WBUR reports Gov. Baker has submitted legislation that would require both background checks and minimum insurance levels for people who drive for services such as Uber and Lyft.
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Uber does
By N
Fri, 04/24/2015 - 1:19pm
I just recently signed up to be an Uber driver and they contract to a background check company to do several levels of background check -- license/driving history, city, social to get all the counties you've lived, county reports for all those counties, state reports, and a federal report. They also required proof of insurance. Does Lyft not do so?
Meanwhile in NYC...
By rb
Fri, 04/24/2015 - 1:32pm
Just found out that all Uber and Lyft cars in NY are TLC-licensed (and inspected) black cars. That seems smart to me, because the muncipality has a hand in registration (and inspection) and there is no cap on either black car or livery licenses. Uber claims to have about 13,000 cars in NYC.
Related Q: What do you have to do in MA to get a Livery plate? Show up at the RMV? There are all sorts of cars with Livery plates hanging out at the Sullivan T stop cab stand. Some are painted like taxis, but don't have medallions, and some look like random people's 1999 Chevy Malibus. Others have taxi plates, but Medford and Arlington medallions. Basically, everything looks illegal.
The Boston site says
By N
Fri, 04/24/2015 - 5:04pm
The Boston site says
Lyft site says
By Born in Southie
Fri, 04/24/2015 - 1:47pm
After you've passed your Welcome Ride, we'll begin your background check. We cannot run your background check before this. Since we run both national and county background checks, please allow anywhere from two days to two weeks for this to complete.
such a good background check....
By anon
Fri, 04/24/2015 - 4:13pm
...that an Uber driver did an AMA on /r/boston and said a buddy with a felony conviction sailed right through the check.
I don't understand the minimum insurance thing. MA drivers already have to carry minimum insurance. Uber drivers are more likely to be driving carefully and legally than the general population, lest they get bad reviews...
I don't think a felony
By anon
Fri, 04/24/2015 - 6:01pm
I don't think a felony conviction should automatically disqualify you from driving for Uber. It should depend on what the actual felony was, and how much time has passed.
Some person on the internet
By Shamus
Fri, 04/24/2015 - 8:26pm
Some person on the internet said his buddy with a felony passed the background check? Well there's a reliable source if I've ever heard one. Case closed. We can all go home.
Maybe it's higher liability
By bibliotequetres...
Sat, 04/25/2015 - 2:08pm
Maybe it's higher liability coverage?
Not commercially
By tk
Mon, 04/27/2015 - 10:02am
I can almost guarantee you that your personal auto policy doesn't cover rides for hire.
No word yet
By spin o rama
Fri, 04/24/2015 - 2:05pm
On when Governer Baker will introduce legislation that would require re-testing of licensed drivers.
Or registering bicycles
By relaxyapsycho
Fri, 04/24/2015 - 2:24pm
.
or walking shoes.
By anon
Fri, 04/24/2015 - 3:17pm
or walking shoes.
Sigh
By BostonDog
Fri, 04/24/2015 - 5:01pm
It's extremely rare that a bicycle causes personal injury or property damage except to the bicycle's rider. Motorized vehicles kill countless people daily plus tremendous amounts of property damage.
The heavier the vehicle, the more wear and tear to the roadway. Trucks, car, etc are why roads need to be repaved and maintained frequently whereas sidewalks and paths last much, much longer.
This is why you need to register and pay for your car but not your bike. When bikes start weighting 2000lb and sometimes smash though the sides of buildings then they will need to be registered too.
up to a point
By Malcolm Tucker
Fri, 04/24/2015 - 10:18pm
Bicycles aren't inherently dangerous compared to cars, true. I see LOTS of cyclists, however, who flagrantly disregard the laws of traffic - when there's no reason to do so. They sail through red lights, ride on the sidewalk, ignore pedestrians crossing the street, etc., etc. I don't know what a reasonable solution would be, but it REALLY pisses me off (as a pedestrian, since I don't drive) to see cyclists acting like they're immune to all laws and rules of common sense/decency.
Again, it's just an annoyance for me, but I bet this kind of flippant attitude to the rules of the game (traffic-wise) has led to plenty of accidents.
N.B. I am not talking about all cyclists. I've seen plenty of chuckleheads, but I've seen some sensible ones, too. I hope someday they're all sensible.
No Point
By BlackKat
Sat, 04/25/2015 - 9:45am
Why does it REALLY piss you off so much? Do you not see just as many, if not more, pedestrians or motorized vehicle drivers violating? I do see just as many, if we're going to be weighing anecdotes here. Hell, I sometimes don't wait for the walk light or a cross walk when walking too. I do rolling stops on Stop signs in a car and often, when on a highway, go well over the posted speed limit [along with everyone else].
Sometimes a little organized chaos is a good thing
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UIthEM6pDqw
How does this differ from
By anon
Fri, 04/24/2015 - 2:05pm
How does this differ from original hiring processes?
Formalizes standard industry
By anon
Fri, 04/24/2015 - 2:55pm
Formalizes standard industry practice in the MGLs. Any future competitors will have to follow the standards and not cut corners. Keeps a company being formed or the existing companies from being sued for the employment practice by all the people rejected by Uber/Lyft as unsuitable.
Uber and Lyft already have background checks
By anon
Fri, 04/24/2015 - 2:43pm
and they have insurance coverage for when the driver is on a trip.
Well, apparently they do not have the type
By whyaduck
Fri, 04/24/2015 - 3:56pm
of background checks and/or insurance coverage that Gov. Baker is wanting legislation for, no?
You should really read (or even reread) the article.
Yes
By anon
Fri, 04/24/2015 - 4:22pm
they should have to do the MA-CORI, which only shows crimes committed in Massachusetts.
A serial killer who just moved from NH would come up clean on their CORI and get a good-to-go!
(Source: I worked for a company that only ran CORIs on employees who had recently relocated. Yup, in two weeks you managed not to commit a serious crime in MA, you must be a good person.)
I moved here from NH, and
By N
Fri, 04/24/2015 - 5:03pm
I moved here from NH, and Uber ran a background check in both states...
well then
By anon
Fri, 04/24/2015 - 8:23pm
Uber is smarter than my former employer, who ran a large number of children's programs.
Put your kid in an uber and skip youth basketball.
The article states
By Mia
Fri, 04/24/2015 - 7:41pm
"criminal background check" and "$1 million minimum coverage “as soon as” a ride is accepted", both of which Uber and Lyft list on their websites.
The bill is making it mandatory and yes, probably specifying exact types. But both are already in place in some form by the companies.
Background schmackground...
By auntie uber juan
Fri, 04/24/2015 - 9:29pm
the driver arrested in houston of rape had just gotten out of federal prison for some pretty serious charges that got him 18 yeras and the much ballyhooed uber background checks did NOT flag him.
there were more examples such as this before him and surely there are more revelations yet to come...
unless and until uber and lyft stop trying to scam and game the system by being petulant on the issue of real background checks?
prohibit them from operating every where IMHO
Auntie Uber Juan?
By eherot
Sun, 04/26/2015 - 1:09am
Auntie Uber Juan?
This is pretty funny: https://www.google.com/search?q=%22auntie+uber+jua...
"Background Check" is a useless phrase
By Neighbor2
Sat, 04/25/2015 - 8:39am
Unless ist followed by what items in a background are disqualified for the job.
If someone got a DUI in 1993, can they drive an Uber in 2015? Can they volunteer to chaperone their kids' scool field trip? What if the DUI was in 2011?
What about a "rapist" who dated a 15 yr old when they were 19? Can they drive an Uber now that they're 30? Can they volunteer?
People keep demanding background checks. I say please either hold your tounge or complete the thought and specify what types of backgrounds are allowed.
hey, wait...
By fenwickian
Sat, 04/25/2015 - 10:57am
please correct me if I'm wrong but I think cabs have a special provision that allows them to carry something like $20k in insurance, when the rest of us are required to carry a $100k minimum
I learned this when my driver ran a stop sign and I was injured in the resulting collision, and couldn't recover much because of this special provision
so anybody driving an Uber is already better insured than a cab, no?
Actually I think this is more
By eherot
Sun, 04/26/2015 - 1:11am
Actually I think this is more likely the cab companies only carrying the state minimum ($20k) and most private insurance companies offering a much larger amount ($100k) as part of their standard plan.
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