What? They Have No Insurance?

This is a picture of a sign that, as far as I know, did not show up in any news coverage of the July 30, 2013 San Francisco taxi person protests against Lyft, Sidecar and  Uber x. One or two mass media outlets made passing mention of drivers claiming that the TNC's were not properly insured, but the brunt of the mass communications was that "cabbies" were protesting because they were losing money. And, who can forget ABC ending it's blurb with extended coverage of a pro-Lyft speech that Mayor Ed Lee had given months earlier?

Well ... the chickens are coming home to roost. Or, maybe, ostriches would be a better analogy. In any case, media scribblers are beginning to cover the results that some of us predicted would inevitably take place with the under-insured vehicles and under-vetted drivers of Lyft, Sidecar & Uber. In addition,  articles on the dangers of driving for the TNC's are beginning to turn up. (See Consumer Reports).

Here are a few that have recently come my way:

Uber customer claims abuse and assault by driver.

The Strange Tale of an Uber Car Crash ...

6 Year Old Struck and Killed in Tenderloin Crosswalk.

Uber-Affiliated Driver Arrested in Girls Death.

Should Uber be Held Accountable for Fatal Accident.

Taxi Drivers Demand More Oversight for Online Ride Services.

Uber x Driver ... Had a Record of Reckless Driving.

Lyft Driver Allegedly Attacks Pedestrian.

How Many Ridesharing Drivers Are Hiding Status From Insurers?

Uber Driver Locks Passenger in Car, Gives Himself Five-Star Rating.

Ride Apps Uber, Lyft, Sidecar Hit Speed Bumps.

Rough Patch for Uber Services Challenge to Taxis.

Cab ... give insurance firms license data on citizen competitors

Lyft Driver Hits Elderly Woman in San Francisco Crosswalk.

Notice to TNC Company Drivers.

Phil Matier: Wrongful Death Suit Could Change How Uber Does Business.

Consumer Reports: Don't Risk Your Car Insurance by Operating Your Vehicle as a Part-Time Taxi.

I'm sure this is the tip of the iceberg. Please feel free to send me links that I've missed. I'll publish them here.

SFTaxiLive & Online Town Hall Meetings

Sftaxilive - a brainchild of Director Christiane Hayashi - can be accessed at www.sftaxilive.com. It contains a plethora of features including the ability to attend Town Hall meetings online. Follow the procedure below if you wish to join tomorrow's Town Hall meeting on Tuesday January 28, 2014 at 1: 30 pm.

To join a meeting live via internet there are three steps: 

1. Register for the site using your email address.

2. Sign up for an upcoming meeting that you want to attend remotely.

3. On the day of meeting, log into site and join the meeting live.

STEP 1: SIGN UP ON THE WEBSITE

  1. Go to www.sftaxilive.com

2. Click on "Sign Up" link in top right corner. All you need is your first name, last name and a valid email address. You pick your own password. 

3. Once you are signed up, click "Login" on top right corner and sign in any time you want to attend a live meeting or register for a future meeting by entering your email address and password.

STEP 2: SIGN UP FOR AN UPCOMING MEETING 

For example, sign up now for the January 28 Town Hall Meeting. Note…you must have already registered for the site (see Step 1):

1. Log in using your email and password.

2. Click on the "MEETINGS" link on the left hand corner of your user page.

3. You will see three options: "My Meetings" "Past Meetings" and "Upcoming Meetings".  Click on "Upcoming Meetings".

4. All upcoming meetings will be displayed, and each meeting will display the following information: 

Name, Start Date, Time, Capacity, Details and Action. 

Under the column  "Details" is the word "View".

5. When you click "View" it will display more details about the meeting, including meeting documents you can download. On this Details page at the bottom is a "Sign Up" button. When you click "Sign Up" you will be automatically signed up for that meeting.

STEP 3: JOIN LIVE MEETINGS ON THE DAY OF MEETING

1.    On day of meeting. go to www.sftaxilive.com and login. 

 2. Then in your user page you will see the MEETINGS button. Click on "My Meetings".

3. You will see a list of all the MEETINGS you have signed up for. Click on the meeting you want to join and it will display the meeting details.

   4.  Click on "JOIN" on that page and it will take you to the meeting in progress.

Although the site is largely self-explanitory, I'll cover some of the other features in another post.