Latest news with #Wilford
CBS News
02-05-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
Rideshare bill sparks support, concerns from Coloradans while Uber suggests ending services
Uber says legislation at Colorado State Capitol could result in departure from the state Uber says legislation at Colorado State Capitol could result in departure from the state Uber says legislation at Colorado State Capitol could result in departure from the state Rideshare company Uber is threatening to withdraw service from the state if a rideshare bill passes at the Colorado State Capitol. For some time, rideshare drivers like David Krouse said they are happy feel happy providing a vital service to the Denver community despite some minor inconveniences they may face with riders. Serene Lee/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images "It's been mostly fine, I've had a few people who are paranoid or at times disruptive or problematic," said Krouse. Even during the times when riders may become problematic during his rides, he feels as though applications like Uber and Lyft have the resources to make sure he and his drivers feel safe. "As a driver, what you can do is call ADT," said Krouse. "They literally put a live person on the phone, and they ask, 'Do you need medical or emergency, do you need the police?'" However, the feeling of safety when getting behind the wheel of a rideshare vehicle has not been the same experience for everyone. "I was sexually assaulted last February," said Rep. Jenny Wilford, who serves District 34. "Before you get into a rideshare, you should always make sure you check that the vehicle matches the vehicle in the app, and the person looks relatively similar to the person in the vehicle, and I did those things. Upon being assaulted, I have learned that the driver who was driving me didn't actually have the app. he was a part of a group of people that share passwords and share access and logins to the app." Since that experience, Wilford has learned she's not the only one in Colorado who faced something similar. "I've heard from so many people across our state, including people outside of our state, sharing horrific stories of incidents that happened to them, both as riders and drivers," said Wilford. "It became really clear there was an issue here to be solved." Rideshare driver David Krouse CBS She thinks the solution to safety is House Bill 1291, which she introduced with bipartisan support in this year's legislative session. The measure will require, among a number of things, more safeguards for rideshare vehicles, including continuous audio and video recording during rides. "A background check every six months," added Wilford. "Additionally, there is a prohibition on offering food and beverages. We've heard a lot of cases of people being offered a bottle of water that was drugged and having no knowledge of the fact that it was drugged till it was too late." Some rideshare users believe this is a step in the right direction. "My partner, when I'm not riding with her, I want her to feel safe and secure," said resident Dave S. "The more security that they have, the more comfortable you feel to use it," said Greg Brito, who was visiting Denver from Mexico this week. Yet, as a driver, Krouse sees this bill differently. "We're not comfortable being treated like this," said David Krouse, a rideshare driver. "It's such a massive overreach and it's very invasive." He says recording rides breaches privacy and worries about how the data will be used outside of helping victims. "You don't know who's going to be snooping, and not everyone is comfortable being filmed," said Krouse. "I have a phone. I can record what's going on if something comes up, but it's very weird that the government now wants to mandate that a major corporation is recording us." Wilford says parameters for how the data will be used will be established by the Public Utilities Commission if the bill becomes law. "We've asked the public utilities commission, which is the primary regulator for ride share companies in Colorado, to take the lead on establishing rules on data retention, who can access it, when they can access it, how long the data should be stored, etc," she said. Uber has already taken a stance against the bill. This month, they began rolling out a petition within their rideshare app stating that if House Bill 1291 is implemented, it would leave them no choice but to cease operations in Colorado. CBS A spokesperson with Uber shared the following statement regarding their concerns: "Uber has led the industry on safety from day one—backed by technology, transparency, and real accountability. We don't just talk about safety; we build it into the core of our platform with robust background checks and features like Audio and Video Recording, an Emergency Button, PIN verification, and RideCheck. HB25-1291 is a deeply flawed proposal, which if implemented could leave us no choice but cease operations in Colorado. It threatens user privacy by requiring every trip to be recorded, imposes major technical and financial burdens, and offers no clear safety benefit in return. We support real, evidence-based safety policy – not legislation that checks a box but fails to deliver. As written, this bill not only misses the mark, it risks doing more harm than good." Uber has pulled out of other states in response to similar legislation, and Krouse thinks this time will not be any different. "I think they will pull out. I don't think that's a bluff," he said. Wilford says it's disappointing to hear Uber's response to the legislation. "We spent months negotiating with them on taking their concerns, rewriting the legislation, and they completely blindsided us," she said. "That to me is really disappointing because when you are working with human beings and you're transporting human beings, you shouldn't be treating human beings like business decisions. While Krouse worries about what this could mean for people's access to rides and the thousands of people who work for Uber in the state, people like Wilford believe other services will step up and adopt these changes. "They may not love at the end of the day, but they understand and it's workable," said Wilford. While Lyft has not said they would cease operations in Colorado, they did release a statement saying they also have some concerns with the legislation: "We believe there is a compromise that can be reached that would be beneficial for both riders and drivers, but there are still several aspects of the bill that would make implementation extremely problematic. At the very least, it would have a drastic, negative impact on those who use the platform in a way that does not help achieve the goal of the legislation. We encourage Senate officials to collaborate with us on a bill that addresses these realities and avoids the unintended consequences the current version creates." The bill is currently moving through the legislature, and is expected to be heard before the Senate this week before heading back to the House.
BBC News
29-03-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Bramley Baths awarded £600,000 regeneration boost
A Grade II listed Edwardian swimming pool has been awarded more than £600,000 so a multimillion-pound regeneration project can get under Baths in Leeds has received a total of £639,375 from The National Lottery Heritage Fund for work to restore and protect the swimming pool, which was built in Whiteley, business development manager at the baths, said it was hoped the £4.1m scheme would see unused and original parts of the building opened up again."It will allow us to explore plans to develop our heritage, arts, culture and wellbeing programme, and protect and restore our unique site," Ms Whiteley said. "It will further help put the baths on the heritage map, attract new visitors, allow us to develop exciting new activities, and ensure an environmentally sustainable and financially resilient future."Bramley Baths was originally built as part of efforts to improve public health and wellbeing in response to an outbreak of it eventually fell into disuse before being restored in the late 1980s and reopened in the early 1990s. In January 2013, the building was taken over by the Friends of Bramley Baths organisation, which has run it since Wilford, chief executive officer at the baths, said the new funding would ensure the building remained open for future said: "It's a great reward for such a great effort over the past three to four years, developing plans with local people to sustain this community-led and community-owned social enterprise."The whole team has worked hard to develop a credible plan that will sustain the valuable social enterprise over the next 60 years - a real legacy of what running an enterprise from a heritage treasure can achieve."Helen Featherstone, director of England North at the National Lottery Heritage Fund, said: "We are delighted to support Bramley Baths with the initial phase of their ambitious restoration project."Those behind the regeneration plans would be able to "continue to develop their plans to safeguard the building and the many stories held within its walls for future generations", Ms Featherstone added. Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
BBC News
01-03-2025
- Science
- BBC News
Kew Gardens to open Carbon Garden that focuses on climate crisis
Kew Gardens will open a new "ground-breaking" garden in July that explores the urgent need to tackle the climate crisis. The Carbon Garden will show how carbon helps to sustain life on Earth, the scale of the climate crisis and how nature can be used to combat aims to inspire visitors to take actions in their everyday lives to support the will also educate visitors on how plants and fungi act as "natural allies in climate repair" as they capture carbon and restore balance. The garden, approved by Richmond Council last year, will have a striking display of plants reflecting the dramatic rise in average global temperatures over time.A feature showing layers of soil, a rocky outcrop and a layer of coal in the earth's crust with fossilised plants will then reveal the hidden world of carbon will also be a dry garden with drought-resistant plants to show how nature can be used to adapt to climate change and a rain garden which will highlight ways to manage water flow, prevent soil erosion, reduce flooding and put moisture back into soil.A fungi-inspired pavilion will be built in the centre of the garden using sustainable materials. It will have a sloping canopy directing rainwater into the rain garden, along with sheltered space to host school visits and community activities. In the garden, at least 26 new trees will be planted, chosen for their resilience to predicted future climate conditions. There will also be grasslands, wildflower meadows and hedges to boost Wilford, Kew's garden design manager, said the garden offers a "unique opportunity to showcase our ongoing research, combining scientific insight with thoughtful design and beautiful planting"."We hope the Carbon Garden inspires visitors to act and join us in shaping a more sustainable, resilient future for life on our planet."
