South Dakota has been green-lighted to begin ride sharing.

Governor Dennis Daugaard signed HB 1091, commonly known as the "Uber Bill" into law on Tuesday, March 22, 2016.

Uber is currently up and running in 300 cities and 46 states at the moment throughout the U.S.

Uber is essentially a civilian taxi referral service. The Uber app connects riders with drivers using their phone’s GPS capabilities, letting both parties know one another’s location and removing the question of when the ride will actually arrive.

The Uber app also processes all payment transactions involved. The tech company charges the passenger’s credit card, taking a cut for itself (which will range from 5% to 20%), then it automatically deposits the remaining money into the driver’s account. The entire process is completed without the use of cash.

According to State Rep. Mark Willadsen of Sioux Falls, safety is the paramount thing in the South Dakota bill which establishes certain insurance requirements for all Transportation Network (TNC) drivers.

Uber drivers are not required to have commercial license plates or carry a commercial driver license. They also are not required to have their own driver insurance policy to transport passengers. When an Uber driver picks up a rider, the Uber insurance policy immediately takes over.

Anyone wishing to drive for Uber must first pass a DMV and background check, also, every Uber driver must have their own car and it must be insured.

With South Dakota now lifting all roadblocks for Uber drivers to hit the streets in the state, it should be just a matter of time before Uber starts operating in cities like Sioux Falls.

The ball now rests in Uber's court on when they want to begin to take the wheel here in South Dakota.

Source: KSFY TV


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