ceased operation of our ride and delivery operations and focused on closing the deal.

With the acquisition of Sidecar assets, GM gains the team and technology to accelerate their mobility plans and grow their new mobility offering into a world-class transportation service. The key component to the transaction is a license to Sidecar patents*. Sidecar retains ownership of those patents.

What’s next for me?  I’ve chosen not to move on with the GM team, and instead take a break before starting my next thing. It feels almost unbelievable to me that four years ago ridesharing didn’t exist. I’m proud to have led the team at Sidecar. Together we profoundly changed transportation for the better, inventing the technology that enabled the entire category like instant peer-to-peer ridesharing, shared rides, back-to-back rides, shared ETA, driver directions, and so many more.

I wish every member of Sidecar all the best. GM now has one of the most innovative, fastest-moving teams in Silicon Valley working for them.

Sunil Paul

Co-founder & CEO, Sidecar

* Sidecar holds the US Patent #6356838 for “System and method for determining an efficient transportation route” and has other patents pending.

DoorDash - A simple way to bring up the income during rider slumps

Last year I signed up to drive for Sidecar. One of the services they provided was delivering meals and flowers for patrons of other on demand apps.

I noticed that people ordered meals during the times where less ride share patrons requested services for pick up. 

Sadly, Sidecar shut down operations on December 31, 2015.

I liked being able to make extra income during the rider slumps so 
I decided to drive for Doordash.

Doordash is an app that connects patrons with local restaurants and their meals can be delivered within an hour. 

Just like with Sidecar, I started Doordash to earn money during the times that Uber and Lyft requests went down. In the Long Beach area, that is between 1:30 and 5:00.

In January Uber announced a drop in rates and Doordash turned out to be a life saver. 

On a Thursday I committed myself to about 6 hours and managed to bring in a little over $80 by delivering meals.


Depending on area, Doordash pays $5 - $6 a delivery plus tips, which range between 15% to 20 % of the ticket price.

Doordash can be done with any vehicle, bike or even on foot. 

 https://www.doordash.com/dasher/apply/