New regulations for Orlando’s Uber drivers took effect this week, but not much has changed yet according to Uber officials. They say that’s because right now it’s “impossible” for Uber to comply with the city’s new ride-sharing rules.
One of the regulations from Orlando’s City Commission requires drivers for ride-sharing companies like Uber and Lyft to pay $250 for a permit. But Uber spokesperson Taylor Bennett says no drivers have applied for it, because they can’t. It doesn’t exist yet.
“Ride sharing is a brand new model, and it’s something that didn’t exist in this city even a year ago, and so those processes, the tools required, that permitting process that we would need to follow just hasn’t been created,” says Bennett.
Bennett says Uber is working with the City of Orlando on that, but the ride-sharing company still bristles at some of the other new regulations like the minimum-fare requirement of $2.40 a mile. That’s what Orlando taxis charge, but it’s much higher than Uber’s usual base fare of $1.00 a mile. Bennett says Orlando is the only place in the country with that requirement.
"There are over two dozen municipalities that have crafted ride-sharing legislation from the ground up, and not a single one of those includes a minimum fare, and so what Orlando is doing is really harming consumers and it’s making it more difficult for people to get a safe ride," says Bennett
Bennett says Uber is working with city leaders to figure out a permitting process. He says in the meantime, Uber will continue to operate the same way it did before the regulations took effect.
