After debating the state of Uber in Broward County for seven hours Thursday, commissioners couldn't come to a definitive agreement on a new set of regulations for the ride-sharing company and postponed a final vote for next month.
Taxi cab company and Uber
Earlier this month, commissioners agreed to discuss allowing Uber to operate under a Level I background check, as opposed to Level II, which would require their background checks to be fingerprint-based and would have to go through the county first.
Uber has been at odds with Broward officials, as well as Palm
But implementing the new law hit a snag Thursday night as commissioners debated over specifics.
Along with the background-check issue, the county couldn't agree on how to handle part of the law that says Uber can't hire felons released from prison in the past seven years.
With the debate going on all night, commissioners agreed to postpone the vote until October 13.
Still, opponents of Uber are not happy and are calling on commissioners not to give
“Broward County is caving to Uber’s demands by pointing to consumer demand. Protecting public safety involves considering the entire community — not just consumers," Dave Sutton, a spokesman who represents taxi and limousine firms, tells New Times.
"The people killed by Uber vehicles have been pedestrians — not customers," added Sutton, who authored a public safety campaign on behalf of the Taxicab, Limousine & Paratransit Association titled Who’s Driving You?
During the meeting, Broward County Commissioner Barbara Sharief echoed those sentiments, telling Uber drivers in attendance, "I hate to tell you, but you can be personally sued, and you can be liable for that, and that is what the County Commission is trying to prevent."
Uber has long said that the regulations imposed on it would cripple the way the ride-sharing company conducts business in a community that has embraced it.
"The ordinance is very detrimental to our ability to continue providing safe, reliable rides and economic opportunity the residents of Broward County have come to expect," Uber spokesperson Kaitlin
At least one commissioner, Stacy Ritter, expressed her concern that the lack of agreement on a specific provision may have all but killed chances of Uber's ever returning to the
I am pretty sure 5 of my colleagues just killed @Uber coming back to Broward. I wasn't one of them and am @Uber concerned. Hope I am wrong
— Stacy Ritter (@stacyritter) September 18, 2015
So that last amendment was a deal breaker.@Uber_Miami won't be back in Broward unless one of my colleagues changes his/her vote.
— Stacy Ritter (@stacyritter) September 18, 2015
The amendment in question is a removal of Uber being required to have vehicles inspected by county-approved mechanics, along with vehicles that are six years or older to be inspected twice a year. Uber also wants to not be prohibited from hiring ex-convicts released from prison in the past seven years. Ritter, along with Martin Kiar, Mark Bogen, and Chop LaMarca, voted to remove the prohibition but fell one vote short of the majority, according to the The idea behind the county's original regulations was to require local, state, and national criminal records of anyone applying for
As part of the new, more lax measure, the commissioners are asking Uber to pay a percentage of its revenue to the county from fares made at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport and Port Everglades, which is a rule the
Meanwhile, cab-company representatives are threatening to pursue legal action if Uber is allowed to operate in Broward under the new lax laws.