Uber in Trinidad and Tobago - TO PAUSE OPERATION May 30 2018

[Daran]

^^^ Probably because the other insurance companies just stress you out!

Probably those were the only companies to respond. Which when it comes to claims, is pretty true.

[MaxPower]

The Uber in Trinidad will definitely not be for sufferers...

[Slartibartfast]

​
**Please note only insurances from the following companies will be accepted:​
Guardian General
COLFIRE
TATIL
Maritime
Sagicor

but that disqualifies almost all PH drivers

Looks to see if Nagico and Bankers on the list...

Noice!!!

[Duane 3NE 2NR]

In case of an accident, what happens? Most companies have a clause which states the vehicle is not to be used for hire or reward. I have seen where companies found out that the car was being rented out ,and they refused to pay claims.

Well I guess the insurance companies will have to make a statement about it.

Passenger pays Uber who pays the driver later. For the trip the driver is just giving the passenger a drop.

A company that has a driver to drop someone, be it a customer or an employee or a contractor etc somewhere does not need a H license vehicle, correct?
Maybe that's the case with Uber here?

[Daran]

In case of an accident, what happens? Most companies have a clause which states the vehicle is not to be used for hire or reward. I have seen where companies found out that the car was being rented out ,and they refused to pay claims.

Well I guess the insurance companies will have to make a statement about it.

Passenger pays Uber who pays the driver later. For the trip the driver is just giving the passenger a drop.

A company that has a driver to drop someone, be it a customer or an employee or a contractor etc somewhere does not need a H license vehicle, correct?
Maybe that's the case with Uber here?

I agree. This does some like one of those vague lines that would need to be settled in court if a dispute were to arise.

[hustla_ambition101]

​
**Please note only insurances from the following companies will be accepted:​
Guardian General
COLFIRE
TATIL
Maritime
Sagicor

but that disqualifies almost all PH drivers

why do you say that? Also that's a pretty limited list I wonder how they arrived at those companies.

Most ph and work to own have nagico, icwi, motor one and other crap third party insurance

http://www.looptt.com/content/transport-minister-uber-no-one-has-approached-me

Hinds has made his appearance in the mix

[eliteauto]

lol @ PH driver's insurance info, tuner CSI ftw yes

[hustla_ambition101]

lite..........the paperwork on my desk would show I deal with them and other errant drivers a lot. people would be surprised at the amount of drivers who on the road with no insurance and even no dp

[eliteauto]

I agree with you that there are errant drivers but that is not limited to PH drivers the way some would suggest, similarly to suggest that PH drivers use lower level insurance firms as a rule is also incorrect, many PH and especially work to own car owners invest large sums of money in vehicles some in the hundreds of thousands and I know quite a few who not only use top tier insurers with fully comp insurance but also have their own brokers to handle their insurance. Btw some of those who use the lower level insurance do so simply because they have the cash to repair their vehicles themselves, for all the hustlers you meet there are many who treat it like a business

[pugboy]

The concern most ppl have is not with them fixing their own car
It is with fixing the third party who they bounce
Pray u never get bounce by a capital, motorone or bl

[2WNBoost]

Drivers may get letters like this from their bank:

COMMINGLING OF FUNDS

Dear

On occasion, business owners process business transactions through their personal bank accounts. This practice is referred to as the commingling of funds. Such practice allows for the misrepresentation or concealment of a business’ true statement of affairs, as required by the tax authorities and is prosecutable under the laws of Trinidad and Tobago.

Best practice dictates that personal and business funds are properly separated and accounted for.

Our Bank is prohibited by law from offering any products or services to customers that facilitate the commingling of funds. As such, the commingling of funds is prohibited. All proceeds derived from business activities must be deposited to business accounts only. This policy is applicable to Business (Commercial or Corporate) Accounts including Sole Trader Accounts and Partnership Accounts.

As part of a routine review of accounts, we have noted some concerns in respect of the operations of the captioned account(s) and wish to discuss same with you. More specifically, we will discuss the need for a more appropriate account to satisfy your requirements based on the types of transactions that we have observed on the account (s). Our discussions will ensure that you manage your costs while appropriately facilitating your service requirements.

We invite you to come in to speak with the undersigned by Date (insert 5 working days) to discuss this matter and look forward to your visit.

Thank you for your cooperation.

[liquidmetal]

sigh...wonder if they could just pay me in bitcoin to avoid the banks being up in my scene looking for higher monthly fees...

[eliteauto]

would a driver be considered a business owner for banking purposes?

[pugboy]

the banks only can kick a fuss if they know you are also the owner of a business
eg eliteauto ltd but they see regular pattern of funds going in your personal account
better open the uber acct in another bank

[V2NR 3.0]

So after all the talk - is anyone in here actually part of the service ? I am interested to find out first hand experiences.

[Duane 3NE 2NR]

https://www.uber.com/cities/port-of-spain/

[desifemlove]

do they also have metered rates?

[Duane 3NE 2NR]

Dunno - any pickup location and delimitation I enter I get "Sorry, we’re unable to provide a fare estimate for that trip."

[Slartibartfast]

Uber drivers win key employment case

Uber drivers have won the right to be classed as workers rather than self-employed.
The ruling by a London employment tribunal means drivers for the ride-hailing app will be entitled to holiday pay, paid rest breaks and the national minimum wage....

...Two drivers, James Farrar and Yaseen Aslam, argued that their actions were controlled by Uber, which meant they were employed by the firm

It looks like a precedent is being set to classify uber drivers as employees and not self employed. I hope this makes things simpler for Uber drivers.

[88sins]

UK laws don't really apply here, but if those here want the same classification I hope they realize that as employees Uber would then be responsible for deducting & paying their PAYE, NIS & H/S

[sMASH]

Anddd u would not be 'giving someone a drop', it would be service of a taxi company.

Can the uber drivers refuse to offer services to certain areas or times? Or are they obligated to work on a contract?

[Slartibartfast]

I know the UK law doesn't apply but the points made to win that case has set a precedent to be used to win future similar cases around the world.

I'm not a lawyer so take what I say with a pinch of salt.

[Chimera]

It's always up to an uber Driver to accept a specific job. They can refuse based on where the person wants to go or where the pickup is

[rspann]

I getting real jones with this insurance info.

[V2NR 3.0]

One more time, anyone in here actually start making money from Uber ?

[2WNBoost]

Uber driver charged with raping unconscious teen
The ride-hailing company is seeing a steady stream of sexual-assault allegations against its drivers.
by Dara Kerr
November 10, 2016 12:59 PM PST
https://www.cnet.com/news/uber-driver-rape-unconscious-teen/

Police charged an Uber driver Wednesday with raping an unconscious teen girl in Laguna Beach, California. Samer Alaaeldin Mahran, 23, was charged with four felony counts of sexual assault and faces a maximum sentence of 28 years in state prison.

This incident is far from isolated. Dozens of alleged sexual assaults by drivers for the ride-hailing service have been reported over the past year. Another Uber driver was charged with raping a minor in Massachusetts in August and a woman in Palo Alto, California, claims to have been groped and stalked by her Uber driver last week.

Police said the assault in Laguna Beach took place early Saturday morning after a family member for the 17-year-old girl, whose name isn't being released, hailed an Uber to get her home. Mahran picked her up but did not drive to her destination, according to police.

When the girl's family members grew worried, they used Uber's in-app tracking feature to locate the vehicle. They reportedly found Mahran sexually assaulting the girl in the backseat of his car. The girl was intoxicated and unconscious, police said. Mahran reportedly fled the scene and police later arrested him at his apartment in Huntington Beach, California.

"We're devastated by what this family has gone through and our hearts are with them," an Uber spokeswoman said in an email. "We'll continue working with police to support the investigation and proceedings. The individual has been permanently barred from the app."

A handful of states, including California and Texas, have launched investigations into the ride-hailing service, claiming it routinely fails to adequately screen drivers and has hired drivers with criminal histories. Uber says it puts all potential US drivers through commercial background checks and rejects anyone who has a history of violent crimes, sexual offenses, gun-related violations or resisting arrest. Unlike most taxi companies, however, Uber doesn't require fingerprint background checks.

Mahran reportedly passed Uber's background checks. He was released from jail on Wednesday on a $100,000 bond and is scheduled for an arraignment in early December.

[desifemlove]

even now people does get rob, in H and PH.

they need to flesh this out more, more PR, more consultations, more transparency. don't get the hush-hush/soft launch.

[Duane 3NE 2NR]

The difference with PH and H here though is that Uber can be tracked and a record is kept so the perpetrator is caught.

[Slartibartfast]

Agreed. I'm sure that has happened in Trinidad with PH drivers already where the driver got away.

[2WNBoost]

https://www.cnet.com/roadshow/news/did-uber-drivers-passengers-just-lose-the-right-to-sue/

Uber gently reminds users they've waived the right to sue
An update to Uber's terms and conditions includes a whole subsection waiving the right to sue in favor of arbitration.

If you become involved in a situation with Uber that might warrant suing, you may have waived your right to sue in favor of arbitration, according to an update to Uber's terms and conditions.

Uber updated its terms and conditions on Monday, adding in a very large wall of text regarding arbitration: "By agreeing to the Terms, you agree that you are required to resolve any claim that you may have against Uber on an individual basis in arbitration, as set forth in this Arbitration Agreement."

It continues: "This will preclude you from bringing any class, collective, or representative action against Uber, and also preclude you from participating in or recovering relief under any current or future class, collective, consolidated, or representative action brought against Uber by someone else." This includes not only passengers of Uber's traditional services, but also users of UberEats and other offshoots.

The terms weren't announced prior to the day they were released. If somebody doesn't read the new terms today, tough tomatoes, he or she is still bound to the words therein. A quick, unscientific poll of CNET editors found that none received an email regarding the updated terms and conditions prior to November 21.

The timing makes this somewhat shady. Uber is currently the defendant in multiple class action and individual lawsuits. Some involve the classification of drivers as either independent contractors, and others involve sexual assault. Adding an arbitration clause could keep future similar issues from making it to court.

Arbitration is a type of dispute resolution that takes place outside the traditional court system. A group -- in this case, the American Arbitration Association -- fields a group of arbitrators who review evidence and subsequently impose decisions. Arbitration does not always require a hearing where both parties are present. Some decisions are made based on the evidence alone.

"The arbitration agreement is not new -- previous versions of the rider Terms have always had some form of class waiver," Uber said in an email. "We expanded the arbitration provision overall to make it more clear and easy to read."

Waiving your right to sue in favor of arbitration is a totally legal thing to do, so long as users agree to those terms, which in the case of Uber means simply using the service. The Electronic Frontier Foundation doesn't like forced arbitration, as there isn't really room for negotiation.

First published Nov. 21, 4.56 p.m. ET.

Update, 6:17 p.m. ET: Added Uber's comment.