That's a misleading article.<p>For example, in Austin, Ann Kitchen's proposal passed 9-2 and fingerprints are required. Austin already had horse-and-buggy rides for the tourists so relabeling it was a funny tactic but not substantive. What's more, Uber/Lyft lost the fight over fingerprints in Houston and San Antonio.<p>Overall, it looks less like a giant coup and more like responsible regulation change to protect public safety.<p>Uber/Lyft are effectively saying is that so many of their drivers lie about their names because they have minor criminal records that Uber/Lyft can't recruit enough drivers if they have to do effective background checks. That's not going to fly.<p><a href="http://www.mystatesman.com/news/news/local/whats-next-for-uber-lyft-and-austins-fingerprint-c/npnLg/" rel="nofollow">http://www.mystatesman.com/news/news/local/whats-next-for-ub...</a>
I suspect the next legal battle for Uber will be the drivers forming unions. It's happened here in Seattle (<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/15/technology/seattle-clears-the-way-for-uber-drivers-to-form-a-union.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/15/technology/seattle-clears-...</a>) and is already being challenged (<a href="http://www.geekwire.com/2016/u-s-chamber-of-commerce-calls-seattles-uber-union-law-illegal-hints-at-lawsuit/" rel="nofollow">http://www.geekwire.com/2016/u-s-chamber-of-commerce-calls-s...</a>).<p>Personally I'm all for them unionizing so they can get a fair wage and have some bargaining power, rather than being a bunch of individuals who have to take every change Uber makes, or leave.
That map seems highly inaccurate. Two of the cities I've worked in over the past year have anti-Uber legislation or enforcement and neither is on the map.<p>Portsmouth, NH made Uber illegal and even went so far as to have the police charge the most vocal critic of this policy for felony wiretapping (<a href="http://www.seacoastonline.com/article/20151106/NEWS/151109368" rel="nofollow">http://www.seacoastonline.com/article/20151106/NEWS/15110936...</a>).<p>In Philadelphia, the Parking Authority has gone after Uber, stopped/seized cars, and issued hundreds of thousands of dollars of fines.
Side observation: what is with the recent trend in clickbait headlines utilizing this notion of "hardly anyone noticed". I've certainly noticed an uptick in this phrase on a few stories just this week in the news cycle.<p>Did the reporter go door to door and ask if anyone noticed X? There have been many stories in the last year regarding Uber's regulatory woes and how the company is fighting back. Out of all the many recurring clickbait tactics, "hardly anyone noticed" has to be one that immediately raises the most red flags for me, not to mention how insulting it is.
Were Quartz holed up in Antarctica throughout 2015? Even on my side of the Pond, Uber's regulatory battles were well-reported, to say nothing of the stink from London's cab drivers and Transport for London.<p>A slightly disingenuous piece, IMO, considering the role of consumers in Uber's proactive approach to challenging the status quo.
what if Uber starts charging a tax on its competitors like Pablo Escobar charged his associates for getting rid of the extradition laws...plata o plomo<p>(I've been watching too much narcos)