Politics & Government
Plaia: Portsmouth Should Shut Down UBER X Service
The rideshare company continues to claim special status because it uses a computer program to connect prospective customers with drivers
Representing client Great Bay Taxi in pleadings filed Friday in Rockingham County Superior Court, attorney and public safety advocate Joe Plaia again makes the case that the City of Portsmouth’s failure to regulate Uber X in the same way that it does Great Bay Taxi is harming this well-established local business:
“The influx of an unlimited amount of UBER X drivers into the small Portsmouth market, by not having to comply with the same regulations has threatened the survival of Great Bay Taxi and the entire taxi industry in the City of Portsmouth. GBT (Great Bay Taxi) has lost enough revenue from weekend fares that it has been required to remove two vehicles from its fleet because they can no longer afford to pay the commercial insurance for those vehicles.”
Uber’s rapid expansion has been marked by their drivers committing crimes against their passengers. The crimes range from assaults, thefts, sexual assaults, kidnapping and rape. The concern is so great that many other states are taking action to ensure Uber is either banned in their jurisdiction or subject to the same regulations other taxi companies abide by. In addition, Uber drivers have also been in traffic accidents that have resulted in injuries to their passengers, and in one case the death of a six year-old girl.
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A state legislative committee, created in response to public safety concerns surrounding Uber, will begin hearings later in the summer.
ABOUT JOE: Joe Plaia served as a Marine Military Police Officer before graduating Magna Cum Laude from the John Jay College of Criminal Justice. Since graduating from what is now the UNH School of Law, he has worked on every side of the criminal justice system from acting as a public defender, to serving as a prosecutor for the New Hampshire State Police in Rockingham and Strafford Counties, to his current post adjudicating cases as chief hearings officer for the New Hampshire Liquor Commission. At every turn in his career, from patrolling a post in marine uniform, to determining if bar owners are doing what they should to keep their patrons and the public safe, he has stayed focused on public safety. 
