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Uber controversies
in Technology
I feel Uber deserves their own thread. Since they screw up so much, here's a place for all their legal blunders.
The company's license to operate in California has been suspended due to them withholding data from the Public Utilities Commission. They've also been fined for $7.3 million.
It also turns out that last month, they've been treating their employees as "independent contractors," and thus not paying them properly according to labor laws.
The company's license to operate in California has been suspended due to them withholding data from the Public Utilities Commission. They've also been fined for $7.3 million.
It also turns out that last month, they've been treating their employees as "independent contractors," and thus not paying them properly according to labor laws.
Comments
I'm tired of workers being re-classified or denied hours just to avoid having to pay their benefits.
Here's something they are doing that's kind of neat. I'd totally ride in a Mad Max vehicle.
Sadly, I know a lot of my online content creating friends who have to double as Uber drivers for the extra income. There's also starting to do a lot more "register a friend up with Uber and earn an extra 500 dollars!"
Driver in china arrested for robbing and molesting a female passenger.
Man arrested after using his position driving for uber as a cover for selling drugs, may have had previous convictions on record.
Uber driver in New Jersey arrested for raping a passenger.
Uber driver in Virginia arrested for sexual battery of a passenger.
South Carolina Uber driver arrested for kidnapping and sexual assault of a passenger.
Dallas uber driver arrested for sexual assault of a passenger, had previous criminal record, was never vetted by the city but uber ignored local laws.
Huston Uber driver sexually assaults female passenger, was never permitted by the city, and was enabled by uber skirting the rules.
A California DA finds 25 Uber drivers with Criminal records not uncoveredd by Uber's background checks.
The last three wouldn't exist, because the issue was Uber's background checks being fucking awful, in the third case missing records that the legal standard for background checks on hack tickets would have caught, the two before it occurring because uber deliberately skirted the rules that require drivers in texas to show state approval(which include the same checks as taxi drivers, which they wouldn't have passed), which of course, uber is meant to verify.
The dude selling drugs as an uber driver may not have happened, if he had a prior conviction, which so far I can't find enough hard evidence of to be sure. But again, if he had priors, no dice.
And curiously, there are Uber services that have never had a single incident(that I can find currently) - their black cars and SUVs, for example, which are manged by... Taxi and Limousine companies, whose drivers must pass appropriate saftey checks through those companies that meet applicable state standards, rather than Uber.
It's hard to find hard statistics as to crimes committed by Taxi drivers - the best I can find indicate that you're more likely to have a crime (particularly violent crime) committed against you while driving a taxi than riding in one. At least in the US - I don't have statistics available locally, since uber doesn't operate legally here(not to say, of course, that they don't operate anyway), making it a lot harder to shake out the details without some dedicated research.
This seems to be the reverse with Uber drivers, however in fairness, there's far less available data for attacks on Uber drivers compared to both attacks on Taxi drivers, and attacks on Uber passengers by drivers, to the point where I'd call that a useless statistic without further evidence.
As far as I can find for New York, the rate seems to be lower for Taxi drivers committing violent offenses Vs Uber drivers, but those are quick and dirty statistics. Take that with a grain of salt, as rough guide at absolute best unless I wanted to spend a few hours sifting and refining. Which I don't particularly, to be honest, because that's unlikely to pay at all.
It also showed that there are roughly 51,000 medallion drivers in New York, compared to roughly 15,000 Uber drivers in the same area.
Edit - and of course, the big difference being that in almost all cases, if a Taxi driver attacks a passenger, the Taxi company is also accountable. Uber, at least according to Uber, is not.
If it's region-locked, let me know and I'll provide a download.
The UX of Uber is what all taxis should be.
But that UX hides from the users that behind the scenes they're more corrupt, and now deeply exploitative, in order to meet their profit and price targets.
If something like Uber existed, but it paid real employees real wages and cost as much as regular cabs do now, I think most people would use it instead of traditional cabs.
The problem is not with the concept, it's that Uber is a shitty company, run by the worst of Silicon valley libertarian tech-bros. If it were run by someone who wasn't cartoonishly evil, it would be absolutely great! It's a lot cheaper here. Taxi drivers individually are usually pretty good, the cars clean, and the service usually good enough - unless you're one of those "Ugh, why can't they just get some local taxi drivers?" types, in which case your problems aren't with taxis. But the Taxi Comission, which is the taxi companies regulating themselves(to stretch the term "regulating" to it's limit)? No, they're corrupt as fuck, taxi licences are priced to keep any competition out of the market, and drivers get fucked almost as bad as uber drivers do.
The cherry on top is that with no competition, they're all crazy expensive. A one-way trip to the airport, from my place, is maybe a 15 minute trip at most in clear traffic. You take a taxi from the middle of the city, which is roughly halfway between? 50 bucks. For comparison, in melbourne where there's far greater oversight over the taxi operators - even if it's still lacking somewhat - a longer trip would cost about 17-20 bucks, depending on the time of day.
http://gothamist.com/2015/12/03/uber_unjoy_ride.php
The driver, meanwhile, expressed concern about his rating. "He turned to us and was like, 'Hey please don't write a bad review for me.'"
Wow