Uber and Lyft drivers will be arrested: Key West Police

BY PRU SOWERS

KONK LIFE STAFF WRITER

 

Popular although unlicensed Uber and Lyft taxi drivers in Key West have been put on notice: pick up a fare and pick up a fine.

Beginning July 1, Key West Police will arrest any Uber or Lyft drivers caught picking up passengers, subjecting drivers to a possible $500 fine and/or 60 days in jail. Alyson Crean, police department spokesperson, said the city has an ordinance that prohibits independent taxi drivers who do not have a city vehicle-for-hire license.

“For several months, the city has attempted to inform the community that it provides only 56 such licenses, all of which have been issued,” Crean said in a press release issued June 30. “Despite warnings and an awareness campaign, complaints continue to roll in that these illegal vehicles for hire are running in the city.”

Key West City Manager Jim Scholl spoke with lawyers for Uber on June 30 and said although he had provided documentation showing Uber drivers were illegal in Key West, the company has not stopped service in the Florida Keys. Uber attorneys called him, Scholl said, to argue it is “bad practice” to arrest its drivers.

“Despite court findings against drivers, Uber continues to operate in violation of the City Code,” Scholl said. “We need to increase the consequence to compel Uber to comply. Until such time that the Code is amended, which is possible if UBER chooses to work with us, we are responsible to respond to complaints and enforce the code appropriately.”

So far, police have issued two summonses to Uber drivers since December, although neither man was arrested. After receiving multiple complaints from licensed taxi drivers, two Key West Police officers conducted a sting operation early this year using the Uber smart-phone app and posing as potential passengers. Two unlicensed drivers were nabbed and each given a summons to appear in court.

“It’s really about insurance,” Crean said in a telephone interview, referring to Uber and other car services that are not licensed. “There is no way to ensure the city is not held accountable for an accident on our public streets.”

Uber ride fares in the Florida Keys start with a $4 drop charge, then 20 cents per minute or $1.80 a mile, with an $8 minimum per ride. Licensed taxi fares in Key West have a drop charge of $2.75 for the first one-fifth of a mile, then 60 cents for each additional one-fifth.

The crackdown on Uber and Lyft is the latest example of city officials trying to keep unlicensed providers from entering the local tourism market. Key West code officials recently forced Airbnb, the online service that matches local property owners with vacationers looking for an inexpensive place to stay, to stop advertising in the Florida Keys. Any weekly, daily or monthly vacation rentals in Key West require a license and the Airbnb properties did not have the necessary legal authorization.

In addition, the Key West Code Compliance Special Magistrate last month imposed a $20,000 fine on a local property owner who had been advertising his Riviera Drive home on Internet sites such as HomeAway.com and VRBO.com, where homeowners connect directly with vacationers.

Key West licensing officials are facing some pushback, however, over the way the city issues taxi licenses. The city currently has 56 taxi licenses outstanding and has not granted a new license in the past 25 years. That has led a new taxi company, ADA Twenty-Four Hours Plus, LLC, to sue the city last year, alleging its taxi licensing regulations put the company out of business before it could pick up its first passenger. A state court refused to dismiss the case in a May 15th ruling.

The lawsuit claims the city violated state antitrust laws by creating new regulations that only allow existing, licensed taxi companies to offer handicapped-accessible cabs that can be hailed on the street and do not require a pick-up reservation.

“The existing vehicle-for-hire licenses, permits and agreements protect the existing licensees from competition and create monopoly power,” according to the lawsuit, filed by attorney Ralf Brookes. “The exclusive agreements with existing licensees resulted in the exclusion of plaintiff from the market.”

 

 

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