By Christie Duffy
Correspondent
Hailing an Uber in Hoboken can take less than a minute.
But once inside, you may be running a risk.
Uber drivers and riders say they’ve heard of colleagues being ticketed and passengers pushed out.
“I took an Uber a couple weeks ago in the Morristown area and the guy said, ‘Get in the front seat because it looks like we’re driving as friends and if you’re in the backseat they might pull me over,'” said Sam Fanburg.
“I have seen them pull someone over, take the client out of their car and I ended up picking up that client a block away,” said Uber driver Jiovany Arroyo.
Arroyo says he saw that happen in Hoboken, where the city has expressed concern over ride sharing services lacking proper licensing, insurance and background checks. But Arroyo isn’t too worried about being ticketed.
“Uber foots the bill for us. They’re very good that way,” Arroyo said. “The first one [ticket] is $500. After that it goes up.”
State lawmakers say ride sharing services like Uber currently fall in a regulatory black hole. Assemblyman Raj Mukherji is sponsoring a bill that would set new standards for ride sharing services in New Jersey.
“Ride share services like Uber and Lyft would be allowed to operate but they would have to meet minimum insurance requirements, they would have to make sure there were safety inspections conducted on the vehicles, and they would also do criminal background checks on these drivers,” Mukherji said.
The mayor of Hoboken, Dawn Zimmer, is urging for the bill to be passed, after writing for regulations in April. She stated today, “This new legislation addresses my concerns by ensuring that all drivers have safe driving and background records and proper levels of insurance in case of accidents.”
Uber did not respond to our request for comment today. But despite challenges the company is reportedly facing in San Francisco, New York and Europe in recent months, the ride sharing app has a strong following.
Some took it to social media to air their concerns over the crackdown on Uber drivers. Some say they like the service so much they would pay double. Others say they’ll never go back to the yellow cab service.
“I like it because you can see exactly when the guy is gonna come to you,” Fanburg said.
While drivers on both sides of the debate say they don’t like the idea of regulating the ride sharing industry.
“Then we’re gonna have to have commercial insurance and the insurance is gonna be a lot more expensive for the drivers and the money is not the same. We’re not gonna be bringing home the same take home as we are now,” Arroyo said.
“They pass that law, there is gonna be another 40 to 50 cars. Not gonna be enough business for us,” said taxi driver Emilio Cruz.