[AllenChicago]

March 15, 2016

I received an e-mail today from Lyft. It says that due to "new rules" in Chicago, Uber and Lyft drivers who owe the city money, due to Parking Tickets, Red Light Cameras, Unpaid Tolls, School Zone Cameras, etc.. will be deactived at the end of May 2016.

When I click on the link in the e-mail that says "Clear My Vehicular Fees", it takes me to a Chicago ordinance which says that Lyft or Uber will be sending me a list of the fees I owe.

I don't recall having any tickets or moving violations in Chicago. But then, with today's sneaky cameras, you never know.

Has anyone else received this type of notice from either Lyft or Uber? I don't recall reading in this forum about any new rules out of Chicago, directing Lyft / Uber to deactivate drivers for unpaid fees.

-Allen

 

[UberKim]

March 15, 2016

I received an e-mail today from Lyft. It says that due to "new rules" in Chicago, Uber and Lyft drivers who owe the city money, due to Parking Tickets, Red Light Cameras, Unpaid Tolls, School Zone Cameras, etc.. will be deactived at the end of May 2016.

When I click on the link in the e-mail that says "Clear My Vehicular Fees", it takes me to a Chicago ordinance which says that Lyft or Uber will be sending me a list of the fees I owe.

I don't recall having any tickets or moving violations in Chicago. But then, with today's sneaky cameras, you never know.

Has anyone else received this type of notice from either Lyft or Uber? I don't recall reading in this forum about any new rules out of Chicago, directing Lyft / Uber to deactivate drivers for unpaid fees.

-Allen

The city council passed the Mayor's Budget ordinance which included rideshare access to the airports, increased ground transportation tax, $5 fees for access to and from 4 areas of Chicago (paid by customers) and a "debt verification " check by Uber and Lyft on their drivers. we have a 90 day "grace period" to become Chicago debt free (tickets, child support, etc.) or we get deactivated. Taxi drivers have had this for years when they renew their Chauffeur Licenses. I heard of one guy who was required to make a payment arrangement for $19,000 in unpaid parking tickets going back 17 years!

 

[UberKim]

Coming soon: Rideshare vehicle requirements to pay $4 MPEA "airport departure tax"!

 

[UberServant]

I read today that the city apparently is owed "millions" for unpaid Airport fee's. Well Uber is adding this onto a fare to and from the airports and deducting it from the driver, so the question is, is Uber not paying the city?

 

[seanD]

The city council passed the Mayor's Budget ordinance which included rideshare access to the airports, increased ground transportation tax, $5 fees for access to and from 4 areas of Chicago (paid by customers) and a "debt verification " check by Uber and Lyft on their drivers. we have a 90 day "grace period" to become Chicago debt free (tickets, child support, etc.) or we get deactivated. Taxi drivers have had this for years when they renew their Chauffeur Licenses. I heard of one guy who was required to make a payment arrangement for $19,000 in unpaid parking tickets going back 17 years!

That was back in October. Pretty sure the 90 day grace period is long done. I wonder if he was a new driver.

 

[AllenChicago]

if you're referring to me, I started driving Lyft on November 17th 2015. I do not drive Uber.

That was back in October. Pretty sure the 90 day grace period is long done. I wonder if he was a new driver.

 

[Jinxstone]

Coming soon: Rideshare vehicle requirements to pay $4 MPEA "airport departure tax"!

That's part of the deal that allowed Rideshare to pick up at the airport. The city now gets the fee for drop offs and pick ups. The rider pays it. You can see it included in the SRF in the trip breakdown.

 

[Body Politic]

Yeah, I got one of these notices too. Yet when I go to look up my tickets, every single one of them is paid up. So I guess now I get to fight the city over the supposedly unpaid paid ticket(s).

 

[AllenChicago]

Yeah, I got one of these notices too. Yet when I go to look up my tickets, every single one of them is paid up. So I guess now I get to fight the city over the supposedly unpaid paid ticket(s).

It will be interesting to see whose side Uber/Lyft is on. The city may take months to acknowledge that you paid your tickets. One guy in another section of the forum said that he remains DeActivated until everything is cleared up. This is B.S.. I'm going to e-mail support and ask when they're going to let me know what tickets are outstanding.

 

[jameshetfield]

I got that email as well. It's good and bad -- it'll create a big dent in your wallet if you've been holding off paying any tickets owed to the city. On the other hand, there are (probably numerous) Uber/Lyft drivers who will ignore the day of judgement and notice they cannot log onto the app. Hence, my gut tells me the number of drivers on the road will slightly decrease on weekends. Not such a bad thing considering every other car you see in the Loop, River North, or Financial district is branded with those horrible emblems.

 

[FinePixS2]

Uber & Lyft are responsible for paying the city since they deduct the amount from the rider, if the driver was responsible then it would have showed up just like the Toll which you are reimbursed.

 

[veblenrules]

Uber has been doing this for years. They agree to certain obligations to the local authorities and then they ignore them. Uber was supposed to remit the MPEA fees along with Ground Transportation Tax to the city. If the fees and taxes haven't been paid, it's on them. Just like they agreed to have "auditors" playing secret shopper in the cars and they were supposed to provide the city with weekly reports of any applicants who had city licenses suspended or revoked. Chickens coming home to roost.........

 

[Body Politic]

Uber has been doing this for years. They agree to certain obligations to the local authorities and then they ignore them. Uber was supposed to remit the MPEA fees along with Ground Transportation Tax to the city. If the fees and taxes haven't been paid, it's on them. Just like they agreed to have "auditors" playing secret shopper in the cars and they were supposed to provide the city with weekly reports of any applicants who had city licenses suspended or revoked. Chickens coming home to roost.........

This is a different issue altogether. What AllenChicago is talking about is if the driver him/herself has unpaid parking tickets, red light tickets, even stuff like unpaid water bills or property tax bills, etc. Anyone who owes the city any money for anything can be deactivated from rideshare platforms until they're paid up.

 

[chevyman]

I think uber will have no drivers on the street, lot of people owe the city

 

[Body Politic]

I think uber will have no drivers on the street, lot of people owe the city

Evidently I'm one of them but I have no idea how much or what for. You'd think the city would have sent me some kind of collection notice or something.

 

[Body Politic]

And think about how much sense this rule makes. "You owe the city money, so we're going to take away your source of income to make it even harder for you to pay up." I think maybe a garnishment arrangement would make more sense.

 

[AllenChicago]

This is a different issue altogether. What AllenChicago is talking about is if the driver him/herself has unpaid parking tickets, red light tickets, even stuff like unpaid water bills or property tax bills, etc. Anyone who owes the city any money for anything can be deactivated from rideshare platforms until they're paid up.

Here's the response I received from Lyft Support today. It's not very useful...

"Hi Allen,

Thanks for writing in about this. We understand that this maybe a mistake, however under Chicago law, Lyft is required to notify drivers of any outstanding debts to the City of Chicago, and the process to pay the outstanding fine. If you receive a notice from Lyft of an outstanding debt owed to the City of Chicago, you must resolve the issue with the City directly within 90 days or the City requires Lyft to remove you from the Lyft platform.

If you feel you received a notice in error, please contact the City directly. Unfortunately, Lyft is unable to assist you. You can contact the City's customer service team at one of the numbers below:

For Administrative Hearing fines: 312-747-4747
For Parking Tickets: 312-744-7275

Thank you for your patience and understanding. Let us know if you need anything else.

Best,

Nikko

Lyft Support Representative"


My next request to Lyft will be to find out what ticket(s) they're referring to. The document that the Lyft e-mail directed me to says that Lyft/Uber will let us know what fees/fines are responsible for the Driver Deactivation threat. Here's a link to that page document: https://lyft-assets.s3.amazonaws.co...&utm_source=ExactTarget&utm_campaign=82937307

 

[chevyman]

I haven't received anything from uber

 

[chitownXdriver]

I owe the city a good amount of money in red light and camera fees but I live in the burbs, haven't received any notice from Uber or lyft yet, let's see how long before they notice me

 

[AllenChicago]

I owe the city a good amount of money in red light and camera fees but I live in the burbs, haven't received any notice from Uber or lyft yet, let's see how long before they notice me

Re: Chicago Lyft-Uber Notice -- https://lyft-assets.s3.amazonaws.co...&utm_source=ExactTarget&utm_campaign=82937307

I re-read the Chicago notice more thoroughly. It says that if you don't pay your Chicago debt, you can no longer drive in the city of Chicago. If it turns out that I owe thousands of dollars in late fees from some unknown 2005 red-light ticket, I'm going to ask if Lyft can restrict my driving to the suburbs. I'd be grateful to not be sent into Chicago.