Bay Area Cities Consider Rideshare Tax On Uber, Lyft (arstechnica.com)

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: A local city council member is beginning to float the idea of taxing ridehailing companies like Uber and Lyft as a possible way to raise millions of dollars and help pay for local public transportation and infrastructure improvements. If the effort is successful, Oakland could become the first city in California -- Uber and Lyft's home state -- to impose such a tax. However, it's not clear whether Oakland or any other city in the Golden State has the authority to do so under current state rules. Councilwoman Rebecca Kaplan told the East Bay Express that she wants the city council to put forward a ballot measure that would tax such rides. A similar proposal in nearby San Francisco, projecting a fee of $0.20 to $1 per ride, would allow the city to collect an estimated $12.5 to $62.5 million annually. However, an October 2017 city analysis noted that San Francisco "cannot initiate locally without state authorizing legislation" and that the fee "may disproportionately impact lower-income households."

Comments

Tax them as taxis

[DogDude]

Why not just regulate and tax them as taxi services... since they *are* taxi services? I understand times change, but Uber and Lyft are really no different than taxis, other than the drivers get paid shit.

Re:Tax them as taxis

[DogDude]

The practicality and costs of implementation and ongoing costs versus ridership/fares of mass transit systems under such conditions becomes prohibitive, impractical, and uneconomic.

And again, this statement is not a fact, but an opinion held by a lot of Americans. That's why we don't have mass transit.

The US could easily afford to do it. Instead, people would rather spend (waste) our money on endless wars and an ever growing military.

What makes you think taxi drivers are paid more?

[SuperKendall]

Taxi drivers are paid less than uber drivers, especially in San Francisco, the area in question (Uber drivers make about $23.87/hour, compared to $12.96 for taxi drivers).

Part of that is the regulations, so I guess you want poor people to earn even less money by making sure Uber drivers are paid as poorly. Please justify your inherently asshole position to the rest of the world.

Re:This is backwards.

[SNRatio]

Those 40 people on the bus or 200 on the train could be packed in bumper to bumper in front of your car during your commute and then taking every parking space near your destination. If you use a car in an urban area you definitely benefit from other people using public transportation. And if you live in a rural area - urbanites are subsidizing your roads a lot more than you are subsidizing their public transportation.