Bay County Archives

Bay County officials have restricted Uber, a ride sharing company, from offering their services.   I try not to be pessimistic, but from the time I heard about Uber, I thought it was too good to be true. I was worried that the "assurances" from Uber higher-ups that they were doing background checks but not providing documentation to cities that asked for the information would attract those who had "questionable" backgrounds. Therefore, when I went on to WJHG Channel 7's website and saw the headline that Bay County will not allow Uber to operate in their county, I was not surprised. According to the news agency, Bay County will not allow Uber to operate after one of the ride sharing service's drivers was arrested. According to the Mayor of Panama City Beach, Gayle Oberst, the driver was initially pulled over while dropping off some clients because the vehicle failed to have the proper inspection tags on its vehicle. According to a city ordinance, all taxi-operations must pass an inspection by the police department. The driver was given a warning. The next day, the same driver was pulled over again while dropping clients off. He still didn't have any proof of inspection. That's when police arrested the man.