Ride sharing company Uber is positioning itself as a firm supporter of gun control, as it silently changed its policy on June 10th to ban any drivers or passengers caught carrying a firearm in ‘their’ taxis.
The policy is interesting, as Uber doesn’t actually own the taxis and doesn’t even consider itself legally a ride sharing company, preferring to instead license its ride coordination service and collect a fee for doing so in order to avoid regulation as a taxi service.
Yet despite its claim to not be a taxi operator, it plans to nonetheless control what you carry in taxis chartered through its service.
Uber said in a statement last week that it is banning firearms of any kind during rides arranged through the Uber platform, and drivers or riders who violate the rule will be banned from the service.
The company cited feedback from riders and drivers as the motivation for the decision, though it likely has to do with the philosophical beliefs of the company’s Californian owners, who are notoriously anti second amendment, than actual user feedback.
The new policy puts the company at odds with local law enforcement on the issue, as most communities regulate the transportation of firearms in taxi cabs.
Previously the company had honored local laws on the issue, but given the company’s frequent flouting of local laws, it should comes as no surprise they have once again decided to play by their own rules.
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