I'm seeing a lot of hand wringing on Twitter about this proposed bill in CA barring micromobility companies/bike shares from forcing riders to waiver their rights when they go on a ride. I have questions for people that are upset by this. Follow along... https://www.theverge.com/2020/8/25/21400842/bike-scooter-california-bill-ab1286-liability-waiver

The critical line in the bill:

"The shared mobility provider agreement between the provider and a user shall not contain a provision by which the user waives, releases, or in any way limits their legal rights or remedies under the agreement."

Why is this bad, you ask? It's not.

Companies should NOT compel waivers of people's legal rights and remedies, esp. in adhesion contracts that demand users accept the terms or not access the service. Because of so much privatization that controls our lives, we are *forced* daily to waive all sorts of rights.

This is esp bad when those rights concern user privacy, employment rights, or personal safety.

We should not be forced to abrogate legal rights through the phony legal fiction that we "agree" to a form contract no one reads and the companies exclusively draft. This has to stop.

I've read two objections to this bill:

"Why single out micromobility? Everyone else (like car and ski rental companies) force waivers!"

Yeah, those are bad too. There may be ulterior motives here that are targeting micromobility, but the underlying practice is BAD everywhere.

"If this bill passes, our scooter company will go bankrupt!"

Um, ok? I mean, you don't have a right to exist, esp. if the thing that's keeping you in the black is forcing ppl to give up what they probably only have because of excruciating labor that won some meek legal rights.

Plus, this whole thing sounds overblown. Even if this thing passes, bike and scooter shares will only be liable for their own negligence, faulty products, poor designs, and failures to warn.

They *won't* get sued because of improperly built sidewalks or lack of bike lanes.

The problem is we've privatized transit so much that we're willing to accept corporate domination over our movement, at considerable cost. I realize we need to incentivize people to use alternatives to cars (totally agree!), but let's not do that by sanctioning shit practices.

Let's do it by rethinking the built environment, taking back ownership over the right of way, attacking the domination of the auto industry over transit policy, and building the power of individuals and communities over their lives.

cc: @rmchase @DavidZipper @colinkhughes