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"content": "\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_122545\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2014/01/02/news-pix-tenderloin-pedestrian-memorial-anti-gentrification-protest-and-new-years-traditions/n-of-polk-and-ellis-streets-2/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-122545\">\u003cimg class=\"size-medium wp-image-122545\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2014/01/ped-memorial2-640x450.jpg\" alt=\"A memorial at the intersection of Polk and Ellis streets in San Francisco, where a 6-year-old girl was struck by a car and killed on New Year’s Eve. (Sara Bloomberg/KQED)\" width=\"640\" height=\"450\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A memorial at the intersection of Polk and Ellis streets in San Francisco, where a 6-year-old girl was struck by a car and killed on New Year’s Eve. (Sara Bloomberg/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>We \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2014/01/02/122446/\" target=\"_blank\">told you last week \u003c/a>about the repercussions from a New Year's Eve tragedy in which a driver for smartphone ride service UberX struck a mother and two children in a San Francisco crosswalk. One of the children, Sophia Liu, 6, was killed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[contextly_sidebar id=\"d8f086c14fb86d9f3f640b0a4d443e29\"]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>UberX acknowledged the driver, whom police identified as Syed Muzzafar of Union City, was a \"partner,\" though it said he was not making a trip for the company at the time of the incident. Police arrested Muzzafar on suspicion of vehicular manslaughter, and he was later released after posting bail.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The death highlighted an issue that both taxi companies and their drivers have been raising as the ride services — including Lyft, Sidecar, UberX and others — become more popular. Namely: Are the services adequately insured?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Later today, we're going to hear that question asked very loudly at City Hall. Members of the \u003ca href=\"http://www.sfcda.org/\" target=\"_blank\">San Francisco Cab Drivers Association\u003c/a> promise to appear at \u003ca href=\"http://sf-police.org/index.aspx?page=4444\" target=\"_blank\">this evening's meeting of the Police Commission\u003c/a> to demand the city enforce its insurance requirements on drivers and vehicles operating as part of the smartphone ride services.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The California Public Utility Commission requires the ride services, which it has dubbed transportation network companies(TNCs), to carry policies that provide $1 million in liability coverage per incident. But as KQED's \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2013/11/14/who-pays-when-ride-share-driver-crashes\" target=\"_blank\">Jon Brooks has reported\u003c/a>, a lot is unknown about the TNC insurance policies. For instance:\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>The TNCs provide \"excess\" instead of \"primary\" insurance coverage. The policies are designed to pay for claims uncovered by other insurance -- say, a driver's personal auto insurance policy.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>The TNCs have said drivers' personal insurance policies will cover some claims if there's an accident; the insurance industry says those policies won't provide any coverage.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>The insurance industry says ride-service drivers will have to buy commercial insurance to be covered when they're driving for hire and maybe even when they're not.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>As a result of the uncertainty surrounding the insurance policies, some TNC drivers say they keep their status secret from their insurers. The taxi industry says the situation leaves the public unprotected. Barry Korengold, president of the cab drivers association, said in a statement today, \"If this practice is knowingly allowed to continue, the city of San Francisco must bear financial responsibility for accidents such as the tragedy that occurred this past New Year's Eve.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For their part, the ride-service companies say their insurance is adequate and that drivers and passengers are protected.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_122545\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2014/01/02/news-pix-tenderloin-pedestrian-memorial-anti-gentrification-protest-and-new-years-traditions/n-of-polk-and-ellis-streets-2/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-122545\">\u003cimg class=\"size-medium wp-image-122545\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2014/01/ped-memorial2-640x450.jpg\" alt=\"A memorial at the intersection of Polk and Ellis streets in San Francisco, where a 6-year-old girl was struck by a car and killed on New Year’s Eve. (Sara Bloomberg/KQED)\" width=\"640\" height=\"450\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A memorial at the intersection of Polk and Ellis streets in San Francisco, where a 6-year-old girl was struck by a car and killed on New Year’s Eve. (Sara Bloomberg/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>We \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2014/01/02/122446/\" target=\"_blank\">told you last week \u003c/a>about the repercussions from a New Year's Eve tragedy in which a driver for smartphone ride service UberX struck a mother and two children in a San Francisco crosswalk. One of the children, Sophia Liu, 6, was killed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>UberX acknowledged the driver, whom police identified as Syed Muzzafar of Union City, was a \"partner,\" though it said he was not making a trip for the company at the time of the incident. Police arrested Muzzafar on suspicion of vehicular manslaughter, and he was later released after posting bail.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The death highlighted an issue that both taxi companies and their drivers have been raising as the ride services — including Lyft, Sidecar, UberX and others — become more popular. Namely: Are the services adequately insured?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Later today, we're going to hear that question asked very loudly at City Hall. Members of the \u003ca href=\"http://www.sfcda.org/\" target=\"_blank\">San Francisco Cab Drivers Association\u003c/a> promise to appear at \u003ca href=\"http://sf-police.org/index.aspx?page=4444\" target=\"_blank\">this evening's meeting of the Police Commission\u003c/a> to demand the city enforce its insurance requirements on drivers and vehicles operating as part of the smartphone ride services.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The California Public Utility Commission requires the ride services, which it has dubbed transportation network companies(TNCs), to carry policies that provide $1 million in liability coverage per incident. But as KQED's \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2013/11/14/who-pays-when-ride-share-driver-crashes\" target=\"_blank\">Jon Brooks has reported\u003c/a>, a lot is unknown about the TNC insurance policies. For instance:\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>The TNCs provide \"excess\" instead of \"primary\" insurance coverage. The policies are designed to pay for claims uncovered by other insurance -- say, a driver's personal auto insurance policy.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>The TNCs have said drivers' personal insurance policies will cover some claims if there's an accident; the insurance industry says those policies won't provide any coverage.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>The insurance industry says ride-service drivers will have to buy commercial insurance to be covered when they're driving for hire and maybe even when they're not.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>As a result of the uncertainty surrounding the insurance policies, some TNC drivers say they keep their status secret from their insurers. The taxi industry says the situation leaves the public unprotected. Barry Korengold, president of the cab drivers association, said in a statement today, \"If this practice is knowingly allowed to continue, the city of San Francisco must bear financial responsibility for accidents such as the tragedy that occurred this past New Year's Eve.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For their part, the ride-service companies say their insurance is adequate and that drivers and passengers are protected.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "san-francisco-driver-arrested-on-vehicular-manslaughter-charge-in-death-of-girl-pedestrian",
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"content": "\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_122490\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-122490\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2014/01/pedestrian1-640x426.jpg\" alt=\"A protester who refused to give her name as she is afraid of eviction from her home in the Mission, shows her sign to curious bystanders. Photo by Deborah Svoboda.\" width=\"640\" height=\"426\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A memorial at the intersection of Polk and Ellis streets in San Francisco, where a 6-year-old girl was struck by a car and killed on New Year’s Eve. (Sara Bloomberg/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>San Francisco police Thursday released the names of two men arrested on suspicion of vehicular manslaughter for separate collisions on New Year’s Eve that killed a 6-year-old girl and an 86-year-old man.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Syed Muzzafar, 57, of Union City, was arrested on suspicion of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence and failure to yield to pedestrians in a crosswalk for striking 6-year-old Sophia Liu at about 8 p.m. Tuesday at Polk and Ellis streets in the city’s Tenderloin neighborhood. Sophia, a woman and another child were in a crosswalk when Muzzafar allegedly turned right and struck them, police spokesman Officer Gordon Shyy said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sophia succumbed to her injuries at San Francisco General Hospital while the woman suffered life-threatening injuries and the other child is expected to survive, police said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Supervisor Jane Kim, whose district includes the Tenderloin, said the other two victims were Sophia’s mother and brother and that the motorist identified himself as a driver with the transportation company Uber.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Andrew Noyes of Uber told KQED’s David Weir that Muzzafar worked for UberX, which is Uber’s “ride-share” service, a competitor to Lyft and Sidecar. These companies have been designated by the California Public Utilities Commission as “transportation network companies” or TNCs, which allow ordinary car owners to offer rides to paying customers through a phone app.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Interestingly, we notice spiking right now in terms of web traffic: our \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2013/11/14/who-pays-when-ride-share-driver-crashes\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">investigation into the insurance issues for ride-service drivers\u003c/a> like the one from UberX. TNCs are now required to offer $1 million per incident liability insurance policies, but one assumption might be those would not apply to a driver operating his vehicle for personal use. Complicating matters: the insurance industry says that in order to be covered, any driver using his vehicle for TNC work must buy commercial insurance, even when on personal time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Of course, insurance may be the least of Muzzafar’s problems. Sheriff’s spokeswoman Susan Fahey said he was booked into custody early Wednesday morning and was released after posting bail at about 11 p.m.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The San Francisco cab industry, which has been losing customers to TNCs like UberX and opposes the CPUC’s decision to legalize them, has argued that the public is at risk as an influx of new quasi-professional drivers has hit the road. The CPUC’s decision requires TNCs to comply with the following safety standards:\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>TNCs shall obtain each TNC driver’s driving record before the driver begins providing service and quarterly thereafter.Drivers with convictions for reckless driving, driving under the influence, hit and run, or driving with a suspended or revoked license shall not be permitted to be a TNC driver.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Drivers may have a maximum of two points on their driving records for lesser offenses, e.g., equipment problems, speeding, or child safety seat violations. TNCs shall establish a driver training program to ensure that all drivers are safely operating the vehicle prior to the driver being able to offer service. This program must be filed with the Commission within 45 days of the adoption of this decision. TNCs must report to the Commission on an annual basis the number of drivers that became eligible and completed the course\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>But Hansu Kim, owner of San Francisco’s DeSoto Cab and a board member of the Taxicab Paratransit Association of California, told KQED that ride-service companies “have skirted all the rules that have applied to safety and that have been in place for decades. Sadly, I predict there will be more tragedies until regulators wake up.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, in another fatal pedestrian accident earlier Tuesday, 86-year-old Zhen Guang Ng was struck at about 3:30 p.m. at Naples and Rolph streets in the city’s Crocker-Amazon neighborhood. He was taken to San Francisco General Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, police said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Giampaolo Boschetti, a 69-year-old San Francisco resident, was arrested following the collision and was booked into custody on suspicion of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence and failure to stop at a stop sign, police said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Fahey said Boschetti was released early Wednesday morning after also posting bail.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Examiner has put up a \u003ca href=\"http://www.sfexaminer.com/sanfrancisco/two-fatalities-close-out-high-year-for-pedestrian-deaths/Content?oid=2663416\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">story up\u003c/a> on the rise of pedestrian fatalities in the city:\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>The two deaths on the last day of 2013 brought the pedestrian fatality count to 20 for the year, according to Walk San Francisco, the highest number since 24 were killed six years ago.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s a new year with all the sadness, a wake-up call to The City that we need to prioritize pedestrian safety,” said Walk SF Executive Director Nicole Schneider. “Twenty people dying last year alone should be a cause for concern that this is a public health and public safety crisis that The City needs to take responsibility for.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Pedestrian fatalities in 2013 surged from the previous five years, which saw between 13 and 17 each year, despite a pedestrian strategy released early last year. The Police Department had also launched a campaign in late 2012 focusing on the five leading causes of collisions.\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Update\u003c/strong>: Two more San Francisco pedestrians, \u003ca href=\"http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_24836648/san-francisco-pedestrian-seriously-injured-after-being-struck\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">one on Thursday evening\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Pedestrian-hit-in-S-F-s-Lower-Nob-Hill-5111539.php\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">one on Friday morning\u003c/a>, have been injured after being struck by cars. The Contra Costa Times reported yesterday that a man hit Thursday at Bush and Leavenworth is “fighting for his life.” Details on the other accident have not been made public.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Interview: Walk San Francisco director Nicole Schneider on pedestrian safety\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv>\n\u003cdiv class=\"embedly\">\n\u003cp>\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"//cdn.embedly.com/widgets/media.html?src=https%3A%2F%2Fw.soundcloud.com%2Fplayer%2F%3Furl%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252Fapi.soundcloud.com%252Ftracks%252F127614808%26auto_play%3Dfalse%26show_artwork%3Dtrue%26origin%3Dtwitter&src_secure=1&url=http%3A%2F%2Fsoundcloud.com%2Fkqed%2Fsan-francisco-among-the-most&image=http%3A%2F%2Fa1.sndcdn.com%2Fimages%2Ffb_placeholder.png%3Fd53bf9f&key=6c6e02c8c9d111e0ba664040d3dc5c07&type=text%2Fhtml&schema=soundcloud\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" width=\"640\" height=\"166\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"embedly-clear\">\u003c/div>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan class=\"embedly-powered\" style=\"float: right\">\u003ca title=\"Powered by Embedly\" href=\"http://embed.ly/code?url=https%3A%2F%2Fsoundcloud.com%2Fkqed%2Fsan-francisco-among-the-most\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://static.embed.ly/images/logos/embedly-powered-small-light.png\" alt=\"Embedly Powered\">\u003c/a>\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"media-attribution\">via \u003ca class=\"media-attribution-link\" href=\"http://soundcloud.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">SoundCloud\u003c/a>\u003c/div>\n\u003cdiv class=\"embedly-clear\">\u003c/div>\n\u003c/div>\n\u003c/div>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_122490\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-122490\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2014/01/pedestrian1-640x426.jpg\" alt=\"A protester who refused to give her name as she is afraid of eviction from her home in the Mission, shows her sign to curious bystanders. Photo by Deborah Svoboda.\" width=\"640\" height=\"426\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A memorial at the intersection of Polk and Ellis streets in San Francisco, where a 6-year-old girl was struck by a car and killed on New Year’s Eve. (Sara Bloomberg/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>San Francisco police Thursday released the names of two men arrested on suspicion of vehicular manslaughter for separate collisions on New Year’s Eve that killed a 6-year-old girl and an 86-year-old man.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Syed Muzzafar, 57, of Union City, was arrested on suspicion of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence and failure to yield to pedestrians in a crosswalk for striking 6-year-old Sophia Liu at about 8 p.m. Tuesday at Polk and Ellis streets in the city’s Tenderloin neighborhood. Sophia, a woman and another child were in a crosswalk when Muzzafar allegedly turned right and struck them, police spokesman Officer Gordon Shyy said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sophia succumbed to her injuries at San Francisco General Hospital while the woman suffered life-threatening injuries and the other child is expected to survive, police said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Supervisor Jane Kim, whose district includes the Tenderloin, said the other two victims were Sophia’s mother and brother and that the motorist identified himself as a driver with the transportation company Uber.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Andrew Noyes of Uber told KQED’s David Weir that Muzzafar worked for UberX, which is Uber’s “ride-share” service, a competitor to Lyft and Sidecar. These companies have been designated by the California Public Utilities Commission as “transportation network companies” or TNCs, which allow ordinary car owners to offer rides to paying customers through a phone app.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Interestingly, we notice spiking right now in terms of web traffic: our \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2013/11/14/who-pays-when-ride-share-driver-crashes\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">investigation into the insurance issues for ride-service drivers\u003c/a> like the one from UberX. TNCs are now required to offer $1 million per incident liability insurance policies, but one assumption might be those would not apply to a driver operating his vehicle for personal use. Complicating matters: the insurance industry says that in order to be covered, any driver using his vehicle for TNC work must buy commercial insurance, even when on personal time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Of course, insurance may be the least of Muzzafar’s problems. Sheriff’s spokeswoman Susan Fahey said he was booked into custody early Wednesday morning and was released after posting bail at about 11 p.m.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The San Francisco cab industry, which has been losing customers to TNCs like UberX and opposes the CPUC’s decision to legalize them, has argued that the public is at risk as an influx of new quasi-professional drivers has hit the road. The CPUC’s decision requires TNCs to comply with the following safety standards:\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>TNCs shall obtain each TNC driver’s driving record before the driver begins providing service and quarterly thereafter.Drivers with convictions for reckless driving, driving under the influence, hit and run, or driving with a suspended or revoked license shall not be permitted to be a TNC driver.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Drivers may have a maximum of two points on their driving records for lesser offenses, e.g., equipment problems, speeding, or child safety seat violations. TNCs shall establish a driver training program to ensure that all drivers are safely operating the vehicle prior to the driver being able to offer service. This program must be filed with the Commission within 45 days of the adoption of this decision. TNCs must report to the Commission on an annual basis the number of drivers that became eligible and completed the course\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>But Hansu Kim, owner of San Francisco’s DeSoto Cab and a board member of the Taxicab Paratransit Association of California, told KQED that ride-service companies “have skirted all the rules that have applied to safety and that have been in place for decades. Sadly, I predict there will be more tragedies until regulators wake up.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, in another fatal pedestrian accident earlier Tuesday, 86-year-old Zhen Guang Ng was struck at about 3:30 p.m. at Naples and Rolph streets in the city’s Crocker-Amazon neighborhood. He was taken to San Francisco General Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, police said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Giampaolo Boschetti, a 69-year-old San Francisco resident, was arrested following the collision and was booked into custody on suspicion of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence and failure to stop at a stop sign, police said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Fahey said Boschetti was released early Wednesday morning after also posting bail.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Examiner has put up a \u003ca href=\"http://www.sfexaminer.com/sanfrancisco/two-fatalities-close-out-high-year-for-pedestrian-deaths/Content?oid=2663416\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">story up\u003c/a> on the rise of pedestrian fatalities in the city:\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>The two deaths on the last day of 2013 brought the pedestrian fatality count to 20 for the year, according to Walk San Francisco, the highest number since 24 were killed six years ago.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s a new year with all the sadness, a wake-up call to The City that we need to prioritize pedestrian safety,” said Walk SF Executive Director Nicole Schneider. “Twenty people dying last year alone should be a cause for concern that this is a public health and public safety crisis that The City needs to take responsibility for.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Pedestrian fatalities in 2013 surged from the previous five years, which saw between 13 and 17 each year, despite a pedestrian strategy released early last year. The Police Department had also launched a campaign in late 2012 focusing on the five leading causes of collisions.\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Update\u003c/strong>: Two more San Francisco pedestrians, \u003ca href=\"http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_24836648/san-francisco-pedestrian-seriously-injured-after-being-struck\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">one on Thursday evening\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Pedestrian-hit-in-S-F-s-Lower-Nob-Hill-5111539.php\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">one on Friday morning\u003c/a>, have been injured after being struck by cars. The Contra Costa Times reported yesterday that a man hit Thursday at Bush and Leavenworth is “fighting for his life.” Details on the other accident have not been made public.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Interview: Walk San Francisco director Nicole Schneider on pedestrian safety\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv>\n\u003cdiv class=\"embedly\">\n\u003cp>\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"//cdn.embedly.com/widgets/media.html?src=https%3A%2F%2Fw.soundcloud.com%2Fplayer%2F%3Furl%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252Fapi.soundcloud.com%252Ftracks%252F127614808%26auto_play%3Dfalse%26show_artwork%3Dtrue%26origin%3Dtwitter&src_secure=1&url=http%3A%2F%2Fsoundcloud.com%2Fkqed%2Fsan-francisco-among-the-most&image=http%3A%2F%2Fa1.sndcdn.com%2Fimages%2Ffb_placeholder.png%3Fd53bf9f&key=6c6e02c8c9d111e0ba664040d3dc5c07&type=text%2Fhtml&schema=soundcloud\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" width=\"640\" height=\"166\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"embedly-clear\">\u003c/div>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan class=\"embedly-powered\" style=\"float: right\">\u003ca title=\"Powered by Embedly\" href=\"http://embed.ly/code?url=https%3A%2F%2Fsoundcloud.com%2Fkqed%2Fsan-francisco-among-the-most\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://static.embed.ly/images/logos/embedly-powered-small-light.png\" alt=\"Embedly Powered\">\u003c/a>\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"media-attribution\">via \u003ca class=\"media-attribution-link\" href=\"http://soundcloud.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">SoundCloud\u003c/a>\u003c/div>\n\u003cdiv class=\"embedly-clear\">\u003c/div>\n\u003c/div>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"disqusTitle": "Tip or Bribe? Taxi Drivers Say Illegal Payments to Dispatchers Are Routine",
"title": "Tip or Bribe? Taxi Drivers Say Illegal Payments to Dispatchers Are Routine",
"headTitle": "News Fix | KQED News",
"content": "\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 4.6875em;float: left;line-height: 0.733em;padding: 0.05em 0.1em 0 0;font-family: times, serif, georgia\">B\u003c/span>rad Newsham drove a cab in San Francisco for nearly three decades and says he loved nearly everything about the job from the first day he got behind the wheel: the people, the city's beauty, the independence, the sense of experiencing something new every day.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://www.bradnewsham.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Newsham\u003c/a> quit the business this year because he was down to earning a net income of five bucks an hour. Newsham's experience isn't unique — others in San Francisco's taxicab industry say they know drivers who are only netting $5 to $10 an hour. A big part of the tough economics for drivers has to do with ride-service companies like Sidecar, Uber and Lyft siphoning off business from the traditional cab companies.\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"alignright noborder\">\u003cimg src=\"http://u.s.kqed.net/2013/12/18/tip.jpg\" alt=\"Money\">\n\u003ch3>When drivers pay dispatchers, is it a tip? Or a bribe? \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2014/12/13/the-fine-line-between-a-taxi-drivers-tip-and-a-bribe/\" target=\"_blank\">Read more.\u003c/a>\u003c/h3>\n\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>But part of the money problem for the great majority of taxi drivers, those who rent their vehicles, is the way the business is structured. They start out in the hole every day, needing to make $100 or more just to pay the \"gate,\" or rental fee, for a 10-hour shift. They pay gas on top of that, which could easily come to $20 or $30 a shift or more. You can do the math yourself: To clear San Francisco's minimum wage of $10.55 an hour, they've got to bring in something north of $200, and probably significantly more than that, during their 10 hours on the road.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Drivers get no benefits, and may be held responsible for their gate fees when they're too sick to drive. Sometimes they must pay insurance deductibles and they face fines from city taxi regulators when they violate rules.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you wonder how they survive, well, lots of them are just scraping by. Richard Hybels, owner of San Francisco's Metro Cab, says, \"Cab drivers can’t even get their teeth fixed. They’re poor people. It’s not an easy way to make a living by any stretch of the imagination.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If the financial odds against drivers aren't long enough already, they face another daily cost that industry veterans like Newsham alternatively call \"the tip\" or \"the bribe.\" That’s the unofficial, and illegal, five to ten bucks or more that many drivers say they pay cab company dispatchers and gas attendants every shift.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Whoever bribes the dispatcher the most tends to get the best shifts,\" says Newsham. “I’ve been in situations at companies where if you don’t tip, the dispatcher says, 'Nice to see you ... I don’t have any cabs right now ... why don’t you sit on the bench for awhile until I get one?' I have sat there for three hours waiting for him to find me a cab when I have seen people walk in, give him 20 bucks and walk right out. It’s just a fact of life in the cab world.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Longtime San Francisco \u003ca href=\"http://phantomcabdriverphites.blogspot.com/\" target=\"_blank\">cab driver Ed Healy\u003c/a> says the practice is standard throughout the industry.\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"alignleft\">\n\u003ch3>More in KQED's series\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>This is the third part in our series on the risks and benefits to those who sign up with networked ride services like Lyft, Sidecar and UberX, versus those who work for the traditional taxicab industry.\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2013/11/07/taxis-lyft-ride-service-war-on-streets-of-san-francisco\">\u003cstrong>Part One\u003c/strong>\u003c/a> describes the growing tensions between ride services and taxi companies.\u003cstrong>\u003c/strong>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2013/11/14/who-pays-when-ride-share-driver-crashes\">Part Two\u003c/a>\u003c/strong> examines the insurance risks facing drivers for the ride services.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>\"I once had a dispatcher come out there and I gave him $3 and he threw it back in my face and said, ‘That’s not a tip,'\" says Healy. \"I stopped tipping them completely, and I regularly got cars without any brakes or (that) broke down in various ways. I had one where a huge pipe dropped out of the cab and onto the ground. I had so many breakdowns, and I wondered why I had to wait three hours for somebody to come and tow. So I would say that pretty much enforced tipping is the rule.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>John Han, who drives for Yellow Cab, breaks down his tipping routine: $1 to the gas guy, $5 to the dispatcher in charge of issuing cabs when he goes out and $1 more when he returns to file his paperwork. That's somewhat lower than a lot of drivers, he says. \"Many drivers say $5 going out and $5 coming in to dispatchers and cashiers.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Emil Lawrence, a driver since 1996 who wrote the popular \u003ca href=\"http://www.sfgate.com/entertainment/article/NIGHT-CABBIE-A-lesson-in-Chinese-relations-2805327.php\" target=\"_blank\">Night Cabbie\u003c/a> column in the old San Francisco Examiner and the San Francisco Chronicle, lays out basically the same scenario in terms of pressure to make these payments:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"If you don't want to piss off anybody that can cause you problems, you have to pay it,\" he says. \"The system that’s pervasive is tips and payola before you get your taxi.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lawrence says radio dispatchers will also sometimes demand money for sending lucrative airport calls a driver's way. He says at one company he used to work for, the radio dispatcher had a black book. \"He came up to me ... and said, 'Emil, I looked at my book, you owe me for two airports.'\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Whatever you call it, this kind of payment, voluntary or involuntary, is against the law in San Francisco, and each violation carries a $633 fine for firms that allow it. Perhaps it's not surprising, then, that when you talk to San Francisco taxi companies, virtually all of them say that they don't allow tipping (six of the biggest companies — Yellow, Luxor, DeSoto, Metro, Royal and Town told me tipping is prohibited in their shops; two other companies, Arrow Checker and NationalVeterans, didn't return my calls).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jim Gillespie, general manager at Yellow Cab, said any reports of tipping at the company aren't true. \"It's not happening at Yellow Cab. If that happens I would fire the employees.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Has it ever happened? \"Not to my knowledge,\" he says.\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignleft\">'I have sat there for three hours waiting for him to find me a cab when I have seen people walk in, give him 20 bucks and walk right out.'\u003cbr>\n\u003ccite>—Brad Newsham, cab driver\u003c/cite>\u003cbr>\n\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>Charles Rathbone, assistant manager at Luxor, told me, \"Nobody is forced to tip.\" He says the company has signs up saying tipping isn't allowed. \"Nobody has to tip to get a better shift or cab. The cashiers and the dispatchers know we’d come down on them like a ton of bricks. If you know of somebody who says there is (a tipping requirement) please tell them to come in and see me and I promise no retaliation for complaints. Absolutely.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>What about voluntary tipping, which is also prohibited?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"It's the kind of thing that is almost impossible to stop\" he says. \"How do you prevent somebody from passing somebody else a dollar? It’s a very difficult thing to prevent from happening. I’m not going to say categorically that there is no tipping, but it’s certainly not anything the company gets any money from.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe width=\"100%\" height=\"166\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"no\" src=\"https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/125668303&color=ff6600&auto_play=false&show_artwork=true\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Tipping is an Expensive Reality\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dan Hara has little doubt that these payments are a reality in San Francisco cab companies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He's an economist whose firm, Hara Associates, compiled \u003ca href=\"http://www.sfmta.com/sites/default/files/Draft%20SF%20DriverSurvey%2037%20Web%20version04042013.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">a report\u003c/a> last year on the city's taxi industry for the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, or SFMTA. The firm's survey of 621 San Francisco cab drivers found that 61 percent said they always pay daily tips to other company employees. More than half of that group, 55 percent, said they pay those tips because they have to.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Of the companies for which more than 30 drivers were surveyed, the reported tips ranged from an average of $4.47 for a non-Friday or non-Saturday night shift to $8.95 for a Friday or Saturday night shift.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe width=\"640\" height=\"300\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"no\" src=\"https://www.google.com/fusiontables/embedviz?containerId=googft-gviz-canvas&q=select+col0%2C+col1%2C+col2%2C+col3+from+10EWOm6XOitK40qidzUUyuF6ng84o_bUsO5jQnZg+order+by+col2+desc+limit+10&viz=GVIZ&t=COLUMN&uiversion=2&gco_forceIFrame=true&gco_hasLabelsColumn=true&gco_vAxes=%5B%7B%22title%22%3A%22Respondents%22%2C+%22minValue%22%3Anull%2C+%22maxValue%22%3Anull%2C+%22useFormatFromData%22%3Atrue%2C+%22viewWindow%22%3A%7B%22max%22%3Anull%2C+%22min%22%3Anull%7D%2C+%22logScale%22%3Afalse%7D%2C%7B%22useFormatFromData%22%3Atrue%2C+%22viewWindow%22%3A%7B%22max%22%3Anull%2C+%22min%22%3Anull%7D%2C+%22minValue%22%3Anull%2C+%22maxValue%22%3Anull%2C+%22logScale%22%3Afalse%7D%5D&gco_useFirstColumnAsDomain=true&gco_isStacked=true&gco_booleanRole=certainty&gco_hAxis=%7B%22useFormatFromData%22%3Atrue%2C+%22minValue%22%3Anull%2C+%22maxValue%22%3Anull%2C+%22viewWindow%22%3Anull%2C+%22viewWindowMode%22%3Anull%7D&gco_legend=right&gco_title=How+often+do+you+pay+tips+to+dispatchers%2C+gas+attendants+or+other+taxi+companies%3F&gco_fontName=Arial&att=true&width=640&height=300\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Tipping can be expensive, the report added, with 21 percent of drivers reporting they gave daily tips of between $10 and $20 and another 8 percent saying the gave more than $20 per shift. The highest tips came from those working lucrative weekend night shifts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Not everyone who drives a cab and tips dispatchers and gas attendants see that as a problem. One longtime driver who asked to remain anonymous recalls a variation on the usual practice of tipping.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"We would have to go into a lottery, put our names in a hat, and they’d pull out these numbers, and your number would determine your chances [of getting a cab],\" he says. \"Your chances would be better if you decided to give money to the dispatcher. If you tipped, your chances are much greater to get out.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But this driver says he thinks that kind of tipping is OK.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"I think most people realize they should tip at least 10 to 15 percent if they like the service,\" he says.\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignleft\"> 'It's not happening at Yellow Cab. If that happens I would fire the employees.'\u003cbr>\n\u003ccite>— Jim Gillespie, Yellow Cab general manager\u003c/cite>\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>Barry Korengold, the president of the San Francisco Cab Drivers Association, says there are worse things happening in the industry right now than pressure to give dispatcher and gas attendants a tip. \"It’s not one of my big issues,\" he says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Korengold and one other driver told me that because drivers live in part on tips, it would be hypocritical not to do the same.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Emil Lawrence, for one, says he currently tips because he wants to, but that's only because he owns a cab medallion (which is essentially a license to drive a cab in the city) and has greater leverage. He also said he doesn't blame all cab company employees for taking tips, as they make very little money. \"They have no benefits whatsoever, so this is the way they get their income up.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>The Law and How It's Enforced\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When I asked Christiane Hayashi, director of taxis and accessible services for the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, whether drivers tipping taxi company employees was legal, she read from the \u003ca href=\"http://transportation.sanfranciscocode.org/downloads/code-text/II._1105.txt\" target=\"_blank\">San Francisco Transportation Code, Section 1105, sub-section A10,\u003c/a> in effect since 2011.\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>“No Permit Holder or agent of a Permit Holder may accept or solicit gifts and/or gratuities or anything of value from any Driver, other than Gate Fees, Lease Fees, payments for goods actually received, or other payments authorized by this Article. A Permit Holder or agent of a Permit Holder shall issue a receipt for any payment received from a Driver.\"\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>The ordinance covers voluntary payments, too. That means all tipping is illegal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That absolute ban notwithstanding, Hayashi says she's aware tipping is happening and thinks the practice varies widely from company to company.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In addition, she adds, \"The salary structure set up by the companies relies on tipping — it is my understanding that many taxi company employees receive San Francisco's minimum wage and are required to rely on tips to make an adequate salary. ... So it is a deeply ingrained institutional issue that has proven difficult to root out.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“In some companies, drivers tip because they genuinely have a relationship with the dispatcher and it’s no big deal,\" Hayashi notes. \"In other companies, it’s definitely more of a culture where you’ve got to do this or else. And the driver who doesn’t tip might find himself having consequences.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_120383\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 320px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2013/12/12/San+Francisco-taxi-bribes-tips/rs7183_taxis_22oct2013_0125_web-hpf/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-120383\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-120383\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2014/10/RS7183_Taxis_22oct2013_0125_web-hpf.jpg\" alt=\"Taxis in downtown San Francisco. (Sara Bloomberg/KQED)\" width=\"320\" height=\"213\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Taxis in downtown San Francisco. (Sara Bloomberg/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>But to do something about those \"consequences,\" Hayashi says, a driver would have to file a formal report with the SFMTA. To date, she says, no one has ever been cited for violating Section 1105, sub-section A10.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The drivers may complain to us, but it’s quite another matter to ask them to sign a declaration and go to an administrative hearing,” she says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Veteran driver Brad Newsham says that kind of reasoning is akin to expecting victims of the system to enforce the law. \"You’re going to blame the cab driver who makes a paltry wage for not taking down the system that has been winked at by every regulator that’s ever been,\" he asks, \"and who has thrown up their hands and says, 'There’s nothing we can do'?\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Other drivers say blowing the whistle would be risky. “A driver would be afraid because they’d get fired,\" says Ed Healey, who drives for DeSoto Cab. \"Nobody could survive.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>John Han, a Yellow Cab driver, agrees. “I wouldn’t want to go through that process,\" he says. \"I basically would be going on the record with something that does not look very good for the people who I depend upon to issue me a cab every day.”\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"alignright\">\n\u003ch3>Does Tipping Happen? What the Taxi Companies Say\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Under \u003ca href=\"http://transportation.sanfranciscocode.org/downloads/code-text/II._1105.txt\" target=\"_blank\">a San Francisco ordinance\u003c/a>, the taxi industry practice of requiring or allowing drivers to tip dispatchers or other employees is illegal. We asked major San Francisco cab companies whether tipping takes place in their shops. Here's what they told us:\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"http://yellowcabsf.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Yellow Cab\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>: Jim Gillespie, general manager: \"It's not happening at Yellow Cab. If that happens I would fire the employees.\"\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"http://www.luxorcab.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Luxor Cabs\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>: Charles Rathbone, assistant manager: \"Nobody is forced to tip.\" What about voluntary tipping? \"It's the kind of thing that it's almost impossible to stop. ... but it’s certainly not anything the company gets any money from.\"\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"http://www.desotosf.com/\" target=\"_blank\">DeSoto Cab\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>: Hansu Kim, owner: Says compulsory tipping is “almost nonexistent now,” though he acknowledges voluntary tipping continues. \"We have a lot of drivers who don’t tip, so I have to make sure there’s no consequence whether you tip or not. But how do I stop a guy who says, ‘Hey thanks for giving me the orders, here’s five bucks’?\"\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"https://www.sfmta.com/getting-around/take-taxi/taxi-companies/metro-cab\" target=\"_blank\">Metro Cab\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>: Richard Hybels, owner: \"I want it on my headstone: I’ve never taken a penny from a cabdriver as a tip.\"\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"https://www.sfmta.com/getting-around/take-taxi/taxi-companies/royal-taxi\" target=\"_blank\">Royal Taxi\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>: Christopher Sweis, CEO: He says the company's preset schedule for drivers makes tipping unnecessary in terms of being assigned a cab. As for voluntary tipping, he says: \"It's a practice that we can try our best to enforce and ask our dispatchers not to take tips or ask our drivers not to tip the dispatchers. We can't control every single driver. If it's going to happen, it's going to happen.\"\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"http://sftowntaxi.com/\" target=\"_blank\">SF Town Taxi\u003c/a>:\u003c/strong> Jacob Mayzel, manager: \"It doesn't happen with Town Taxi.\"\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"http://www.sfmta.com/vi/getting-around/take-taxi/taxi-companies/arrow-checker-cab\" target=\"_blank\">Arrow Checker\u003c/a>\u003c/strong> Did not respond.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"http://sfnationalcab.sftaxischool.com/\">\u003cstrong>National Veterans Cab\u003c/strong>\u003c/a> Did not respond.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>Luxor driver Jeremiah Cushing says filing a formal complaint would be like asking, \"Who will step forward so [they] can be shot first? Why don’t I just emboss a scarlet T on my chest? I would just be a total outcast.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Bucking the System\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cushing's got another solution to the tipping problem, though: Just refuse to do it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Most people do five dollars in, five dollars out,\" he says, citing what a company cashier told him, i.e., tipping $5 both at the beginning and end of their shifts. \"I started doing the math on it. ... At the end of the year, it was a lot of money in my pocket going to the unknown ... I said, 'Screw this, I'm not paying any of these guys. ... Other drivers have told me, 'You’re going to need these cashiers, they’re going to provide you a car.' I said, 'No — I do not need them, they need me.'\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cushing said he hasn't been tipping anyone but the gas guys for more than a year. \"If you ask me why I tip the gas guys, I can't give you a logical answer,\" he says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I asked him if there had been any consequences to his one-man rebellion. He said there had been some minor incidents, including one in which he was assigned a spare cab, typically the vehicle in the worst condition on the lot. He refused to drive it and went home, he said, but there were no other repercussions. \"They have such a shortage of drivers now, I don’t get messed with.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ray of Hope for Drivers?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>\u003c/strong>Metro Cab and Green Cab are two taxi outfits drivers routinely mention as prohibiting tipping. When I asked Metro owner Richard Hybels what's behind his policy, he said:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Most of the people who work for me are supporting families, or supporting families in another country. It’s a tough business as it is. I make enough money in the normal parts of the business; I don’t need to squeeze any more out of them. ... I want it on my headstone: I’ve never taken a penny from a cabdriver as a tip.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Former \"Night Cabbie\" columnist Emil Lawrence says many gas-and-gate cab drivers are on the economic margins and that he knows drivers who are living in \u003ca href=\"http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/topics/housing_choice_voucher_program_section_8\" target=\"_blank\">Section 8 housing\u003c/a> and receiving food stamps.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"They pay the cab company nonstop, they pay everybody tips nonstop,\" Lawrence says. \"They don't even make minimum wage on some nights, and if they don't pay, they don't have gas, they don't have a job the next day. ... What they make after paying the SFMTA and cab companies, you couldn't make a decent living in downtown Baghdad today.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"I've been in that situation,\" he says. \"It's like quicksand.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the balance of power between cab drivers and cab companies may be starting to tilt in the drivers' favor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>SFMTA consultant Dan Hara says a downturn in the cab business brought about by the rise of ride-service companies has at least temporarily reduced the pressure to tip, because cab companies are having problems filling shifts, a reality confirmed by others in the industry. (Though I recently asked three different drivers during cab rides if they currently tipped taxi company employees, and they all said they did.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While many cab drivers are irate about Sidecar, Lyft and Uber \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2013/11/07/taxis-lyft-ride-service-war-on-streets-of-san-francisco\" target=\"_blank\">cutting into their business\u003c/a>, many others are quitting the cab business to drive with what regulators call \"transportation network companies (TNCs)\" — the very ride-service companies that compete with their cabs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Before TNCs, some drivers tipped extensively to get out faster in nicer cars,\" says John Han. \"Now, I'm guessing some of those drivers have gone to TNCs.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Indeed, one of my recent cab drivers cited the requirement to tip as a major reason he was quitting to go work for Uber. (\"If you get an airport call, the guys ask you for money after and if you don't give you won't get another airport call,\" he said.)\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignleft\"> 'The drivers may complain to us but it’s quite another matter to ask them to sign a declaration...'\u003cbr>\n\u003ccite>— Christiane Hayashi, Director of Taxis at SFMTA\u003c/cite>\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>I kept asking the drivers if the Lyfts and Sidecars of the world could actually end up \u003cem>helping\u003c/em> them, as they potentially give drivers more leverage in dealing with the cab companies. John Han, for instance, says Yellow recently lowered its Saturday night gate fee for drivers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some scoffed at the notion that anything good could result from the competition or that they would ever switch to a TNC, citing the \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2013/11/14/who-pays-when-ride-share-driver-crashes\" target=\"_blank\">insurance risk\u003c/a>, among other reasons. But not everyone felt that way. Brad Newsham said if he were giving advice to a young would-be driver today, he'd tell them to skip traditional taxis and go to work for a ride-service company.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Emil Lawrence told me there might be something for the average driver to gain from going to work for a ride-service firm.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"I know drivers right now who work for cab companies at the same time they work for Uber,\" he says. \"Radio calls are down probably 70 percent now. They’re down on Friday even more. You’re talking about 10-15 minutes sometimes with no call at all. It’s all on the apps. If you’re a cab driver with a taxi, at the same time you have an Uber setup, that may be the new industry. But you can (also) do that same business in your own car at your own hours without paying the taxi company one dime.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"margin: 12px auto 6px auto;font-family: Helvetica,Arial,Sans-serif;font-style: normal;font-variant: normal;font-weight: normal;font-size: 14px;line-height: normal\">\u003ca style=\"text-decoration: underline\" title=\"View SF Taxi Driver Survey on Scribd\" href=\"http://www.scribd.com/doc/192372483/SF-Taxi-Driver-Survey\">SF Taxi Driver Survey\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe id=\"doc_39345\" src=\"//www.scribd.com/embeds/192372483/content?start_page=1&view_mode=scroll&show_recommendations=true\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" width=\"100%\" height=\"600\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>KQED's Lisa Pickoff-White, Bryan Goebel and Katrina Schwartz contributed reporting to this article.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 4.6875em;float: left;line-height: 0.733em;padding: 0.05em 0.1em 0 0;font-family: times, serif, georgia\">B\u003c/span>rad Newsham drove a cab in San Francisco for nearly three decades and says he loved nearly everything about the job from the first day he got behind the wheel: the people, the city's beauty, the independence, the sense of experiencing something new every day.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://www.bradnewsham.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Newsham\u003c/a> quit the business this year because he was down to earning a net income of five bucks an hour. Newsham's experience isn't unique — others in San Francisco's taxicab industry say they know drivers who are only netting $5 to $10 an hour. A big part of the tough economics for drivers has to do with ride-service companies like Sidecar, Uber and Lyft siphoning off business from the traditional cab companies.\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"alignright noborder\">\u003cimg src=\"http://u.s.kqed.net/2013/12/18/tip.jpg\" alt=\"Money\">\n\u003ch3>When drivers pay dispatchers, is it a tip? Or a bribe? \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2014/12/13/the-fine-line-between-a-taxi-drivers-tip-and-a-bribe/\" target=\"_blank\">Read more.\u003c/a>\u003c/h3>\n\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>But part of the money problem for the great majority of taxi drivers, those who rent their vehicles, is the way the business is structured. They start out in the hole every day, needing to make $100 or more just to pay the \"gate,\" or rental fee, for a 10-hour shift. They pay gas on top of that, which could easily come to $20 or $30 a shift or more. You can do the math yourself: To clear San Francisco's minimum wage of $10.55 an hour, they've got to bring in something north of $200, and probably significantly more than that, during their 10 hours on the road.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Drivers get no benefits, and may be held responsible for their gate fees when they're too sick to drive. Sometimes they must pay insurance deductibles and they face fines from city taxi regulators when they violate rules.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you wonder how they survive, well, lots of them are just scraping by. Richard Hybels, owner of San Francisco's Metro Cab, says, \"Cab drivers can’t even get their teeth fixed. They’re poor people. It’s not an easy way to make a living by any stretch of the imagination.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If the financial odds against drivers aren't long enough already, they face another daily cost that industry veterans like Newsham alternatively call \"the tip\" or \"the bribe.\" That’s the unofficial, and illegal, five to ten bucks or more that many drivers say they pay cab company dispatchers and gas attendants every shift.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Whoever bribes the dispatcher the most tends to get the best shifts,\" says Newsham. “I’ve been in situations at companies where if you don’t tip, the dispatcher says, 'Nice to see you ... I don’t have any cabs right now ... why don’t you sit on the bench for awhile until I get one?' I have sat there for three hours waiting for him to find me a cab when I have seen people walk in, give him 20 bucks and walk right out. It’s just a fact of life in the cab world.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Longtime San Francisco \u003ca href=\"http://phantomcabdriverphites.blogspot.com/\" target=\"_blank\">cab driver Ed Healy\u003c/a> says the practice is standard throughout the industry.\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"alignleft\">\n\u003ch3>More in KQED's series\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>This is the third part in our series on the risks and benefits to those who sign up with networked ride services like Lyft, Sidecar and UberX, versus those who work for the traditional taxicab industry.\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2013/11/07/taxis-lyft-ride-service-war-on-streets-of-san-francisco\">\u003cstrong>Part One\u003c/strong>\u003c/a> describes the growing tensions between ride services and taxi companies.\u003cstrong>\u003c/strong>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2013/11/14/who-pays-when-ride-share-driver-crashes\">Part Two\u003c/a>\u003c/strong> examines the insurance risks facing drivers for the ride services.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>\"I once had a dispatcher come out there and I gave him $3 and he threw it back in my face and said, ‘That’s not a tip,'\" says Healy. \"I stopped tipping them completely, and I regularly got cars without any brakes or (that) broke down in various ways. I had one where a huge pipe dropped out of the cab and onto the ground. I had so many breakdowns, and I wondered why I had to wait three hours for somebody to come and tow. So I would say that pretty much enforced tipping is the rule.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>John Han, who drives for Yellow Cab, breaks down his tipping routine: $1 to the gas guy, $5 to the dispatcher in charge of issuing cabs when he goes out and $1 more when he returns to file his paperwork. That's somewhat lower than a lot of drivers, he says. \"Many drivers say $5 going out and $5 coming in to dispatchers and cashiers.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Emil Lawrence, a driver since 1996 who wrote the popular \u003ca href=\"http://www.sfgate.com/entertainment/article/NIGHT-CABBIE-A-lesson-in-Chinese-relations-2805327.php\" target=\"_blank\">Night Cabbie\u003c/a> column in the old San Francisco Examiner and the San Francisco Chronicle, lays out basically the same scenario in terms of pressure to make these payments:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"If you don't want to piss off anybody that can cause you problems, you have to pay it,\" he says. \"The system that’s pervasive is tips and payola before you get your taxi.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lawrence says radio dispatchers will also sometimes demand money for sending lucrative airport calls a driver's way. He says at one company he used to work for, the radio dispatcher had a black book. \"He came up to me ... and said, 'Emil, I looked at my book, you owe me for two airports.'\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Whatever you call it, this kind of payment, voluntary or involuntary, is against the law in San Francisco, and each violation carries a $633 fine for firms that allow it. Perhaps it's not surprising, then, that when you talk to San Francisco taxi companies, virtually all of them say that they don't allow tipping (six of the biggest companies — Yellow, Luxor, DeSoto, Metro, Royal and Town told me tipping is prohibited in their shops; two other companies, Arrow Checker and NationalVeterans, didn't return my calls).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jim Gillespie, general manager at Yellow Cab, said any reports of tipping at the company aren't true. \"It's not happening at Yellow Cab. If that happens I would fire the employees.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Has it ever happened? \"Not to my knowledge,\" he says.\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignleft\">'I have sat there for three hours waiting for him to find me a cab when I have seen people walk in, give him 20 bucks and walk right out.'\u003cbr>\n\u003ccite>—Brad Newsham, cab driver\u003c/cite>\u003cbr>\n\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>Charles Rathbone, assistant manager at Luxor, told me, \"Nobody is forced to tip.\" He says the company has signs up saying tipping isn't allowed. \"Nobody has to tip to get a better shift or cab. The cashiers and the dispatchers know we’d come down on them like a ton of bricks. If you know of somebody who says there is (a tipping requirement) please tell them to come in and see me and I promise no retaliation for complaints. Absolutely.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>What about voluntary tipping, which is also prohibited?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"It's the kind of thing that is almost impossible to stop\" he says. \"How do you prevent somebody from passing somebody else a dollar? It’s a very difficult thing to prevent from happening. I’m not going to say categorically that there is no tipping, but it’s certainly not anything the company gets any money from.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe width=\"100%\" height=\"166\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"no\" src=\"https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/125668303&color=ff6600&auto_play=false&show_artwork=true\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Tipping is an Expensive Reality\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dan Hara has little doubt that these payments are a reality in San Francisco cab companies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He's an economist whose firm, Hara Associates, compiled \u003ca href=\"http://www.sfmta.com/sites/default/files/Draft%20SF%20DriverSurvey%2037%20Web%20version04042013.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">a report\u003c/a> last year on the city's taxi industry for the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, or SFMTA. The firm's survey of 621 San Francisco cab drivers found that 61 percent said they always pay daily tips to other company employees. More than half of that group, 55 percent, said they pay those tips because they have to.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Of the companies for which more than 30 drivers were surveyed, the reported tips ranged from an average of $4.47 for a non-Friday or non-Saturday night shift to $8.95 for a Friday or Saturday night shift.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe width=\"640\" height=\"300\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"no\" src=\"https://www.google.com/fusiontables/embedviz?containerId=googft-gviz-canvas&q=select+col0%2C+col1%2C+col2%2C+col3+from+10EWOm6XOitK40qidzUUyuF6ng84o_bUsO5jQnZg+order+by+col2+desc+limit+10&viz=GVIZ&t=COLUMN&uiversion=2&gco_forceIFrame=true&gco_hasLabelsColumn=true&gco_vAxes=%5B%7B%22title%22%3A%22Respondents%22%2C+%22minValue%22%3Anull%2C+%22maxValue%22%3Anull%2C+%22useFormatFromData%22%3Atrue%2C+%22viewWindow%22%3A%7B%22max%22%3Anull%2C+%22min%22%3Anull%7D%2C+%22logScale%22%3Afalse%7D%2C%7B%22useFormatFromData%22%3Atrue%2C+%22viewWindow%22%3A%7B%22max%22%3Anull%2C+%22min%22%3Anull%7D%2C+%22minValue%22%3Anull%2C+%22maxValue%22%3Anull%2C+%22logScale%22%3Afalse%7D%5D&gco_useFirstColumnAsDomain=true&gco_isStacked=true&gco_booleanRole=certainty&gco_hAxis=%7B%22useFormatFromData%22%3Atrue%2C+%22minValue%22%3Anull%2C+%22maxValue%22%3Anull%2C+%22viewWindow%22%3Anull%2C+%22viewWindowMode%22%3Anull%7D&gco_legend=right&gco_title=How+often+do+you+pay+tips+to+dispatchers%2C+gas+attendants+or+other+taxi+companies%3F&gco_fontName=Arial&att=true&width=640&height=300\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Tipping can be expensive, the report added, with 21 percent of drivers reporting they gave daily tips of between $10 and $20 and another 8 percent saying the gave more than $20 per shift. The highest tips came from those working lucrative weekend night shifts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Not everyone who drives a cab and tips dispatchers and gas attendants see that as a problem. One longtime driver who asked to remain anonymous recalls a variation on the usual practice of tipping.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"We would have to go into a lottery, put our names in a hat, and they’d pull out these numbers, and your number would determine your chances [of getting a cab],\" he says. \"Your chances would be better if you decided to give money to the dispatcher. If you tipped, your chances are much greater to get out.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But this driver says he thinks that kind of tipping is OK.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"I think most people realize they should tip at least 10 to 15 percent if they like the service,\" he says.\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignleft\"> 'It's not happening at Yellow Cab. If that happens I would fire the employees.'\u003cbr>\n\u003ccite>— Jim Gillespie, Yellow Cab general manager\u003c/cite>\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>Barry Korengold, the president of the San Francisco Cab Drivers Association, says there are worse things happening in the industry right now than pressure to give dispatcher and gas attendants a tip. \"It’s not one of my big issues,\" he says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Korengold and one other driver told me that because drivers live in part on tips, it would be hypocritical not to do the same.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Emil Lawrence, for one, says he currently tips because he wants to, but that's only because he owns a cab medallion (which is essentially a license to drive a cab in the city) and has greater leverage. He also said he doesn't blame all cab company employees for taking tips, as they make very little money. \"They have no benefits whatsoever, so this is the way they get their income up.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>The Law and How It's Enforced\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When I asked Christiane Hayashi, director of taxis and accessible services for the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, whether drivers tipping taxi company employees was legal, she read from the \u003ca href=\"http://transportation.sanfranciscocode.org/downloads/code-text/II._1105.txt\" target=\"_blank\">San Francisco Transportation Code, Section 1105, sub-section A10,\u003c/a> in effect since 2011.\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>“No Permit Holder or agent of a Permit Holder may accept or solicit gifts and/or gratuities or anything of value from any Driver, other than Gate Fees, Lease Fees, payments for goods actually received, or other payments authorized by this Article. A Permit Holder or agent of a Permit Holder shall issue a receipt for any payment received from a Driver.\"\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>The ordinance covers voluntary payments, too. That means all tipping is illegal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That absolute ban notwithstanding, Hayashi says she's aware tipping is happening and thinks the practice varies widely from company to company.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In addition, she adds, \"The salary structure set up by the companies relies on tipping — it is my understanding that many taxi company employees receive San Francisco's minimum wage and are required to rely on tips to make an adequate salary. ... So it is a deeply ingrained institutional issue that has proven difficult to root out.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“In some companies, drivers tip because they genuinely have a relationship with the dispatcher and it’s no big deal,\" Hayashi notes. \"In other companies, it’s definitely more of a culture where you’ve got to do this or else. And the driver who doesn’t tip might find himself having consequences.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_120383\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 320px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2013/12/12/San+Francisco-taxi-bribes-tips/rs7183_taxis_22oct2013_0125_web-hpf/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-120383\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-120383\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2014/10/RS7183_Taxis_22oct2013_0125_web-hpf.jpg\" alt=\"Taxis in downtown San Francisco. (Sara Bloomberg/KQED)\" width=\"320\" height=\"213\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Taxis in downtown San Francisco. (Sara Bloomberg/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>But to do something about those \"consequences,\" Hayashi says, a driver would have to file a formal report with the SFMTA. To date, she says, no one has ever been cited for violating Section 1105, sub-section A10.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The drivers may complain to us, but it’s quite another matter to ask them to sign a declaration and go to an administrative hearing,” she says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Veteran driver Brad Newsham says that kind of reasoning is akin to expecting victims of the system to enforce the law. \"You’re going to blame the cab driver who makes a paltry wage for not taking down the system that has been winked at by every regulator that’s ever been,\" he asks, \"and who has thrown up their hands and says, 'There’s nothing we can do'?\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Other drivers say blowing the whistle would be risky. “A driver would be afraid because they’d get fired,\" says Ed Healey, who drives for DeSoto Cab. \"Nobody could survive.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>John Han, a Yellow Cab driver, agrees. “I wouldn’t want to go through that process,\" he says. \"I basically would be going on the record with something that does not look very good for the people who I depend upon to issue me a cab every day.”\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"alignright\">\n\u003ch3>Does Tipping Happen? What the Taxi Companies Say\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Under \u003ca href=\"http://transportation.sanfranciscocode.org/downloads/code-text/II._1105.txt\" target=\"_blank\">a San Francisco ordinance\u003c/a>, the taxi industry practice of requiring or allowing drivers to tip dispatchers or other employees is illegal. We asked major San Francisco cab companies whether tipping takes place in their shops. Here's what they told us:\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"http://yellowcabsf.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Yellow Cab\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>: Jim Gillespie, general manager: \"It's not happening at Yellow Cab. If that happens I would fire the employees.\"\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"http://www.luxorcab.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Luxor Cabs\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>: Charles Rathbone, assistant manager: \"Nobody is forced to tip.\" What about voluntary tipping? \"It's the kind of thing that it's almost impossible to stop. ... but it’s certainly not anything the company gets any money from.\"\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"http://www.desotosf.com/\" target=\"_blank\">DeSoto Cab\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>: Hansu Kim, owner: Says compulsory tipping is “almost nonexistent now,” though he acknowledges voluntary tipping continues. \"We have a lot of drivers who don’t tip, so I have to make sure there’s no consequence whether you tip or not. But how do I stop a guy who says, ‘Hey thanks for giving me the orders, here’s five bucks’?\"\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"https://www.sfmta.com/getting-around/take-taxi/taxi-companies/metro-cab\" target=\"_blank\">Metro Cab\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>: Richard Hybels, owner: \"I want it on my headstone: I’ve never taken a penny from a cabdriver as a tip.\"\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"https://www.sfmta.com/getting-around/take-taxi/taxi-companies/royal-taxi\" target=\"_blank\">Royal Taxi\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>: Christopher Sweis, CEO: He says the company's preset schedule for drivers makes tipping unnecessary in terms of being assigned a cab. As for voluntary tipping, he says: \"It's a practice that we can try our best to enforce and ask our dispatchers not to take tips or ask our drivers not to tip the dispatchers. We can't control every single driver. If it's going to happen, it's going to happen.\"\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"http://sftowntaxi.com/\" target=\"_blank\">SF Town Taxi\u003c/a>:\u003c/strong> Jacob Mayzel, manager: \"It doesn't happen with Town Taxi.\"\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"http://www.sfmta.com/vi/getting-around/take-taxi/taxi-companies/arrow-checker-cab\" target=\"_blank\">Arrow Checker\u003c/a>\u003c/strong> Did not respond.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"http://sfnationalcab.sftaxischool.com/\">\u003cstrong>National Veterans Cab\u003c/strong>\u003c/a> Did not respond.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>Luxor driver Jeremiah Cushing says filing a formal complaint would be like asking, \"Who will step forward so [they] can be shot first? Why don’t I just emboss a scarlet T on my chest? I would just be a total outcast.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Bucking the System\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cushing's got another solution to the tipping problem, though: Just refuse to do it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Most people do five dollars in, five dollars out,\" he says, citing what a company cashier told him, i.e., tipping $5 both at the beginning and end of their shifts. \"I started doing the math on it. ... At the end of the year, it was a lot of money in my pocket going to the unknown ... I said, 'Screw this, I'm not paying any of these guys. ... Other drivers have told me, 'You’re going to need these cashiers, they’re going to provide you a car.' I said, 'No — I do not need them, they need me.'\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cushing said he hasn't been tipping anyone but the gas guys for more than a year. \"If you ask me why I tip the gas guys, I can't give you a logical answer,\" he says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I asked him if there had been any consequences to his one-man rebellion. He said there had been some minor incidents, including one in which he was assigned a spare cab, typically the vehicle in the worst condition on the lot. He refused to drive it and went home, he said, but there were no other repercussions. \"They have such a shortage of drivers now, I don’t get messed with.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ray of Hope for Drivers?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>\u003c/strong>Metro Cab and Green Cab are two taxi outfits drivers routinely mention as prohibiting tipping. When I asked Metro owner Richard Hybels what's behind his policy, he said:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Most of the people who work for me are supporting families, or supporting families in another country. It’s a tough business as it is. I make enough money in the normal parts of the business; I don’t need to squeeze any more out of them. ... I want it on my headstone: I’ve never taken a penny from a cabdriver as a tip.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Former \"Night Cabbie\" columnist Emil Lawrence says many gas-and-gate cab drivers are on the economic margins and that he knows drivers who are living in \u003ca href=\"http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/topics/housing_choice_voucher_program_section_8\" target=\"_blank\">Section 8 housing\u003c/a> and receiving food stamps.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"They pay the cab company nonstop, they pay everybody tips nonstop,\" Lawrence says. \"They don't even make minimum wage on some nights, and if they don't pay, they don't have gas, they don't have a job the next day. ... What they make after paying the SFMTA and cab companies, you couldn't make a decent living in downtown Baghdad today.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"I've been in that situation,\" he says. \"It's like quicksand.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the balance of power between cab drivers and cab companies may be starting to tilt in the drivers' favor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>SFMTA consultant Dan Hara says a downturn in the cab business brought about by the rise of ride-service companies has at least temporarily reduced the pressure to tip, because cab companies are having problems filling shifts, a reality confirmed by others in the industry. (Though I recently asked three different drivers during cab rides if they currently tipped taxi company employees, and they all said they did.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While many cab drivers are irate about Sidecar, Lyft and Uber \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2013/11/07/taxis-lyft-ride-service-war-on-streets-of-san-francisco\" target=\"_blank\">cutting into their business\u003c/a>, many others are quitting the cab business to drive with what regulators call \"transportation network companies (TNCs)\" — the very ride-service companies that compete with their cabs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Before TNCs, some drivers tipped extensively to get out faster in nicer cars,\" says John Han. \"Now, I'm guessing some of those drivers have gone to TNCs.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Indeed, one of my recent cab drivers cited the requirement to tip as a major reason he was quitting to go work for Uber. (\"If you get an airport call, the guys ask you for money after and if you don't give you won't get another airport call,\" he said.)\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignleft\"> 'The drivers may complain to us but it’s quite another matter to ask them to sign a declaration...'\u003cbr>\n\u003ccite>— Christiane Hayashi, Director of Taxis at SFMTA\u003c/cite>\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>I kept asking the drivers if the Lyfts and Sidecars of the world could actually end up \u003cem>helping\u003c/em> them, as they potentially give drivers more leverage in dealing with the cab companies. John Han, for instance, says Yellow recently lowered its Saturday night gate fee for drivers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some scoffed at the notion that anything good could result from the competition or that they would ever switch to a TNC, citing the \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2013/11/14/who-pays-when-ride-share-driver-crashes\" target=\"_blank\">insurance risk\u003c/a>, among other reasons. But not everyone felt that way. Brad Newsham said if he were giving advice to a young would-be driver today, he'd tell them to skip traditional taxis and go to work for a ride-service company.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Emil Lawrence told me there might be something for the average driver to gain from going to work for a ride-service firm.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"I know drivers right now who work for cab companies at the same time they work for Uber,\" he says. \"Radio calls are down probably 70 percent now. They’re down on Friday even more. You’re talking about 10-15 minutes sometimes with no call at all. It’s all on the apps. If you’re a cab driver with a taxi, at the same time you have an Uber setup, that may be the new industry. But you can (also) do that same business in your own car at your own hours without paying the taxi company one dime.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"margin: 12px auto 6px auto;font-family: Helvetica,Arial,Sans-serif;font-style: normal;font-variant: normal;font-weight: normal;font-size: 14px;line-height: normal\">\u003ca style=\"text-decoration: underline\" title=\"View SF Taxi Driver Survey on Scribd\" href=\"http://www.scribd.com/doc/192372483/SF-Taxi-Driver-Survey\">SF Taxi Driver Survey\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe id=\"doc_39345\" src=\"//www.scribd.com/embeds/192372483/content?start_page=1&view_mode=scroll&show_recommendations=true\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" width=\"100%\" height=\"600\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>KQED's Lisa Pickoff-White, Bryan Goebel and Katrina Schwartz contributed reporting to this article.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"disqusTitle": "Confusion Over Insurance for 'Ride-Sharing' Drivers ",
"title": "Confusion Over Insurance for 'Ride-Sharing' Drivers ",
"headTitle": "News Fix | KQED News",
"content": "\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_118099\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2013/10/15/widespread-confusion-over-insurance-risks-forride-service-drivers-ponder-the/lyftaudi/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-118099\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-118099\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2014/11/lyftaudi.jpg\" alt=\"Are networked ride service drivers covered if they get into an accident while driving a paying passenger? It depends on who you ask. (Sara Bloomberg/KQED)\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Are networked ride-service drivers covered if they get into an accident while driving a paying passenger? It depends on who you ask. (Deborah Svoboda/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This is Part Two of our series on the risks and benefits to drivers who sign up with the networked ride-service companies like Lyft, Sidecar and UberX versus those who work for the traditional taxicab industry. Part One — \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2013/11/07/taxis-lyft-ride-service-war-on-streets-of-san-francisco\">Will 'Ride Sharing' Kill San Francisco's Taxi Industry?\u003c/a> — focused on tensions between the two pools of drivers and the declining income earned by taxi drivers. Part Two looks at insurance issues related to the new ride services.\u003cbr>\n\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 4.6875em;float: left;line-height: 0.733em;padding: 0.05em 0.1em 0 0;font-family: times, serif, georgia\">V\u003c/span>eteran San Francisco cab driver Ed Healy says he'd never ever drive for Lyft, Sidecar or any of the other smartphone-driven ride-service companies operating in the city.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It doesn't matter that many of those driving for what state regulators call \"transportation network companies\" (or TNCs) say they're making better money than old-school taxi drivers. It doesn't matter that many cab drivers have moved over to the TNCs. Healey says his decision comes down to one issue.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I wouldn’t ever drive in one because of the insurance,” Healey says. \"I wasn’t going to leave my car exposed to an accident.”\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignright\">'Mustache Wars' — the conflict between the traditional taxi industry and smartphone-based ride services:\n\u003cdiv style=\"font-size: 12pt\">\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>Part One: \u003c/strong>\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2013/11/07/taxis-lyft-ride-service-war-on-streets-of-san-francisco\" target=\"_blank\">Will ‘Ride Sharing’ Kill San Francisco’s Taxi Industry?\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>Sidebar:\u003c/strong> \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2013/11/14/can-lyft-uberx-drivers-lose-their-insurance\" target=\"_blank\">Are Ride-Service Drivers at Risk of Losing Their Insurance?\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>Part Three:\u003c/strong> \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2013/12/11/taxi-drivers-and-whos-taking-money-out-of-their-pockets\" target=\"_blank\">Tip or Bribe? Taxi Drivers Say Illegal Payments to Dispatchers Are Routine\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>Sidebar:\u003c/strong> \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2014/12/13/the-fine-line-between-a-taxi-drivers-tip-and-a-bribe/\" target=\"_blank\">The Fine Line Between a Tip And a Bribe For Those Who Drive S.F. Taxis\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003c/div>\n\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>Healy's sentiments echo those of many in the taxi industry and point to a big unknown at the heart of the popular new ride-service companies: If a driver gets into a wreck, who pays? More specifically, what insurance is in place to cover injuries, property losses and damage to passengers, passers-by and the driver's own car?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lyft and the other TNCs point to the $1 million per incident excess liability coverage that the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) requires them to carry. The policies are designed to deal with liability claims a driver's insurance doesn't cover. But the policies won't cover drivers' cars. That means the drivers must rely on their personal auto insurance policies — which still may leave them uncovered since insurers typically, though not always, bar claims if a driver's vehicle was in commercial use when an accident occurred.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And that's not the only uncertainty surrounding insurance coverage for ride-service drivers and passengers. The ride services' terms of service require users to waive liability claims. Lyft's founder says that's just a standard bit of contract language while the taxi industry and San Francisco's chief taxicab regulator say the terms could raise questions of who will pay in case of an accident.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>All of these issues, TNC opponents claim, amount to incentives for people to keep their status as ride-sharing drivers secret from their insurance company. I found that to be the case with at least some of the drivers I spoke to.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I spent the last couple of months talking to drivers, the ride services, their competitors in the taxi trade and insurance industry representatives to try to get answers about insurance coverage. What I found was a thicket of contradictions and complications in figuring out who will pay if something goes wrong during a ride-service trip. For instance:\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>Ride-service companies like Lyft and Sidecar say drivers' personal insurance policies will cover some claims. The insurance industry says the policies won't provide any coverage.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>The insurance industry says ride-service drivers will have to buy commercial insurance to be covered when they're driving for hire and maybe even when they're not.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>At least some ride-service drivers are keeping their status secret from their insurance companies because they're afraid of losing coverage. (See sidebar: \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2013/11/14/can-lyft-uberx-drivers-lose-their-insurance\" target=\"_blank\">Are Ride-Service Drivers at Risk of Losing Their Insurance?\u003c/a>)\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe src=\"https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/120972565\" frameborder=\"no\" scrolling=\"no\" width=\"100%\" height=\"166\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>A Topic of Conversation\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The insurance issue is definitely a topic of discussion among Lyft drivers, according to Alice, who has been driving for the company since April. (Most ride-service drivers spoke to me on condition we would not use their full names.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There’s a lot of conversations going on [about insurance] in the Lyft Driver’s Lounge,\" she said, referring to a company Facebook page. She says some Lyft drivers have quit over the issue.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Some people are like, 'Yeah, I’m really bummed, but until the insurance thing is settled, I’m not going to drive for Lyft anymore.' A lot of the new drivers have asked multiple times on the Facebook page, 'What do we do about insurance?' Lyft’s answer is you have to figure that out on our own.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[contextly_sidebar id=\"f68bbd67d82c2482615e012329528828\"]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Alice says she and about a dozen other drivers were invited to lunch with Lyft CEO John Zimmer over the summer to discuss the issue. “I got a phone call from Lyft, they were doing damage control,” she says, adding that Zimmer told the drivers the company was working on getting an insurance carrier that would cover them for both personal use of their car and for ride-service work.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Zimmer told me the company is now in discussion with insurance companies to offer \"expanded types of coverage.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The insurance industry has stated clearly that a driver’s personal policy is not going to cover any accident in which the insured was using his or her vehicle for commercial purposes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a filing with the California Public Utilities Commission in 2012, the Personal Insurance Federation of California, an industry group made up of State Farm, Farmers, Progressive, Allstate, Liberty Mutual, Mercury and Nationwide, said it asked its members to determine how they would treat liability claims in ride-service accidents.\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>In response to the Commission’s inquiries, we surveyed our members regarding coverage issues in the above described situations. It appears that the industry standard for personal auto insurance policy contracts is to exempt from insurance coverage claims involving vehicles used for transporting passengers for a charge. Thus, in situations where a vehicle is insured as a private vehicle and is used to transport passengers for a fee, no insurance coverage would exist...\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>In a press release after the CPUC ruling, the \u003ca href=\"http://www.acicnet.org/\" target=\"_blank\">Association of California Insurance Companies\u003c/a>, a trade association and lobbying group, said, “Both drivers and riders must understand that an accident in a ride-sharing vehicle will not be covered under a personal auto insurance policy.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"http://www.insurance.ca.gov/\" target=\"_blank\">California Department of Insurance\u003c/a> also weighed in on the issue in an \u003ca href=\"http://www.scribd.com/doc/184030223/Calif-Dept-of-Insurance-letter-on-TNCs-ride-share-services\" target=\"_blank\">advisory letter\u003c/a> it sent to the CPUC before its final decision: \"Based on informal conversations with TNCs and auto insurers, we understand that personal lines auto insurers have both paid claims and denied claims when drivers with personal lines insurance were transporting a passenger referred by a TNC.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Despite statements like that, the ride-service companies insist drivers' insurance companies will cover claims arising from their paid work and in fact have already done so.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Margaret Ryan, vice president of communications at Sidecar, said in an email that the company has yet to see an incident in which a driver's personal insurer has denied a claim. Erin Simpson, director of communications at Lyft, says she is aware of \"multiple instances\" in which an insurer has known that drivers were working for Lyft and still approved a claim under the driver's insurance policy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_115064\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 272px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2013/10/15/widespread-confusion-over-insurance-risks-forride-service-drivers-ponder-the/desoto-cab-company-driver-and-pacifica-resident-corey-lamb-protests-against-ap-based-ride-selling-companies-like-lyft-on-tuesday-july-30-outside-san-francisco-city-hall-alex-ensliekqedrs5997_img_7/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-115064\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-115064 \" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2013/10/DeSoto-Cab-Company-driver-and-Pacifica-resident-Corey-Lamb-protests-against-ap-based-ride-selling-companies-like-Lyft-on-Tuesday-July-30-outside-San-Francisco-City-Hall.-Alex-EnslieKQEDRS5997_IMG_7873-sfi.jpg\" alt=\"DeSoto Cab Company driver Corey Lamb protests against app-based ride-service companies outside San Francisco City Hall. (Alex Enslie/KQED)\" width=\"272\" height=\"360\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">DeSoto Cab Company driver Corey Lamb protests against app-based ride-service companies outside San Francisco City Hall. (Alex Emslie/KQED)\u003cstrong>\u003cbr>\u003c/strong>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>And indeed, one Lyft driver I talked to said that when he got into an accident in 2012 while carrying a paying passenger, his insurance company was aware of the circumstances and still approved the claim.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That was last year, though, and things may be different now that the CPUC issued \u003ca href=\"http://docs.cpuc.ca.gov/PublishedDocs/Published/G000/M077/K112/77112285.PDF\" target=\"_blank\">regulations\u003c/a> for the TNC industry. One of the commission's major findings: The TNCs are commercial enterprises,\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Pete Moraga, a spokesperson for the \u003ca href=\"http://www.iinc.org/\" target=\"_blank\">Insurance Information Network of California\u003c/a>, an industry group, says personal auto policies typically exclude coverage for vehicles when they're in commercial use.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If you are (working for a TNC) and you have your own personal policy, the minute you pick up your rider that policy will cease to cover you,” Moraga says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lyft, Sidecar and UberX instituted excess liability insurance policies of $1 million per incident for their drivers, a level of coverage that the CPUC now requires. The commission found that coverage to be more than adequate for the TNCs and noted that the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency also requires the $1 million amount for cab companies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>What Those $1 Million Policies Cover\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"http://www.irmi.com/online/insurance-glossary/terms/e/excess-liability-policy.aspx\" target=\"_blank\">excess liability policies\u003c/a> are supposed to supplement a driver's individual coverage, providing coverage at the point where personal policies leave off. Which is interesting, if you consider that the insurance industry says that a driver's personal policy will exclude ride-service claims.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kara Cross, general counsel for the \u003ca href=\"http://www.pifc.org/\" target=\"_blank\">Personal Insurance Federation of California\u003c/a>, says that's a potential problem.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Their coverage kicks in after any other coverage is paid first, \"Cross says. \"You might wind up that TNC (insurance) carriers are starting to find more and more situations that the personal carriers are not covering, and then you can have a problem with the TNC carriers.”\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignleft\">'In real-life situations you may find there are a lot of gray areas where there’s going to be disputes, claims aren’t honored, and probably litigation at some point.'\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: right !important;font-size: 12pt\">— Pete Moraga, Insurance Information Network of California\u003c/div>\n\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>Lyft's Erin Simpson says even though the company's policy is called excess insurance, it has been custom-designed to “drop down” and cover any amount that a driver's personal policy doesn't. And the CPUC regulations specifically state that \"the insurance coverage shall be available to cover claims regardless of whether a TNC driver maintains insurance to cover any portion of the claim.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Pete Moraga, from the Insurance Information Network of California, is skeptical that the drop-down feature resolves questions about coverage. \"There was little involvement if any from the insurance industry in these regulations,\" he says. \"The regulations that the CPUC enacted haven't stood the test of real-life situations. In real-life situations you may find there are a lot of gray areas where there’s going to be disputes, claims aren’t honored, and probably litigation at some point.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As the CPUC hammered out its TNC rules earlier this year, the California Department of Insurance said its preferred option would be to require the companies to carry $1 million in \u003ca href=\"http://www.irmi.com/online/insurance-glossary/terms/p/primary-cover.aspx\" target=\"_blank\">primary insurance\u003c/a> for each driver — meaning policies that pay first if there's a claim. The insurance department said excess insurance would be acceptable as a lower-cost option for the TNCs. But it added such a dual system of insurance, depending on both a driver's insurance and a company's excess liability coverage, could result in confusion to consumers who need to file claims.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"It's a confusion issue,\" agrees Kara Cross of the Personal Insurance Federation of California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a written statement, the CPUC did not answer a direct question about the excess-versus-primary policy issue, saying only that its Safety and Enforcement Division is reviewing the TNC policies to \"make its independent assessment as to whether the existing coverages conform to the CPUC's insurance requirements.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>John Zimmer says Lyft's policy has already been tested a few times and that there have been no problems getting claims through.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Uncertainty About TNCs' Terms of Use\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Questions about insurance coverage also extend to the terms of service that the ride-service companies require drivers and passengers to accept. Among those raising that issue is Christiane Hayashi, director of \u003ca href=\"http://www.sfmta.com/services/taxi-industry\" target=\"_blank\">taxi services\u003c/a> for the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_118110\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 300px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2013/10/15/widespread-confusion-over-insurance-risks-forride-service-drivers-ponder-the/taxi/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-118110\">\u003cimg class=\"size-medium wp-image-118110\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2014/11/taxi-300x168.jpg\" alt=\"One taxi driver says more company money is spent on insurance than on payroll. (Sara Bloomberg/KQED)\" width=\"300\" height=\"168\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">One taxi driver says more company money is spent on insurance than on payroll. (Sara Bloomberg/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“If there happens to be an accident involving the Lyft or Sidecar service,\" she says, \"there’s the uncertainty of how the terms and conditions that people have to sign in order to participate in these services will affect the insurance coverage, because it disclaims all liability for anything whatsoever.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The state Department of Insurance isn't fond of the terms either. The department wrote to the CPUC that \"a disclaimer of liability in the TNCs Terms of Service could mislead a consumer into thinking that they do not have a recourse against a TNC, when in fact the TNC will be required to maintain $1,000,000 in coverage. The CPUC should prohibit waivers that will prevent consumers from having recourse to the insurance.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The CPUC did insert specific language in its final ruling to address this issue:\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>Nor can any Terms and Conditions in a TNC’s Terms of Service be used or relied on by the TNC to deny insurance coverage, or to otherwise evade the insurance requirements established in this decision.\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>Lyft CEO John Zimmer says the issue is a total red herring concocted by ride-service opponents. The disclaimer language used by his and other companies, he says, is “legal protection that any website will have, completely standard practice.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>What About Collision Coverage?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even if you’re a TNC driver covered through the companies’ liability policies, that only covers damage to the other vehicle and passengers. If the accident is judged to be your fault, the liability coverage won’t help you pay for damage to your own car. That would require collision coverage, and the TNCs don’t offer that.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Erin Simpson of Lyft says drivers \"would need to check with their personal carrier and check on their specifc policy” to make sure their collision coverage applies while working as a Lyft driver.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Josh Wolf, a journalist who did a story for the Bay Guardian about his experiences driving for Lyft, says he ran into trouble when looking for coverage on a new car:\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>I was told that personal automobile insurance was insufficient. The insurance companies that cover limos and taxis said they couldn't help me either since my car wasn't registered as a commercial vehicle. Although Lyft provides a $1 million excess liability policy, there was no way to insure my own car against an accident. The lack of available insurance has left many drivers afraid to continue shuttling passengers, despite decent pay and flexible hours.\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>Kara Cross of the Personal Insurance Federation says there is definitely a gap in coverage for TNC drivers. “No coverage for collision, comprehensive coverage [theft, vandalism] medical payments,” she says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But she adds that could change.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s not to say that somebody might develop a product,” Cross says. “There’s been talk that maybe an insurance carrier will offer the marketplace (a policy) so you still have your personal coverage but there would be some language to cover these situations. As far as I know this product has not come out yet.”\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignleft\"> 'Sometimes when I’d have a close call, I would lose my nerve for awhile. You come to realize how dangerous it is.'\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: right !important;font-size: 12pt\">— Brad Newsham, cab driver\u003c/div>\n\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>One cab driver I spoke to who’s considering driving for UberX said when he tried to get collision coverage through his insurance company, he was told he had to go through a commercial carrier and get livery insurance. He called one up and was able to get a quote. That, coupled with the $1 million liability insurance requirement, has made him more comfortable about making the switch. (\u003cstrong>Update Jan. 17, 2013\u003c/strong>: The driver now tells me although he did get a quote originally, the company ultimately rejected his application because he was a TNC driver, and he was \u003cem>not\u003c/em> able to get commercial insurance.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Pete Moraga of the Insurance Information Network of California says drivers need commercial insurance, which is more expensive than a personal auto policy, if they want to be covered for anything more than basic liability on their ride-service vehicle.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For most of the ride-service drivers I talked to, though, these issues are somewhat abstract, if not confusing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Brad Newsham, a 28-year veteran cab driver, gives a glimpse of the reality that underlies all the talk about insurance. He says he once worked a year-and-half in an underground mine, and he puts cab driving 'right up there with it' in terms of stress, much of it due to being wary of \"not killing somebody, not killing yourself.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Sometimes when I'd have a close call, I would lose my nerve for awhile. You come to realize how dangerous it is,\" Newsham says. \"You’re driving this one-ton piece of machinery at high speeds. To come within inches of killing someone or killing you, it’s a very, very dangerous activity.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Just how dangerous, you can see in the \u003ca href=\"http://www.sfbg.com/politics/2013/08/08/lawsuit-over-injury-airborne-fire-hydrant-tests-uber%E2%80%99s-insurance-practices\" target=\"_blank\"> case of the flying San Francisco fire hydrant\u003c/a>. In that accident last March, a black town car on an Uber call collided with another vehicle while turning left on Divisadero. One of the cars hit a fire hydrant, sending it flying through the air. It struck a pedestrian, who sustained severe injuries. Uber is fighting a lawsuit over the incident, essentially arguing it bears no responsibility for the driver's actions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The ride-service drivers I talked to aren’t focusing on that risk. Right now, they seem to be enamored of the good pay, flexible schedule and social aspects of their jobs. Any insurance concerns they may have aren’t serious enough to spur them to quit, with many citing the TNCs' $1 million liability policies as a mitigating factor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lyft driver Dan summed it up this way:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Am I worried about the sky falling when I walk out the door? No. Is it more of a distinct possibility that when I’m driving for Lyft in the city? Yeah. But I’m not thinking about it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003cstrong>Part Three takes an in-depth look at \u003cem>a complaint of many cab drivers: payments demanded of them from cab company employees.\u003c/em>\u003c/strong>\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_118099\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2013/10/15/widespread-confusion-over-insurance-risks-forride-service-drivers-ponder-the/lyftaudi/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-118099\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-118099\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2014/11/lyftaudi.jpg\" alt=\"Are networked ride service drivers covered if they get into an accident while driving a paying passenger? It depends on who you ask. (Sara Bloomberg/KQED)\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Are networked ride-service drivers covered if they get into an accident while driving a paying passenger? It depends on who you ask. (Deborah Svoboda/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This is Part Two of our series on the risks and benefits to drivers who sign up with the networked ride-service companies like Lyft, Sidecar and UberX versus those who work for the traditional taxicab industry. Part One — \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2013/11/07/taxis-lyft-ride-service-war-on-streets-of-san-francisco\">Will 'Ride Sharing' Kill San Francisco's Taxi Industry?\u003c/a> — focused on tensions between the two pools of drivers and the declining income earned by taxi drivers. Part Two looks at insurance issues related to the new ride services.\u003cbr>\n\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 4.6875em;float: left;line-height: 0.733em;padding: 0.05em 0.1em 0 0;font-family: times, serif, georgia\">V\u003c/span>eteran San Francisco cab driver Ed Healy says he'd never ever drive for Lyft, Sidecar or any of the other smartphone-driven ride-service companies operating in the city.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It doesn't matter that many of those driving for what state regulators call \"transportation network companies\" (or TNCs) say they're making better money than old-school taxi drivers. It doesn't matter that many cab drivers have moved over to the TNCs. Healey says his decision comes down to one issue.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I wouldn’t ever drive in one because of the insurance,” Healey says. \"I wasn’t going to leave my car exposed to an accident.”\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignright\">'Mustache Wars' — the conflict between the traditional taxi industry and smartphone-based ride services:\n\u003cdiv style=\"font-size: 12pt\">\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>Part One: \u003c/strong>\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2013/11/07/taxis-lyft-ride-service-war-on-streets-of-san-francisco\" target=\"_blank\">Will ‘Ride Sharing’ Kill San Francisco’s Taxi Industry?\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>Sidebar:\u003c/strong> \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2013/11/14/can-lyft-uberx-drivers-lose-their-insurance\" target=\"_blank\">Are Ride-Service Drivers at Risk of Losing Their Insurance?\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>Part Three:\u003c/strong> \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2013/12/11/taxi-drivers-and-whos-taking-money-out-of-their-pockets\" target=\"_blank\">Tip or Bribe? Taxi Drivers Say Illegal Payments to Dispatchers Are Routine\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>Sidebar:\u003c/strong> \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2014/12/13/the-fine-line-between-a-taxi-drivers-tip-and-a-bribe/\" target=\"_blank\">The Fine Line Between a Tip And a Bribe For Those Who Drive S.F. Taxis\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003c/div>\n\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>Healy's sentiments echo those of many in the taxi industry and point to a big unknown at the heart of the popular new ride-service companies: If a driver gets into a wreck, who pays? More specifically, what insurance is in place to cover injuries, property losses and damage to passengers, passers-by and the driver's own car?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lyft and the other TNCs point to the $1 million per incident excess liability coverage that the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) requires them to carry. The policies are designed to deal with liability claims a driver's insurance doesn't cover. But the policies won't cover drivers' cars. That means the drivers must rely on their personal auto insurance policies — which still may leave them uncovered since insurers typically, though not always, bar claims if a driver's vehicle was in commercial use when an accident occurred.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And that's not the only uncertainty surrounding insurance coverage for ride-service drivers and passengers. The ride services' terms of service require users to waive liability claims. Lyft's founder says that's just a standard bit of contract language while the taxi industry and San Francisco's chief taxicab regulator say the terms could raise questions of who will pay in case of an accident.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>All of these issues, TNC opponents claim, amount to incentives for people to keep their status as ride-sharing drivers secret from their insurance company. I found that to be the case with at least some of the drivers I spoke to.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I spent the last couple of months talking to drivers, the ride services, their competitors in the taxi trade and insurance industry representatives to try to get answers about insurance coverage. What I found was a thicket of contradictions and complications in figuring out who will pay if something goes wrong during a ride-service trip. For instance:\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>Ride-service companies like Lyft and Sidecar say drivers' personal insurance policies will cover some claims. The insurance industry says the policies won't provide any coverage.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>The insurance industry says ride-service drivers will have to buy commercial insurance to be covered when they're driving for hire and maybe even when they're not.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>At least some ride-service drivers are keeping their status secret from their insurance companies because they're afraid of losing coverage. (See sidebar: \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2013/11/14/can-lyft-uberx-drivers-lose-their-insurance\" target=\"_blank\">Are Ride-Service Drivers at Risk of Losing Their Insurance?\u003c/a>)\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe src=\"https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/120972565\" frameborder=\"no\" scrolling=\"no\" width=\"100%\" height=\"166\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>A Topic of Conversation\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The insurance issue is definitely a topic of discussion among Lyft drivers, according to Alice, who has been driving for the company since April. (Most ride-service drivers spoke to me on condition we would not use their full names.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There’s a lot of conversations going on [about insurance] in the Lyft Driver’s Lounge,\" she said, referring to a company Facebook page. She says some Lyft drivers have quit over the issue.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Some people are like, 'Yeah, I’m really bummed, but until the insurance thing is settled, I’m not going to drive for Lyft anymore.' A lot of the new drivers have asked multiple times on the Facebook page, 'What do we do about insurance?' Lyft’s answer is you have to figure that out on our own.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Alice says she and about a dozen other drivers were invited to lunch with Lyft CEO John Zimmer over the summer to discuss the issue. “I got a phone call from Lyft, they were doing damage control,” she says, adding that Zimmer told the drivers the company was working on getting an insurance carrier that would cover them for both personal use of their car and for ride-service work.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Zimmer told me the company is now in discussion with insurance companies to offer \"expanded types of coverage.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The insurance industry has stated clearly that a driver’s personal policy is not going to cover any accident in which the insured was using his or her vehicle for commercial purposes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a filing with the California Public Utilities Commission in 2012, the Personal Insurance Federation of California, an industry group made up of State Farm, Farmers, Progressive, Allstate, Liberty Mutual, Mercury and Nationwide, said it asked its members to determine how they would treat liability claims in ride-service accidents.\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>In response to the Commission’s inquiries, we surveyed our members regarding coverage issues in the above described situations. It appears that the industry standard for personal auto insurance policy contracts is to exempt from insurance coverage claims involving vehicles used for transporting passengers for a charge. Thus, in situations where a vehicle is insured as a private vehicle and is used to transport passengers for a fee, no insurance coverage would exist...\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>In a press release after the CPUC ruling, the \u003ca href=\"http://www.acicnet.org/\" target=\"_blank\">Association of California Insurance Companies\u003c/a>, a trade association and lobbying group, said, “Both drivers and riders must understand that an accident in a ride-sharing vehicle will not be covered under a personal auto insurance policy.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"http://www.insurance.ca.gov/\" target=\"_blank\">California Department of Insurance\u003c/a> also weighed in on the issue in an \u003ca href=\"http://www.scribd.com/doc/184030223/Calif-Dept-of-Insurance-letter-on-TNCs-ride-share-services\" target=\"_blank\">advisory letter\u003c/a> it sent to the CPUC before its final decision: \"Based on informal conversations with TNCs and auto insurers, we understand that personal lines auto insurers have both paid claims and denied claims when drivers with personal lines insurance were transporting a passenger referred by a TNC.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Despite statements like that, the ride-service companies insist drivers' insurance companies will cover claims arising from their paid work and in fact have already done so.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Margaret Ryan, vice president of communications at Sidecar, said in an email that the company has yet to see an incident in which a driver's personal insurer has denied a claim. Erin Simpson, director of communications at Lyft, says she is aware of \"multiple instances\" in which an insurer has known that drivers were working for Lyft and still approved a claim under the driver's insurance policy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_115064\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 272px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2013/10/15/widespread-confusion-over-insurance-risks-forride-service-drivers-ponder-the/desoto-cab-company-driver-and-pacifica-resident-corey-lamb-protests-against-ap-based-ride-selling-companies-like-lyft-on-tuesday-july-30-outside-san-francisco-city-hall-alex-ensliekqedrs5997_img_7/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-115064\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-115064 \" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2013/10/DeSoto-Cab-Company-driver-and-Pacifica-resident-Corey-Lamb-protests-against-ap-based-ride-selling-companies-like-Lyft-on-Tuesday-July-30-outside-San-Francisco-City-Hall.-Alex-EnslieKQEDRS5997_IMG_7873-sfi.jpg\" alt=\"DeSoto Cab Company driver Corey Lamb protests against app-based ride-service companies outside San Francisco City Hall. (Alex Enslie/KQED)\" width=\"272\" height=\"360\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">DeSoto Cab Company driver Corey Lamb protests against app-based ride-service companies outside San Francisco City Hall. (Alex Emslie/KQED)\u003cstrong>\u003cbr>\u003c/strong>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>And indeed, one Lyft driver I talked to said that when he got into an accident in 2012 while carrying a paying passenger, his insurance company was aware of the circumstances and still approved the claim.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That was last year, though, and things may be different now that the CPUC issued \u003ca href=\"http://docs.cpuc.ca.gov/PublishedDocs/Published/G000/M077/K112/77112285.PDF\" target=\"_blank\">regulations\u003c/a> for the TNC industry. One of the commission's major findings: The TNCs are commercial enterprises,\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Pete Moraga, a spokesperson for the \u003ca href=\"http://www.iinc.org/\" target=\"_blank\">Insurance Information Network of California\u003c/a>, an industry group, says personal auto policies typically exclude coverage for vehicles when they're in commercial use.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If you are (working for a TNC) and you have your own personal policy, the minute you pick up your rider that policy will cease to cover you,” Moraga says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lyft, Sidecar and UberX instituted excess liability insurance policies of $1 million per incident for their drivers, a level of coverage that the CPUC now requires. The commission found that coverage to be more than adequate for the TNCs and noted that the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency also requires the $1 million amount for cab companies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>What Those $1 Million Policies Cover\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"http://www.irmi.com/online/insurance-glossary/terms/e/excess-liability-policy.aspx\" target=\"_blank\">excess liability policies\u003c/a> are supposed to supplement a driver's individual coverage, providing coverage at the point where personal policies leave off. Which is interesting, if you consider that the insurance industry says that a driver's personal policy will exclude ride-service claims.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kara Cross, general counsel for the \u003ca href=\"http://www.pifc.org/\" target=\"_blank\">Personal Insurance Federation of California\u003c/a>, says that's a potential problem.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Their coverage kicks in after any other coverage is paid first, \"Cross says. \"You might wind up that TNC (insurance) carriers are starting to find more and more situations that the personal carriers are not covering, and then you can have a problem with the TNC carriers.”\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignleft\">'In real-life situations you may find there are a lot of gray areas where there’s going to be disputes, claims aren’t honored, and probably litigation at some point.'\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: right !important;font-size: 12pt\">— Pete Moraga, Insurance Information Network of California\u003c/div>\n\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>Lyft's Erin Simpson says even though the company's policy is called excess insurance, it has been custom-designed to “drop down” and cover any amount that a driver's personal policy doesn't. And the CPUC regulations specifically state that \"the insurance coverage shall be available to cover claims regardless of whether a TNC driver maintains insurance to cover any portion of the claim.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Pete Moraga, from the Insurance Information Network of California, is skeptical that the drop-down feature resolves questions about coverage. \"There was little involvement if any from the insurance industry in these regulations,\" he says. \"The regulations that the CPUC enacted haven't stood the test of real-life situations. In real-life situations you may find there are a lot of gray areas where there’s going to be disputes, claims aren’t honored, and probably litigation at some point.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As the CPUC hammered out its TNC rules earlier this year, the California Department of Insurance said its preferred option would be to require the companies to carry $1 million in \u003ca href=\"http://www.irmi.com/online/insurance-glossary/terms/p/primary-cover.aspx\" target=\"_blank\">primary insurance\u003c/a> for each driver — meaning policies that pay first if there's a claim. The insurance department said excess insurance would be acceptable as a lower-cost option for the TNCs. But it added such a dual system of insurance, depending on both a driver's insurance and a company's excess liability coverage, could result in confusion to consumers who need to file claims.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"It's a confusion issue,\" agrees Kara Cross of the Personal Insurance Federation of California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a written statement, the CPUC did not answer a direct question about the excess-versus-primary policy issue, saying only that its Safety and Enforcement Division is reviewing the TNC policies to \"make its independent assessment as to whether the existing coverages conform to the CPUC's insurance requirements.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>John Zimmer says Lyft's policy has already been tested a few times and that there have been no problems getting claims through.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Uncertainty About TNCs' Terms of Use\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Questions about insurance coverage also extend to the terms of service that the ride-service companies require drivers and passengers to accept. Among those raising that issue is Christiane Hayashi, director of \u003ca href=\"http://www.sfmta.com/services/taxi-industry\" target=\"_blank\">taxi services\u003c/a> for the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_118110\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 300px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2013/10/15/widespread-confusion-over-insurance-risks-forride-service-drivers-ponder-the/taxi/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-118110\">\u003cimg class=\"size-medium wp-image-118110\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2014/11/taxi-300x168.jpg\" alt=\"One taxi driver says more company money is spent on insurance than on payroll. (Sara Bloomberg/KQED)\" width=\"300\" height=\"168\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">One taxi driver says more company money is spent on insurance than on payroll. (Sara Bloomberg/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“If there happens to be an accident involving the Lyft or Sidecar service,\" she says, \"there’s the uncertainty of how the terms and conditions that people have to sign in order to participate in these services will affect the insurance coverage, because it disclaims all liability for anything whatsoever.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The state Department of Insurance isn't fond of the terms either. The department wrote to the CPUC that \"a disclaimer of liability in the TNCs Terms of Service could mislead a consumer into thinking that they do not have a recourse against a TNC, when in fact the TNC will be required to maintain $1,000,000 in coverage. The CPUC should prohibit waivers that will prevent consumers from having recourse to the insurance.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The CPUC did insert specific language in its final ruling to address this issue:\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>Nor can any Terms and Conditions in a TNC’s Terms of Service be used or relied on by the TNC to deny insurance coverage, or to otherwise evade the insurance requirements established in this decision.\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>Lyft CEO John Zimmer says the issue is a total red herring concocted by ride-service opponents. The disclaimer language used by his and other companies, he says, is “legal protection that any website will have, completely standard practice.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>What About Collision Coverage?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even if you’re a TNC driver covered through the companies’ liability policies, that only covers damage to the other vehicle and passengers. If the accident is judged to be your fault, the liability coverage won’t help you pay for damage to your own car. That would require collision coverage, and the TNCs don’t offer that.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Erin Simpson of Lyft says drivers \"would need to check with their personal carrier and check on their specifc policy” to make sure their collision coverage applies while working as a Lyft driver.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Josh Wolf, a journalist who did a story for the Bay Guardian about his experiences driving for Lyft, says he ran into trouble when looking for coverage on a new car:\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>I was told that personal automobile insurance was insufficient. The insurance companies that cover limos and taxis said they couldn't help me either since my car wasn't registered as a commercial vehicle. Although Lyft provides a $1 million excess liability policy, there was no way to insure my own car against an accident. The lack of available insurance has left many drivers afraid to continue shuttling passengers, despite decent pay and flexible hours.\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>Kara Cross of the Personal Insurance Federation says there is definitely a gap in coverage for TNC drivers. “No coverage for collision, comprehensive coverage [theft, vandalism] medical payments,” she says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But she adds that could change.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s not to say that somebody might develop a product,” Cross says. “There’s been talk that maybe an insurance carrier will offer the marketplace (a policy) so you still have your personal coverage but there would be some language to cover these situations. As far as I know this product has not come out yet.”\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignleft\"> 'Sometimes when I’d have a close call, I would lose my nerve for awhile. You come to realize how dangerous it is.'\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: right !important;font-size: 12pt\">— Brad Newsham, cab driver\u003c/div>\n\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>One cab driver I spoke to who’s considering driving for UberX said when he tried to get collision coverage through his insurance company, he was told he had to go through a commercial carrier and get livery insurance. He called one up and was able to get a quote. That, coupled with the $1 million liability insurance requirement, has made him more comfortable about making the switch. (\u003cstrong>Update Jan. 17, 2013\u003c/strong>: The driver now tells me although he did get a quote originally, the company ultimately rejected his application because he was a TNC driver, and he was \u003cem>not\u003c/em> able to get commercial insurance.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Pete Moraga of the Insurance Information Network of California says drivers need commercial insurance, which is more expensive than a personal auto policy, if they want to be covered for anything more than basic liability on their ride-service vehicle.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For most of the ride-service drivers I talked to, though, these issues are somewhat abstract, if not confusing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Brad Newsham, a 28-year veteran cab driver, gives a glimpse of the reality that underlies all the talk about insurance. He says he once worked a year-and-half in an underground mine, and he puts cab driving 'right up there with it' in terms of stress, much of it due to being wary of \"not killing somebody, not killing yourself.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Sometimes when I'd have a close call, I would lose my nerve for awhile. You come to realize how dangerous it is,\" Newsham says. \"You’re driving this one-ton piece of machinery at high speeds. To come within inches of killing someone or killing you, it’s a very, very dangerous activity.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Just how dangerous, you can see in the \u003ca href=\"http://www.sfbg.com/politics/2013/08/08/lawsuit-over-injury-airborne-fire-hydrant-tests-uber%E2%80%99s-insurance-practices\" target=\"_blank\"> case of the flying San Francisco fire hydrant\u003c/a>. In that accident last March, a black town car on an Uber call collided with another vehicle while turning left on Divisadero. One of the cars hit a fire hydrant, sending it flying through the air. It struck a pedestrian, who sustained severe injuries. Uber is fighting a lawsuit over the incident, essentially arguing it bears no responsibility for the driver's actions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The ride-service drivers I talked to aren’t focusing on that risk. Right now, they seem to be enamored of the good pay, flexible schedule and social aspects of their jobs. Any insurance concerns they may have aren’t serious enough to spur them to quit, with many citing the TNCs' $1 million liability policies as a mitigating factor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lyft driver Dan summed it up this way:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Am I worried about the sky falling when I walk out the door? No. Is it more of a distinct possibility that when I’m driving for Lyft in the city? Yeah. But I’m not thinking about it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003cstrong>Part Three takes an in-depth look at \u003cem>a complaint of many cab drivers: payments demanded of them from cab company employees.\u003c/em>\u003c/strong>\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"disqusTitle": "Are 'Ride-Share' Drivers at Risk of Losing Their Insurance?",
"title": "Are 'Ride-Share' Drivers at Risk of Losing Their Insurance?",
"headTitle": "News Fix | KQED News",
"content": "\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_118115\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2013/11/14/widespread-confusion-over-insurance-risks-ride-share-drivers-lyft-uberx-sidecar/lyft/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-118115\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-118115\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2014/11/lyft.jpg\" alt=\"Two agents from the same insurance company gave TNC driver different answers on whether they could provide coverage. (Deborah Svoboda/KQED)\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Two agents from the same insurance company gave TNC driver different answers on whether they could provide coverage. (Deborah Svoboda/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>What happens if you want to go to work driving for a ride-service company like Sidecar or UberX and try to get insurance up front? What happens to your policy if your insurance company finds out you're driving passengers for hire? Will your insurance pay your claim if you have a fender-bender while driving for a ride service?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I'd love to give you definitive, black-and-white answers to all those questions. But the truth is in a gray area. My reporting and stories done by others suggest insurance companies aren't crazy about covering you if you're driving for a ride service, though I did find one driver who said he had no problem with coverage or filing claims.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Josh Wolf, a Lyft driver, wrote about his experience trying to get insurance in the \u003ca href=\"http://www.sfbg.com/2013/08/06/driven-take-risks\" target=\"_blank\">San Francisco Bay Guardian\u003c/a> last summer. He related this anecdote:\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>(A)t least one person has been told by her insurance company that she will be dropped unless she obtains a notarized letter from Lyft saying she won't be driving for it anymore.\u003cbr>\nThe trouble began for this driver, who spoke on condition of anonymity, when she got into a minor fender bender while driving a passenger in March.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"The guy whose car I bumped into was the neighbor of my passenger,\" said the driver. \"I never heard anything else from Geico for the longest time so I was sort of hoping that it didn't have an effect on my coverage, but then at the end of June I got the questionnaire in the mail.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A month later Geico told her that she'd be dropped from her insurance at the end of July unless she can demonstrate that she's no longer driving for Lyft. Geico said that if she couldn't get a letter from Lyft, she could send a notarized letter herself and the company \"might take it under consideration.\"\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>A spokesperson for the \u003ca href=\"http://www.iinc.org/\" target=\"_blank\">Insurance Information Network of California\u003c/a> told Wolf that, “An insurer may even decide to non-renew your policy for failing to notify them of your business.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[contextly_sidebar id=\"5608f963911d66f33449a67850bfdcda\"]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dan, a Lyft driver I talked to for this series, says, \"I have heard about people being denied coverage because it was discovered they were driving for Lyft, and therefore their personal insurance policy would not be renewed, or canceled.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignleft\">'Mustache Wars' — the conflict between the traditional taxi industry and new smartphone-based ride services:\n\u003cdiv style=\"font-size: 12pt\">\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>Part One: \u003c/strong>\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2013/11/07/taxis-lyft-ride-service-war-on-streets-of-san-francisco\" target=\"_blank\">Will ‘Ride Sharing’ Kill San Francisco’s Taxi Industry?\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>Part Two:\u003c/strong> \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2013/11/14/who-pays-when-ride-share-driver-crashes\" target=\"_blank\">Confusion Over Insurance for 'Ride-Sharing' Drivers\u003c/a> \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2013/11/14/who-pays-when-ride-share-driver-crashes\" target=\"_blank\">\u003cbr>\n\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>Sidebar:\u003c/strong> \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2013/11/14/can-lyft-uberx-drivers-lose-their-insurance\" target=\"_blank\">Are Ride-Share Drivers at Risk of Losing Their Insurance?\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>Part Three:\u003c/strong> Coming Soon\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003c/div>\n\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>I asked Kara Cross of the \u003ca href=\"http://www.pifc.org/\" target=\"_blank\">Personal Insurance Federation of California\u003c/a> if this was happening — insurers canceling the policies of TNC drivers once they got wind of their shuttling people around for money. She said she hadn’t heard of any such incidents. And a Lyft driver I spoke to who got into an accident last year told us he had no problem renewing his personal insurance in August. “I think it depends on what agent you have,” he says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But if you buy a new car and plan on using it to work as a ride-service driver, there may also be a problem with obtaining personal insurance for just everyday, non-commercial use. I called up the American Automobile Association and Allstate to see if they’d insure me for the personal use of my car if I also happened to use it for transporting paying passengers. Like, could they insure me and just exclude any incidents in which I was working for a TNC?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nope.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If they discover that your car’s being used that way, then that’s going to raise the red flag for any claim,” an Allstate broker told me. “Tracking if accidents have occurred involving such vehicles is difficult, as the insurer will not always have the knowledge that the passenger paid for transport.”\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignleft\"> 'If they discover that your car’s being used that way, then that’s going to raise the red flag for any claim.'\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: right !important;font-size: 12pt\">— Allstate broker on covering a ride-service driver\u003c/div>\n\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>In other words: If you get into an accident, how’s your insurance company going to know if you were transporting a paid passenger or just on your way to the grocery store? (Though the pink mustache may be a dead giveaway. Per the new CPUC rules, all TNC drivers will have to install signage identifying them as a ride-service vehicle.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kara Cross says there’s potential ambiguity in these situations as well: “That’s one of the things that’s missing in the CPUC language. There’s no trigger point, really, as far as when coverage switches over when you’re in personal use as opposed to commercial use.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lyft driver Alice says when she called her insurance company and asked if they covered ride service vehicles, she was told yes several times before finally someone said no.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It depends on the agent, quite frankly,” she says. She says another Lyft driver told her that one agent from an insurance company said it could offer her coverage, and another agent from the same company told her it didn’t.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>All of these questions, TNC opponents claim, amount to incentives for people to keep their status as ride-sharing drivers secret from their insurance company. My conversations with drivers seem to confirm that.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I don’t think I should let my insurance company know because I’ll probably get dropped,” one driver said. \"I figure the less they know the better,\" said another.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_118115\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2013/11/14/widespread-confusion-over-insurance-risks-ride-share-drivers-lyft-uberx-sidecar/lyft/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-118115\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-118115\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2014/11/lyft.jpg\" alt=\"Two agents from the same insurance company gave TNC driver different answers on whether they could provide coverage. (Deborah Svoboda/KQED)\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Two agents from the same insurance company gave TNC driver different answers on whether they could provide coverage. (Deborah Svoboda/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>What happens if you want to go to work driving for a ride-service company like Sidecar or UberX and try to get insurance up front? What happens to your policy if your insurance company finds out you're driving passengers for hire? Will your insurance pay your claim if you have a fender-bender while driving for a ride service?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I'd love to give you definitive, black-and-white answers to all those questions. But the truth is in a gray area. My reporting and stories done by others suggest insurance companies aren't crazy about covering you if you're driving for a ride service, though I did find one driver who said he had no problem with coverage or filing claims.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Josh Wolf, a Lyft driver, wrote about his experience trying to get insurance in the \u003ca href=\"http://www.sfbg.com/2013/08/06/driven-take-risks\" target=\"_blank\">San Francisco Bay Guardian\u003c/a> last summer. He related this anecdote:\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>(A)t least one person has been told by her insurance company that she will be dropped unless she obtains a notarized letter from Lyft saying she won't be driving for it anymore.\u003cbr>\nThe trouble began for this driver, who spoke on condition of anonymity, when she got into a minor fender bender while driving a passenger in March.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"The guy whose car I bumped into was the neighbor of my passenger,\" said the driver. \"I never heard anything else from Geico for the longest time so I was sort of hoping that it didn't have an effect on my coverage, but then at the end of June I got the questionnaire in the mail.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A month later Geico told her that she'd be dropped from her insurance at the end of July unless she can demonstrate that she's no longer driving for Lyft. Geico said that if she couldn't get a letter from Lyft, she could send a notarized letter herself and the company \"might take it under consideration.\"\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>A spokesperson for the \u003ca href=\"http://www.iinc.org/\" target=\"_blank\">Insurance Information Network of California\u003c/a> told Wolf that, “An insurer may even decide to non-renew your policy for failing to notify them of your business.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dan, a Lyft driver I talked to for this series, says, \"I have heard about people being denied coverage because it was discovered they were driving for Lyft, and therefore their personal insurance policy would not be renewed, or canceled.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignleft\">'Mustache Wars' — the conflict between the traditional taxi industry and new smartphone-based ride services:\n\u003cdiv style=\"font-size: 12pt\">\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>Part One: \u003c/strong>\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2013/11/07/taxis-lyft-ride-service-war-on-streets-of-san-francisco\" target=\"_blank\">Will ‘Ride Sharing’ Kill San Francisco’s Taxi Industry?\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>Part Two:\u003c/strong> \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2013/11/14/who-pays-when-ride-share-driver-crashes\" target=\"_blank\">Confusion Over Insurance for 'Ride-Sharing' Drivers\u003c/a> \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2013/11/14/who-pays-when-ride-share-driver-crashes\" target=\"_blank\">\u003cbr>\n\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>Sidebar:\u003c/strong> \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2013/11/14/can-lyft-uberx-drivers-lose-their-insurance\" target=\"_blank\">Are Ride-Share Drivers at Risk of Losing Their Insurance?\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>Part Three:\u003c/strong> Coming Soon\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003c/div>\n\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>I asked Kara Cross of the \u003ca href=\"http://www.pifc.org/\" target=\"_blank\">Personal Insurance Federation of California\u003c/a> if this was happening — insurers canceling the policies of TNC drivers once they got wind of their shuttling people around for money. She said she hadn’t heard of any such incidents. And a Lyft driver I spoke to who got into an accident last year told us he had no problem renewing his personal insurance in August. “I think it depends on what agent you have,” he says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But if you buy a new car and plan on using it to work as a ride-service driver, there may also be a problem with obtaining personal insurance for just everyday, non-commercial use. I called up the American Automobile Association and Allstate to see if they’d insure me for the personal use of my car if I also happened to use it for transporting paying passengers. Like, could they insure me and just exclude any incidents in which I was working for a TNC?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nope.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If they discover that your car’s being used that way, then that’s going to raise the red flag for any claim,” an Allstate broker told me. “Tracking if accidents have occurred involving such vehicles is difficult, as the insurer will not always have the knowledge that the passenger paid for transport.”\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignleft\"> 'If they discover that your car’s being used that way, then that’s going to raise the red flag for any claim.'\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: right !important;font-size: 12pt\">— Allstate broker on covering a ride-service driver\u003c/div>\n\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>In other words: If you get into an accident, how’s your insurance company going to know if you were transporting a paid passenger or just on your way to the grocery store? (Though the pink mustache may be a dead giveaway. Per the new CPUC rules, all TNC drivers will have to install signage identifying them as a ride-service vehicle.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kara Cross says there’s potential ambiguity in these situations as well: “That’s one of the things that’s missing in the CPUC language. There’s no trigger point, really, as far as when coverage switches over when you’re in personal use as opposed to commercial use.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lyft driver Alice says when she called her insurance company and asked if they covered ride service vehicles, she was told yes several times before finally someone said no.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It depends on the agent, quite frankly,” she says. She says another Lyft driver told her that one agent from an insurance company said it could offer her coverage, and another agent from the same company told her it didn’t.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>All of these questions, TNC opponents claim, amount to incentives for people to keep their status as ride-sharing drivers secret from their insurance company. My conversations with drivers seem to confirm that.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I don’t think I should let my insurance company know because I’ll probably get dropped,” one driver said. \"I figure the less they know the better,\" said another.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>The California Public Utilities Commission has approved regulations governing \"transportation network companies,\" formerly and informally known as the \"ride-sharing\" business. The vote was unanimous.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_111826\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 300px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-medium wp-image-111826\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2013/09/rideshare.jpg-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"rideshare.jpg\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A protester mocks Lyft and its signature pink mustaches at a cab driver rally outside San Francisco City Hall on Tuesday, July 30. (Alex Emslie/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2013/07/31/cpuc-rideshare-decision/\" target=\"_blank\">rules were first proposed\u003c/a> in July. A final vote was originally scheduled for Sept. 5 but was delayed, \u003ca href=\"http://www.sfexaminer.com/sanfrancisco/cpuc-delaying-vote-on-rideshare-regulations/Content?oid=2569597\" target=\"_blank\">giving hope to some in the taxi industry\u003c/a>, which vehemently opposes any official sanction of competition from what many have considered to be operating \"bandit cabs.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The new rules require TNCs to be licensed by the CPUC. They will have to run background checks on drivers, institute driver-training programs and meet expanded insurance requirements, as well as maintain a zero-tolerance policy on drugs and alcohol. There are also requirements for accommodating disabled passengers and servicing poorer neighborhoods.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the advent of these services, which allow passengers to hire private drivers through online applications, has disrupted the taxi industry, and the new mandates are unlikely to appease traditional cab drivers who have seen a sharp drop in income in cities in which the companies operate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>TNCs like Lyft, Sidecar and Uber hailed the rules when they were first proposed, as they gave them, for the first time, the legal right to operate in California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>The California Public Utilities Commission has approved regulations governing \"transportation network companies,\" formerly and informally known as the \"ride-sharing\" business. The vote was unanimous.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_111826\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 300px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-medium wp-image-111826\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2013/09/rideshare.jpg-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"rideshare.jpg\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A protester mocks Lyft and its signature pink mustaches at a cab driver rally outside San Francisco City Hall on Tuesday, July 30. (Alex Emslie/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2013/07/31/cpuc-rideshare-decision/\" target=\"_blank\">rules were first proposed\u003c/a> in July. A final vote was originally scheduled for Sept. 5 but was delayed, \u003ca href=\"http://www.sfexaminer.com/sanfrancisco/cpuc-delaying-vote-on-rideshare-regulations/Content?oid=2569597\" target=\"_blank\">giving hope to some in the taxi industry\u003c/a>, which vehemently opposes any official sanction of competition from what many have considered to be operating \"bandit cabs.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The new rules require TNCs to be licensed by the CPUC. They will have to run background checks on drivers, institute driver-training programs and meet expanded insurance requirements, as well as maintain a zero-tolerance policy on drugs and alcohol. There are also requirements for accommodating disabled passengers and servicing poorer neighborhoods.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the advent of these services, which allow passengers to hire private drivers through online applications, has disrupted the taxi industry, and the new mandates are unlikely to appease traditional cab drivers who have seen a sharp drop in income in cities in which the companies operate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>TNCs like Lyft, Sidecar and Uber hailed the rules when they were first proposed, as they gave them, for the first time, the legal right to operate in California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"disqusTitle": "Ride-Share Companies Hit With Lawsuits From Their Drivers",
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"content": "\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_105244\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2013/07/31/how-the-cpucs-new-rules-will-affect-ridesharing-startups/lyftstache/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-105244\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-105244 \" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2013/07/lyftstache.png\" alt=\"Ride-share company Lyft is the subject of a class action complaint. (Photo courtesy of Lyft).\" width=\"640\" height=\"646\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Ride-share company Lyft is the subject of a class-action complaint. (Photo courtesy of Lyft)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Pink-mustachioed ride-share firm Lyft is facing a federal class-action lawsuit from drivers who say they're being misclassified as independent contractors and that the company improperly takes a cut of the \"gratuity\" passengers give drivers. Lyft is the second of the new wave ride-sharing services to face a class-action suit. Last month, \u003ca href=\"http://www.sfgate.com/business/article/Uber-drivers-file-class-action-suit-over-tips-4778315.php\" target=\"_blank\">a suit was filed\u003c/a> against Uber, targeting the company's policy on tips. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lyft, Uber, Sidecar and other ride-share services argue that, unlike traditional cab companies with an employed labor force, their only products are apps, and their only function is to connect drivers to passengers. Drivers provide their own cars and gas, and their own insurance policies (though the ride-share services provide additional coverage for excess liability).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In its story on the Lyft lawsuit, filed in federal court in San Francisco, \u003ca href=\"http://blogs.sfweekly.com/thesnitch/2013/09/lyft_sued_for_unfair_competiti.php\" target=\"_blank\">SF Weekly reports\u003c/a> that plaintiffs argue drivers are company employees and should be protected by the California Labor Code. The story continues: \u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>[The suit says] Lyft should be prohibited from skimming 20 percent from drivers' gratuities, and it should provide wage statements that accurately reflect the number of hours that each driver worked. It should also reimburse drivers for mileage...\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The suit demands $4.5 million in classwide damages, based on calculations that most drivers average $15 per tip, and Lyft filches 20 percent of that.\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>\u003c!--more-->The plaintiffs and their S.F.-based lawyer, Matthew Carlson, are also seeking an estimated $2 million in derelict wage statements, and $4.5 million in mileage costs for the 1.5 million Lyft rides that have occurred so far.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lyft described the legal action against the company as \"without merit.\" Uber dismissed the suit it's facing as \"frivolous.\" \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The ride-share industry has exploded in the last year. Uber alone now operates in 40 cities across the country. It recently raised $258 million in funding from Google Ventures and TPG Capital, valuing the company at $3.5 billion. It also hired away high-profile executives from Google, Facebook and Klout.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The California Public Utilities Commission proposed a \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2013/07/31/how-the-cpucs-new-rules-will-affect-ridesharing-startups\">set of rules\u003c/a> for ride-share companies—insurance requirements, driver background checks and drug tests, among other proposals.. The CPUC also put ride-share companies under a new legal label: transportation network companies, or TNCs—not taxis. It is \u003ca href=\"http://www.sfexaminer.com/sanfrancisco/cpuc-delaying-vote-on-rideshare-regulations/Content?oid=2569597\" target=\"_blank\">scheduled\u003c/a> to vote on the proposal Sept. 19.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_105244\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2013/07/31/how-the-cpucs-new-rules-will-affect-ridesharing-startups/lyftstache/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-105244\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-105244 \" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2013/07/lyftstache.png\" alt=\"Ride-share company Lyft is the subject of a class action complaint. (Photo courtesy of Lyft).\" width=\"640\" height=\"646\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Ride-share company Lyft is the subject of a class-action complaint. (Photo courtesy of Lyft)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Pink-mustachioed ride-share firm Lyft is facing a federal class-action lawsuit from drivers who say they're being misclassified as independent contractors and that the company improperly takes a cut of the \"gratuity\" passengers give drivers. Lyft is the second of the new wave ride-sharing services to face a class-action suit. Last month, \u003ca href=\"http://www.sfgate.com/business/article/Uber-drivers-file-class-action-suit-over-tips-4778315.php\" target=\"_blank\">a suit was filed\u003c/a> against Uber, targeting the company's policy on tips. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lyft, Uber, Sidecar and other ride-share services argue that, unlike traditional cab companies with an employed labor force, their only products are apps, and their only function is to connect drivers to passengers. Drivers provide their own cars and gas, and their own insurance policies (though the ride-share services provide additional coverage for excess liability).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In its story on the Lyft lawsuit, filed in federal court in San Francisco, \u003ca href=\"http://blogs.sfweekly.com/thesnitch/2013/09/lyft_sued_for_unfair_competiti.php\" target=\"_blank\">SF Weekly reports\u003c/a> that plaintiffs argue drivers are company employees and should be protected by the California Labor Code. The story continues: \u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>[The suit says] Lyft should be prohibited from skimming 20 percent from drivers' gratuities, and it should provide wage statements that accurately reflect the number of hours that each driver worked. It should also reimburse drivers for mileage...\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The suit demands $4.5 million in classwide damages, based on calculations that most drivers average $15 per tip, and Lyft filches 20 percent of that.\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>\u003c!--more-->The plaintiffs and their S.F.-based lawyer, Matthew Carlson, are also seeking an estimated $2 million in derelict wage statements, and $4.5 million in mileage costs for the 1.5 million Lyft rides that have occurred so far.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lyft described the legal action against the company as \"without merit.\" Uber dismissed the suit it's facing as \"frivolous.\" \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The ride-share industry has exploded in the last year. Uber alone now operates in 40 cities across the country. It recently raised $258 million in funding from Google Ventures and TPG Capital, valuing the company at $3.5 billion. It also hired away high-profile executives from Google, Facebook and Klout.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The California Public Utilities Commission proposed a \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2013/07/31/how-the-cpucs-new-rules-will-affect-ridesharing-startups\">set of rules\u003c/a> for ride-share companies—insurance requirements, driver background checks and drug tests, among other proposals.. The CPUC also put ride-share companies under a new legal label: transportation network companies, or TNCs—not taxis. It is \u003ca href=\"http://www.sfexaminer.com/sanfrancisco/cpuc-delaying-vote-on-rideshare-regulations/Content?oid=2569597\" target=\"_blank\">scheduled\u003c/a> to vote on the proposal Sept. 19.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "This Week in Tech: From Google Gobbling, #Hashtag-Following and Ride Cost-Sharing to the NSA",
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"headTitle": "This Week in Tech: From Google Gobbling, #Hashtag-Following and Ride Cost-Sharing to the NSA | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2013/06/14/99952/pastedgraphic-1-page-001/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-99955\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-99955 \" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2013/06/PastedGraphic-1-page-001-1024x700.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"437\">\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cdl>\n\u003cdd>Waze App/Waze.com\u003c/dd>\n\u003c/dl>\n\u003cp>It was a busy week for Bay Area tech companies, big and small. Here are a few of the headliner developments.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Google-Waze\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Tuesday, Google announced it had bought the social traffic and navigation app Waze, reportedly for $1.3 billion, which seems to be the market range for acquiring the flashiest startups these days.\u003c!--more-->\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The search giant already has Google Maps, of course, so why scoop up Waze?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the heart of this Israeli startup are dedicated communities of drivers who share driving information in real time, alerting each other to accidents, road work and other traffic issues along the route ahead.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This fast-growing community of traffic-obsessed drivers is working together to find the best routes from home to work every day,” explained Google’s Brian McClendon, vice president, Geo, on the company\u003ca href=\"http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2013/06/google-maps-and-waze-outsmarting.html\"> blog\u003c/a>. “We’ll … work closely with the vibrant Waze community, who are the DNA of this app, to ensure they have what’s needed to grow and prosper.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“(It) is used by something like 105 percent of the population here, statistically speaking,” said Amalyah Keshet of the Israel Museum in Jerusalem. “It’s a simple expression of the ancient and honorable Israeli habit of giving wanted or unwanted advice – especially about where to go.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Just last night, a friend arrived at my house after Waze told her it would take her 14 minutes from where she was. She mentally bet the program that it would take at least 15 minutes. It took 14.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Waze is notably international in scope, with around 50 million users in some 110 countries.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, a nonprofit group, Consumer Watchdog, \u003ca href=\"http://www.bizjournals.com/sanjose/news/2013/06/12/consumer-watchdog-urges-feds-to-block.html?ana=e_du_pub&s=article_du&ed=2013-06-12&u=w2yEyouscoSS9s5yw9jRjLxWrh0&t=1371142404\">urged\u003c/a> the Federal Trade Commission to block the acquisition because it could result in Google attaining a monopoly over mapping.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Facebook-Twitter\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The two most prominent social media companies picked this week to extend each other the sincerest form of flattery. First, early on Wednesday, Facebook \u003ca href=\"http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/06/12/facebook-adds-hashtags-to-organize-public-conversations/\">announced\u003c/a> it has introduced the hashtag search feature to its interface, years after the Twitter user base invented it at the microblogging site.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Not to be outdone, Twitter soft-launched Wednesday night its new \u003ca href=\"http://www.digitalspy.com/tech/news/a490156/twitter-adds-followme-highlights-reel-feature.html\">#FollowMe \u003c/a>feature that allows users to easily create movies that depict their social footprint, including their top tweets, photos and followers. As much as hashtags have been identified with Twitter, the follow concept has long been identified with Facebook\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Uber – Sidecar – Lyft\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The on-demand transportation sector had a bit of a dustup this week as Uber\u003ca href=\"http://techcrunch.com/2013/06/12/targeting-lyft-and-sidecar-uber-confirms-price-cut-on-uberx-rides-in-san-francisco/\"> announced\u003c/a> it is cutting prices for its UberX rides to compete more directly with ride-sharing startups Lyft and Sidecar.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>UberX is a cheaper version of its pricier black town car service, and usually involves hybrid vehicles. Those taking rides from Lyft and Sidecar pay an optional donation to drivers who drive them across town — usually the amount suggested on the apps as determined by the companies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lyft cars are distinguished by the large pink mustache normally displayed on the front of the vehicle.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This sector is actually even more crowded as companies including RelayRides, Wheelz, Getaround and Flywheel all present variations on the theme. Flywheel works directly with the taxi companies, whereas the others are often seen as disrupters of the taxi industry.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The California PUC has been investigating some of the car-sharing companies and is rewriting its rules governing their operations in the state.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>NSA Data Collection Update\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Google’s Chief Legal Officer David Drummond \u003ca href=\"http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2013/06/asking-us-government-to-allow-google-to.html\">published\u003c/a> his letter to the U.S. attorney general and the FBI director on the corporate blog complaining, “Assertions in the press that our compliance with these requests gives the U.S. government unfettered access to our users’ data are simply untrue. However, government nondisclosure obligations regarding the number of FISA national security requests that Google receives, as well as the number of accounts covered by those requests, fuel that speculation.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Drummond asked to be able to publish in its Transparency Report the “aggregate numbers of national security requests, including FISA disclosures — in terms of both the number we receive and their scope. Google’s numbers would clearly show that our compliance with these requests falls far short of the claims being made. Google has nothing to hide.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, an array of advocacy groups has been organizing opposition to the government’s massive data collection effort. Hosted by Mozilla, the browser company, a website called “\u003ca href=\"http://thenextweb.com/insider/2013/06/13/stop-watching-us-a-group-opposed-to-nsa-surveillance-scorches-past-100000-signatures/\">Stop Watching Us\u003c/a>” gathered more than 100,000 signatures in the first 48 hours after it launched.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The revelations about the National Security Agency’s surveillance apparatus, if true, represent a stunning abuse of our basic rights,” the site said. “We demand the U.S. Congress reveal the full extent of the NSA’s spying programs.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>KQED News’s Stephanie Martin \u003ca href=\"I%20don%E2%80%99t%20think%20we%20really%20have%20a%20clear%20view%20of%20where%20the%20public%20is%20on%20this%20yet.%20The%20numbers%20are%20quite%20close,%20and%20the%20number%20that%E2%80%99s%20being%20cited%20as%20a%20majority%20is%20really%20focused%20on%20the%20part%20about%20surveillance%20of%20telephone%20conversations.%20But%20a%20majority%20of%20those%20who%20were%20polled%20said%20they%20are%20not%20comfortable%20with%20their%20online%20communications%20being%20monitored.%20I%20think%20when%20people%20learn%20the%20facts%20they%20will%20be%20outraged,%20and%20this%20is%20not%20something%20that%20they%E2%80%99re%20going%20to%20be%20comfortable%20with.\">asked\u003c/a> Mozilla’s privacy and public policy leader Alex Fowler, who helped spearhead the project, about research indicating most Americans are not overly concerned about the surveillance program.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I don’t think we really have a clear view of where the public is on this yet,” Fowler stated. “The numbers are quite close, and the number that’s being cited as a majority is really focused on the part about surveillance of telephone conversations. But a majority of those who were polled said they are not comfortable with their online communications being monitored. I think when people learn the facts they will be outraged, and this is not something that they’re going to be comfortable with.”\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2013/06/14/99952/pastedgraphic-1-page-001/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-99955\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-99955 \" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2013/06/PastedGraphic-1-page-001-1024x700.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"437\">\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cdl>\n\u003cdd>Waze App/Waze.com\u003c/dd>\n\u003c/dl>\n\u003cp>It was a busy week for Bay Area tech companies, big and small. Here are a few of the headliner developments.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Google-Waze\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Tuesday, Google announced it had bought the social traffic and navigation app Waze, reportedly for $1.3 billion, which seems to be the market range for acquiring the flashiest startups these days.\u003c!--more-->\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The search giant already has Google Maps, of course, so why scoop up Waze?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the heart of this Israeli startup are dedicated communities of drivers who share driving information in real time, alerting each other to accidents, road work and other traffic issues along the route ahead.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This fast-growing community of traffic-obsessed drivers is working together to find the best routes from home to work every day,” explained Google’s Brian McClendon, vice president, Geo, on the company\u003ca href=\"http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2013/06/google-maps-and-waze-outsmarting.html\"> blog\u003c/a>. “We’ll … work closely with the vibrant Waze community, who are the DNA of this app, to ensure they have what’s needed to grow and prosper.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“(It) is used by something like 105 percent of the population here, statistically speaking,” said Amalyah Keshet of the Israel Museum in Jerusalem. “It’s a simple expression of the ancient and honorable Israeli habit of giving wanted or unwanted advice – especially about where to go.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Just last night, a friend arrived at my house after Waze told her it would take her 14 minutes from where she was. She mentally bet the program that it would take at least 15 minutes. It took 14.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Waze is notably international in scope, with around 50 million users in some 110 countries.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, a nonprofit group, Consumer Watchdog, \u003ca href=\"http://www.bizjournals.com/sanjose/news/2013/06/12/consumer-watchdog-urges-feds-to-block.html?ana=e_du_pub&s=article_du&ed=2013-06-12&u=w2yEyouscoSS9s5yw9jRjLxWrh0&t=1371142404\">urged\u003c/a> the Federal Trade Commission to block the acquisition because it could result in Google attaining a monopoly over mapping.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Facebook-Twitter\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The two most prominent social media companies picked this week to extend each other the sincerest form of flattery. First, early on Wednesday, Facebook \u003ca href=\"http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/06/12/facebook-adds-hashtags-to-organize-public-conversations/\">announced\u003c/a> it has introduced the hashtag search feature to its interface, years after the Twitter user base invented it at the microblogging site.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Not to be outdone, Twitter soft-launched Wednesday night its new \u003ca href=\"http://www.digitalspy.com/tech/news/a490156/twitter-adds-followme-highlights-reel-feature.html\">#FollowMe \u003c/a>feature that allows users to easily create movies that depict their social footprint, including their top tweets, photos and followers. As much as hashtags have been identified with Twitter, the follow concept has long been identified with Facebook\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Uber – Sidecar – Lyft\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The on-demand transportation sector had a bit of a dustup this week as Uber\u003ca href=\"http://techcrunch.com/2013/06/12/targeting-lyft-and-sidecar-uber-confirms-price-cut-on-uberx-rides-in-san-francisco/\"> announced\u003c/a> it is cutting prices for its UberX rides to compete more directly with ride-sharing startups Lyft and Sidecar.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>UberX is a cheaper version of its pricier black town car service, and usually involves hybrid vehicles. Those taking rides from Lyft and Sidecar pay an optional donation to drivers who drive them across town — usually the amount suggested on the apps as determined by the companies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lyft cars are distinguished by the large pink mustache normally displayed on the front of the vehicle.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This sector is actually even more crowded as companies including RelayRides, Wheelz, Getaround and Flywheel all present variations on the theme. Flywheel works directly with the taxi companies, whereas the others are often seen as disrupters of the taxi industry.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The California PUC has been investigating some of the car-sharing companies and is rewriting its rules governing their operations in the state.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>NSA Data Collection Update\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Google’s Chief Legal Officer David Drummond \u003ca href=\"http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2013/06/asking-us-government-to-allow-google-to.html\">published\u003c/a> his letter to the U.S. attorney general and the FBI director on the corporate blog complaining, “Assertions in the press that our compliance with these requests gives the U.S. government unfettered access to our users’ data are simply untrue. However, government nondisclosure obligations regarding the number of FISA national security requests that Google receives, as well as the number of accounts covered by those requests, fuel that speculation.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Drummond asked to be able to publish in its Transparency Report the “aggregate numbers of national security requests, including FISA disclosures — in terms of both the number we receive and their scope. Google’s numbers would clearly show that our compliance with these requests falls far short of the claims being made. Google has nothing to hide.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, an array of advocacy groups has been organizing opposition to the government’s massive data collection effort. Hosted by Mozilla, the browser company, a website called “\u003ca href=\"http://thenextweb.com/insider/2013/06/13/stop-watching-us-a-group-opposed-to-nsa-surveillance-scorches-past-100000-signatures/\">Stop Watching Us\u003c/a>” gathered more than 100,000 signatures in the first 48 hours after it launched.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The revelations about the National Security Agency’s surveillance apparatus, if true, represent a stunning abuse of our basic rights,” the site said. “We demand the U.S. Congress reveal the full extent of the NSA’s spying programs.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>KQED News’s Stephanie Martin \u003ca href=\"I%20don%E2%80%99t%20think%20we%20really%20have%20a%20clear%20view%20of%20where%20the%20public%20is%20on%20this%20yet.%20The%20numbers%20are%20quite%20close,%20and%20the%20number%20that%E2%80%99s%20being%20cited%20as%20a%20majority%20is%20really%20focused%20on%20the%20part%20about%20surveillance%20of%20telephone%20conversations.%20But%20a%20majority%20of%20those%20who%20were%20polled%20said%20they%20are%20not%20comfortable%20with%20their%20online%20communications%20being%20monitored.%20I%20think%20when%20people%20learn%20the%20facts%20they%20will%20be%20outraged,%20and%20this%20is%20not%20something%20that%20they%E2%80%99re%20going%20to%20be%20comfortable%20with.\">asked\u003c/a> Mozilla’s privacy and public policy leader Alex Fowler, who helped spearhead the project, about research indicating most Americans are not overly concerned about the surveillance program.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I don’t think we really have a clear view of where the public is on this yet,” Fowler stated. “The numbers are quite close, and the number that’s being cited as a majority is really focused on the part about surveillance of telephone conversations. But a majority of those who were polled said they are not comfortable with their online communications being monitored. I think when people learn the facts they will be outraged, and this is not something that they’re going to be comfortable with.”\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"info": "Possible is hosted by entrepreneur Reid Hoffman and writer Aria Finger. Together in Possible, Hoffman and Finger lead enlightening discussions about building a brighter collective future. The show features interviews with visionary guests like Trevor Noah, Sam Altman and Janette Sadik-Khan. Possible paints an optimistic portrait of the world we can create through science, policy, business, art and our shared humanity. It asks: What if everything goes right for once? How can we get there? Each episode also includes a short fiction story generated by advanced AI GPT-4, serving as a thought-provoking springboard to speculate how humanity could leverage technology for good.",
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"soldout": {
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