The way Uber fares are calculated is a mess

New York mayor Bill de Blasio is in hot water today over his proposed regulation of Uber and other taxi apps. But it's one of his more mundane-sounding proposals - that Uber be more transparent about how much a given trip will cost, with rates that are "prominently posted" inside the app - that may pose the biggest problem. Because, as it turns out, Uber's pricing structure is an opaque, highly variable mess.

Read more from Fusion

Uber's new privacy policy admits that riders have no privacy

Uber Technologies Inc.'s new privacy policy is shorter, easier to read and more expansive than before. The car booking company now more clearly tells its customers it can pretty much track everything they do while using the Uber app, after facing criticism over privacy, especially its use of a tool called God View enabling the company to know where its riders were at any given moment.

Read more from Skift

Uber will begin tracking your location while running in the background

An upcoming update to Uber's privacy policy will ask riders for permission to track their location while running in the background, a move the company says will enable it to "get people on their way more quickly." The changes, which go into effect July 15th, also ask you to share your contacts with Uber - a move that will let the company send "special offers" to your friends and family, Uber said in a blog post. The company also posted complete descriptions of the permissions it is seeking for both Android and iOS.

Read more from the Verge

The Uber-ization of porn

Where "Hot Girls Wanted," a new documentary produced by Rashida Jones that arrived on Netflix Friday, produces the sharpest insights, is the casualization of the pornography industry. In a way, this model of porn production is a lot like Uber, the service that lets people sign up to provide driving services using their personal cars. Both the new porn model and Uber have some advantages for consumers over the existing service providers, but they also shift major costs and risks onto workers themselves.

Read more from the Washington Post

SFO, SFMTA ask state for stricter regulations of Uber and Lyft

Nearly two years ago, California regulators created historic statewide regulations for mobile ride-hailing services like Uber and Lyft, which they call "transportation network companies." Those same regulators asked dozens of government agencies, companies and individuals across the state for feedback in crafting new regulations for the ride services. Now the feedback is streaming in, and San Francisco agencies are sounding off: Uber and Lyft need more regulations to ensure public safety.

San Francisco Examiner

Mexican taxis promise to 'hunt down' Uber drivers

Uber, beware: Mexican taxi drivers will hunt you down. A leader of Mexico State's taxi drivers said as much. "We are not going to leave (Uber cars) alone. We are tracking these colleagues and hunting them down," Esteban Meza, who represents about 13,000 cabbies, told the country's top-selling newspaper, El Universal. Meza claims his cohort will hand Uber drivers over to the authorities but warned that "without doubt this is going to create big trouble."

Read more from USA Today

Court show looms over Uber's future in Toronto

Uber has become such a part of daily life in Toronto, the ride-hailing app's name is synonymous with getting to places: "Let's Uber." But many here hate the company, saying it takes business away from legal taxi companies. And other Torontonians are simply leery of getting into an unmarked car. But if the City of Toronto's lawyers have their way, the company will be run right out of town. In a court hearing beginning Monday, they hope to win a judicial declaration that Uber's operations are illegal.

Read more from the Toronto Star

Uber and Lyft not fans of NYC regs

Representatives of Uber and Lyft warned that a New York City effort to regulate app-based ride-hailing services will stall innovation and threaten competition. The regulations "will be crushing to our thousands of drivers," Michael Allegretti, New York head of public policy for San Francisco-based Uber, said at a public hearing of New York's Taxi and Limousine Commission. But commission Chairwoman Meera Joshi said the proposed rules changes are minor adjustments to existing regulations that have been mischaracterized by opponents.

Read more from the Associated Press

Uber promotes subprime auto loans to increase driver pool

A livery driver for a fleet owner in Boston was looking for a way to obtain his own car and drive for Uber, the popular ride-sharing service. He heard about a vehicle financing program Uber was promoting to drivers who, like him, had a poor credit history. Roger, who asked to use only his first name for business reasons, signed a lease in September with an Uber-referred lender for a brand new Chrysler minivan. Now less than a year later, Roger says he is on the brink of bankruptcy while facing weekly payments of $450 for his car lease plus late fees.

Read more Aljazeera America

San Francisco wants Uber, Lyft drivers to register with city

San Francisco Treasurer and Tax Collector Jose Cisneros reminded independent contractors, including drivers for ride-services such as Uber and Lyft, that they are required by law to register their business with the city by Monday afternoon. Members of the San Francisco Taxi Workers Alliance, however, say that independent contractors driving for ride-services are not registering or annually renewing their business registration certificate, and that the city is not doing enough to compel them to pay the fee required by the city ordinance.

Read more from KQED

Uber driver terminated after On Your Side investigation

The ride sharing service Uber said it terminated a driver after an On Your Side investigation. WBTV started asking questions this week about Vitaliy Teymurov, who was cited for driving on a revoked license on May 21, 2015. Court records show Teymurov's license was revoked in January after he was charged with Driving While Intoxicated. According to court documents, police officers cited Teymurov with DWI after responding to an accident at 6:30 a.m. on New Year's Day. Records show a blood alcohol test came back with a .22 BAC.

Read more from WBTV-TV Charlotte, N.C.

No mandatory drug tests for Uber and Lyft drivers

Uber and Lyft continued a regulatory winning streak this week after lawmakers decided that contracted drivers will not need to undergo drug tests before picking up smartphone-waving patrons. The legislation marked the second consecutive loss for Assemblyman Adrin Nazarian, who carried a similar bill last year. The Los Angeles Democrat has complained that contracted drivers get a pass when other kinds of paid drivers -- taxis, buses, truckers and commercial pilots -- all submit to random drug testing.

Read more from the Sacramento Business Journal