Friday, January 23, 2015

Major New California DMV Harassment of Uber, Lyft...

In a potentially major threat to UberX, Lyft and Sidecar, the California Department of Motor Vehicles said drivers for the services must obtain commercial license plates, reports the SF Chronicle.

"Any passenger vehicle used or maintained for the transportation of persons for hire, compensation or profit is a commercial vehicle,” the DMV wrote in an advisory dated Jan. 5. “Even occasional use of a vehicle in this manner requires the vehicle to be registered commercially.”
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SFC notes the DMV requirement would erect huge roadblocks to the drivers pf these outfits.

Commercial registration costs more than personal registration, entails an array of paperwork and in-person DMV appointment, and likely would necessitate carrying commercial insurance, which is much more expensive than personal auto insurance.

But, here is the juicy part via SFC:
However, it’s not clear whether the DMV, the California Highway Patrol or local police will enforce the requirements — and the ride-hailing companies have a history of flouting regulations. 

Uber, and similar operators are extremely popular in California, especially San Francisco. It is doubtful even most leftys want the service hampered. It is most likely traditional taxi operators are behind this DMV.

-RW 

3 comments:

  1. That also means they'll be able to park in loading zones whenever they want

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  2. It will be interesting if leftys start attempting to use the various sovereign citizen type defenses with regards to government regulation of private autos.

    After all they aren't 'commercial' they are just sharing the ride with someone.

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  3. Perhaps it is not just the traditional taxi operators behind this ... the DMV itself has a conflict of interest here in getting more "business" for its parasites

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