Broward County Commissioners are slated to vote Tuesday on whether to allow ride-sharing apps Uber and Lyft to operate in the county.
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Uber is coming back to Broward County.
County commissioners began dismantling the driver-for-hire law, making it more to Uber’s liking, at a public hearing September 17.
What kinds of criminals can drive for Uber, or Lyft, or a taxi?
The County Commission voted 6-2 Tuesday to pass an ordinance that would bring Uber back to the area from where it ceased operations July 31.
“The millstone has been lifted off our collective necks”, Mayor Tim Ryan said just before concluding the meeting. Commissioners Lois Wexler, Barbara Sharief and Dale V.C. Holness voted against the ordinance.
Wexler also asked about instituting a temporary deal “like they have done in Palm Beach County” while everything’s worked out. This includes fingerprinting background checks and having the county itself handle them.
The decision comes after commissioners gave an amendment the initial OK on September 1.
Miami-Dade has no rules and has given out more than $2.7 million in fines; it likely won’t get to the issue before the new year. Uber’s Theunissen said Uber checks state and federal databases, and has a list of transgressions that are lifelong disqualifiers, such as murder.
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“One of the sticking points in Uber’s recent negotiations with Broward was preventing ex-convicts released from prison during the past seven years from driving”, Who’s Driving You? spokeswoman Rebecca Walls said in a statement to Local 10 News. “This common sense request by Broward reveals a key flaw concerning Uber’s private background checks. Have a heart for us”.
