Uber may have screwed itself by using self-driving SUVs

THERE’S A BIG—LITERALLY—REASON the Uber robo-cars zipping around Pittsburgh aren’t Smart Cars. The Volvo XC90 luxury SUVs making their groundbreaking foray into the future of transportation offer plenty of space for passengers, engineers, and, of course, tons of computer equipment and other gear.

But by choosing SUVs, Uber may have driven itself out of a loophole that allows taxi companies to avoid costly American with Disabilities Act requirements—a shift that could require the company to make its self-driving cars wheelchair accessible, adding thousands of dollars to the cost of every autonomous vehicle it puts on the road.

In the past, Uber has argued that it is an app, not a transportation service, which exempts it from ADA rules governing taxis. But going driverless hobbles that argument, says Bryan Casey, an independent researcher and student at Stanford Law School who makes his case in Stanford Law Review. “If [Uber] deploys autonomous vehicles that provide a taxi service without any independent contractor drivers,” Casey says, “that defense of, ‘We’re just a platform,’ becomes even more tenuous.”

As the hazy regulations stand, it’s unclear whether self-driving cars subject Uber to accessibility laws. But the company has a unique chance to use the law to its advantage, delivering on the promise of autonomous cars while providing unprecedented transportation opportunities to the 31 million Americans with mobility-related disabilities.

In the years since Congress passed the Americans with Disabilities Act in 1990, taxi companies have used the letter of the law to avoid making their vans, minivans, and SUVs wheelchair accessible. (This is not heartlessness: Adding a ramp or lift to a taxi can cost more than $10,000.) The ADA exempts cab companies from accessibility requirements unless they use “new van[s] with a seating capacity of less than eight passengers, including the driver.” And so these folks buy used vans. Voila, they’re legal.

Ah. But Uber most definitely is buying new Volvo SUVs for most of its autonomous services. (The company also has a small number of Ford Fusion Hybrid sedans.) Thus: What is a “van”?

veya_victaous wrote:good
Uber is just a bunch of dicks trying to get out of the established controls and and safety measures that gives the consumer a Safe and reliable taxi service.

eddie wrote:The list is endless Syl. It's the fact they're not regulated to the same degree as PH cars and in London, they are picking trade up from the streets (breaking the law), they drive down one-way streets the wrong way, they have an awful rep for stealing and assaulting people (you only need to google and you'll see loads!).

The playing field with uber and other PH vehicles and black taxis is not a level one, hence the demos all over the world.

Uber are taking a backhander and making themselves very rich. The uber drivers though, are treated like shit and their tweets will often say they've been driving for over 24 hours per shift.

Syl wrote:

eddie wrote:The list is endless Syl. It's the fact they're not regulated to the same degree as PH cars and in London, they are picking trade up from the streets (breaking the law), they drive down one-way streets the wrong way, they have an awful rep for stealing and assaulting people (you only need to google and you'll see loads!).

The playing field with uber and other PH vehicles and black taxis is not a level one, hence the demos all over the world.

Uber are taking a backhander and making themselves very rich. The uber drivers though, are treated like shit and their tweets will often say they've been driving for over 24 hours per shift.

Thanks Eddie, I know there must be a reason they are so unpopular.
Don't they do a knowledge like hackney cab drivers, and it  sounds like they are not properly CRB checked if they are employing thugs.
We had a huge problem here with private hire picking up on the streets at one time....thankfully it's all in the past for us now.
Taxi owning and driving isn't the same as it was a few years ago.

eddie wrote:

Syl wrote:

Thanks Eddie, I know there must be a reason they are so unpopular.
Don't they do a knowledge like hackney cab drivers, and it  sounds like they are not properly CRB checked if they are employing thugs.
We had a huge problem here with private hire picking up on the streets at one time....thankfully it's all in the past for us now.
Taxi owning and driving isn't the same as it was a few years ago.

No knowledge - they use sat navy and in London, sat navy are not the best tool to get around. No CRB checks and it shows been known for one or more drivers to use the same car.
People have been ripped off consistently via the credit card machines too. It's all been in the news.

Syl wrote:

eddie wrote:

Syl wrote:

Thanks Eddie, I know there must be a reason they are so unpopular.
Don't they do a knowledge like hackney cab drivers, and it  sounds like they are not properly CRB checked if they are employing thugs.
We had a huge problem here with private hire picking up on the streets at one time....thankfully it's all in the past for us now.
Taxi owning and driving isn't the same as it was a few years ago.

No knowledge - they use sat navy and in London, sat navy are not the best tool to get around. No CRB checks and it shows been known for one or more drivers to use the same car.
People have been ripped off consistently via the credit card machines too. It's all been in the news.

I feel for the drivers who have invested their money in buying cabs and plates then.

eddie wrote:

Syl wrote:

I feel for the drivers who have invested their money in buying cabs and plates then.

The government let them down badly.

Syl wrote:

eddie wrote:

Syl wrote:

I feel for the drivers who have invested their money in buying cabs and plates then.

The government let them down badly.

I think local governments let hackney cab drivers down for years. Many bought their cabs and plates and really struggled to do so, then local councils decided to bring out free plates for selected applicants. Some were new drivers some sold them within a few months and made a hefty profit......I think it was a case of it's not what you know it's who you know.

eddie wrote:

Syl wrote:

I think local governments let hackney cab drivers down for years. Many bought their cabs and plates and really struggled to do so, then local councils decided to bring out free plates for selected applicants. Some were new drivers some sold them within a few months and made a hefty profit......I think it was a case of it's not what you know it's who you know.

Exactly that. I have a feeling that they want London taxi drivers phased out.

eddie wrote:I think London cabbies got greedy TBH and the government couldn't regulate their taxes as all jobs were cash....so they only paid the tax on what they could get away with.

Syl wrote:

eddie wrote:I think London cabbies got greedy TBH and the government couldn't regulate their taxes as all jobs were cash....so they only paid the tax on what they could get away with.

My OH had an accountant to do all that Eddie....he was very helpful.

nicko wrote:Can't understand why you would want a self- driving car.   One of the joys of driving is gear changing at the right time and being in control of YOUR car.

I drive an automatic by the way

nicko wrote:Can't understand why you would want a self- driving car.   One of the joys of driving is gear changing at the right time and being in control of YOUR car.

I drive an automatic by the way