OPINION

COMMENTARY: Evesham shouldn’t choose Uber

JEFFREY M. SHANKER

Reducing drunk driving and promoting responsible decision-making is a cause that all government officials, private companies and citizens can support. However, the recent announcement of a program in Evesham to provide free rides from an unregulated Transportation Network Company, or TNC, like Uber, sends the wrong message.

TNCs do not follow New Jersey’s established public safety rules and regulations that taxi and limousine companies have abided by for decades. Take, for instance a driver with Uber. An Uber driver does not submit to a fingerprint background check performed by the New Jersey State Police. A fingerprint background check is critically important because it provides a complete criminal profile of a job applicant.

An Uber driver also lacks a medical fitness evaluation, which ensures that the driver doesn’t have a pre-existing medical condition or history that may interfere with his or her ability to operate a motor vehicle for hire. A professional for-hire driver has historically been held to a higher standard intended to prevent harm or negligence to passengers.

COMMENTARY: Uber policies keep riders safe

A driver with Uber is also not tested for drugs and alcohol. An Uber driver’s vehicle is not registered commercially to provide for-hire transportation and adequate commercial insurance may not be in place to protect drivers, passengers and other motorists on the road in case an accident occurs.

Because these protections are not in place, numerous issues have occurred, the most heinous of which have been published stories of passengers alleging physical and sexual assault by Uber drivers in cities across the country and in the state of New Jersey.

For-hire transportation companies play an important role in ensuring there are options for intoxicated individuals to avoid getting behind the wheel and becoming a danger to themselves and others. However, when people who have had too much to drink turn to a for-hire driver, they should have an expectation that they are protected by the rules and regulations that all other for-hire drivers and companies abide by.

Unfortunately, TNC’s like Uber are fighting against these common-sense regulations intended to protect and ensure public safety.

Evesham is unquestionably right to want to keep drunk drivers off the road, but it shouldn’t risk the safety of those who’ve had too much to drink by pushing them into cars that may not have proper insurance, haven’t passed any safety inspections and are driven by people whose backgrounds haven’t been vetted.

Taxis, shuttles, car services and limousine companies are the smarter, safer choice if they really want to protect their residents.

Jeffrey M. Shanker is president of the Limousine Association of New Jersey.