TAMPA, Fla. — Social media sites are helping to connect drivers with riders for cash, the I-team found, and now state officials are warning consumers to steer clear of these “shady operators.”
So-called 'cash rides' are part of a growing, unregulated market where drivers use sites like Facebook to solicit business from consumers willing to pay cash for a ride from a stranger. But we found some drivers soliciting rides for cash had histories plagued with traffic infractions, arrests or convictions for battery, assault and one guy advertising his marijuana friendly ride, isn’t even legally allowed to drive a car after the state revoked his license years ago.
“I was just shocked,” said Victoria Gudbranson, who we spoke with during the summer when she was an approved Lyft driver. She first heard about these cash rides months prior.
“We go through background checks. You don’t know if the person you’re getting into the car with has a criminal record, is a registered sex offender, you don’t know this,” Gudbranson said.
The Florida Investigative Team
Unlike popular approved ride-sharing programs like Uber and Lyft, drivers who offer rides for cash aren’t vetted, haven’t gone through a background check and don’t have to adhere to any special guidelines when it comes to insurance.
If you think common sense would keep this practice from gaining speed, a look on a number of public Facebook groups appears to show this underground practice is thriving in Florida. We found a number of ‘cash rides’ pages in Tampa, Orlando and Miami just to name a few. Some drivers posted their availability 24 hours a day, 7 days a week,
“Scary,” said Chris Black, a Tampa-based insurance agent and board member of the Florida’s Association of Insurance Agents. Black said state law requires legitimate rideshare drivers carry insurance that protects them and riders in the event of an accident. In this black market of cash rides, Black said riders are leaving themselves vulnerable.
“If you are in that vehicle and you are injured, who’s going to pay for the damage? Who’s going to pay for the medical bills,” he said. “Definitely high risk for the passenger, for the driver for everyone else on the road.”
A spokesperson or the Department of Financial Services described what we found as “shady businesses operating outside the confines of the law. We can’t stress this enough,” state Press Secretary Alecia Collins. “Consumers should only schedule rides with reputable companies and through their official apps. Local law enforcement should be contacted if consumers are approached by these shady operators,” Collins stated in an email to us.
On a recent Thursday, we decided to connect with a driver for cash. After conducting a background check, we met the man in a Publix shopping plaza. Our "cash 'ride' was 12 miles, off highway, and cost us $18 versus a few dollars more had we used Lyft or Uber. When I asked the driver why he doesn’t just drive for a legitimate ride-share program, he said his car wouldn’t meet their requirements.
We contacted Facebook to alert them of these unregulated groups, we haven't heard back. But we are hearing from some angry cash drivers who told us legitimate ride share programs have also had issues with dangerous drivers and, they said, hard to make money since the company takes a portion of your earnings.
One driver who works for rideshare programs and asked she remain anonymous told us, "it's become harder to make enough. Since they changed the mileage rate, we're making less. What happened to the good old days when you get a cab pay cash and get on your way," she said.
