Welcome to the latest edition of AFT NewsWatch, a weekly service of Advocates for Fairness in Transportation, an ad hoc group of regulated transportation service companies dedicated to informing and educating the public on threats to public safety from new so-called ride-sharing or ride-booking services such as Uber, Lyft and Sidecar. Visit the Archive to read previous editions.

Uber suspends Boise service; cites proposed city rules

Uber announced it had suspended its app-based, ridesharing service in Boise. The San Francisco-based company released a statement explaining its position: "Uber is suspending operations in the City of Boise for the foreseeable future due to growing costs and unworkable and onerous regulations being proposed by Mayor (Dave) Bieter and city officials." 

Read more from the Idaho Statesman

Uber's preferred car-loan partner has been illegally repossessing veterans' cars

Auto lender Santander Consumer USA agreed to pay at least $9.35 million to resolve the accusation that it illegally repossessed over 1,100 vehicles from active military personnel. The company is a close partner of the ride-sharing giant Uber, which funnels drivers with low credit to Santander loan officers. 

Read more from The Verge

South Bay passenger frustrated over $452 Uber fare

A South Bay man is asking ride-sharing service Uber to reduce his fare after he was charged $452 for a 30-minute, 12-mile ride. Rafael Hernandez, a San Jose, California, resident, used the Uber service after the San Jose Sharks game at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara. 

Read more from NBC Bay Area

Uber passenger sues over alleged stabbing by driver

A District of Columbia man who claims an Uber driver stabbed him is suing the company for $2 million. The plaintiff, Erik Search, said he used the Uber phone application on Sept. 8, 2013 to order a car. Search alleged that the driver, Yohannes Deresse, was acting "erratically" so he and his friends got out of the car and walked away. According to Search's lawsuit, Deresse followed the group. 

Read more from Legal Times

Uber breach affecting 50,000 drivers went unreported for months

Uber waited more than five months to notify drivers whose names and drivers-license numbers were taken in a computer-security breach last year, much longer than allowed by many state laws. The car-hailing service said it discovered in September that an Uber database had been breached in May, and immediately restricted access to the database. 

Read more from The Wall Street Journal

Lawsuit seeks to end Uber and Lyft's services in Miami-Dade

Since launching last May and June respectively, Lyft and Uber continue to thrive in Miami-Dade County. This is despite the fact they continue to do so illegally. No, you didn't miss any news. There have been no changes to the county ordinances. Well, now the owner of a limousine service has filed a class-action lawsuit against both companies and the county government with the aim of forcing both companies to halt service. 

Read more from Miami New Times

Only 10 Uber, Lyft cars have new Orlando permits

A new Orlando ordinance regulating car sharing services like Uber and Lyft has been on the books since Feb. 1, but only about 10 drivers are in compliance as we near the end of the month. Drivers who are in compliance will have a bright blue sticker on their windshield and another one in the back seat area so that customers can provide comments. The new law also requires drivers wear identification while driving a passenger to a destination.

Read more from News13 Orlando

Uber hits another low with panic button

What are they thinking? Does Uber really presume its passengers will feel safer equipped with a panic button?  The tacit admission of failure in setting up a rider panic button is all the more reason to make sure that Uber ends up as the Betamax of the ground transportation world. One sure way to compromise the integrity of your service is to sow seeds of fear among your clients.  

Read more from LCT Magazine

Silicon Valley increasing its lobbying in California's Capitol

Last year offered the first chance to see the new tech behemoths in action, when lawmakers took on a pair of bills regulating ride-hailing. Uber, which hired its first California lobbyist in early 2013, spent more than $470,000 on lobbying just in the third quarter of 2014, more than 2 1/2 times the amount it spent in the previous six quarters combined. 

Read more in the Los Angeles Times