NewsWatch
  Keeping a critical eye on Uber, 
Lyft, Sidecar, et al

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.


All of Uber's controversies, in one handy map

To better understand the extent of Uber's increasingly fumbled public image, data scientists used Silk.co to make visualizations of the company's missteps. "A World of Uber Troubles" uses data publicly available on Wikipedia and in news stories to create graphs of the global controversies, along with brief descriptions at each pin drop that explains what Uber is up against. The Silk.co visualization breaks down Uber's controversies by location, year, and type of opposition.

Read more from The Daily Dot

Uber: Our drivers aren't employees. They're not even humans.

After California's Labor Commission ruled that Uber drivers are employees, and entitled to protections and benefits, Uber issued a strongly worded statement laying out its legal position, claiming that not only are its drivers not employees, they are not even human. "Neither California's labor standards, nor the laws and Constitution of the United States, the Geneva Convention, the Code of Hammurabi or even the Golden Rule apply to our drivers," Uber CEO Travis Kalanick said in a prepared statement. 

Read more from SF Weekly

Uber, Lyft hit roadblock at airport

San Diego's airport remains closed to the city's top ridesharing companies after airport board members failed to approve changes that would amend the rideshare pilot program. The standstill continues despite months of negotiations inching the parties closer to an agreement, and still leaves travelers without a legal way to electronically hail an Uber or Lyft ride home from the airport. 

Read more from The San Diego Union-Tribune

Lyft balks at plan for San Jose airport pick-ups

Transportation network companies will be able to pick up passengers at Mineta San Jose International Airport under a pilot program approved by the San Jose City Council. In a 7-3 vote, the City Council approved a year-long pilot plan set to start Sept. 1 when TNCs such as Uber and Lyft can drive customers from the airport as long as they comply with the program's requirements. 

Read more from Bay City News

Uber driver removed from platform after failed background check

The ABC7 I-Team is reporting exclusively on an Uber driver who was removed from the platform after his criminal record was exposed. Uber's background checks failed to catch past crimes and traffic violations. Uber says it approves 10,000 drivers a year, and hundreds of them get rejected after lengthy criminal and traffic background checks. But the I-Team found that one Illinois Uber driver with a history of trouble managed to slip through the cracks.

Read more from ABC7 Chicago

Approaching oolicy after Uber's scorched earth

The blowback to Uber reached a new level of intensity this week with massive and occasionally violent street protests in France. Even for a nation with a storied past of truculent protest politics, the anti-Uber mobs were notable. It should come as little surprise then that the company has spent millions of dollars in lobbying across the United States. That translates into hundreds of lobbyists, more than Wal-Mart itself according to a Bloomberg analysis of available data.

Read more from Tech Crunch

French govt files charges against 'cynical' Uber app

The French interior ministry is filing charges against the Uber ride-sharing service in France for its "cynical" and "arrogant" attitude, following a nation-wide clampdown on the UberPOP mobile app. The government argues the app's managers are breaking the law. Interior Minister Bernard Cazaneuve derided the service for going against an earlier October 2014 law prohibiting people from connecting clients with unregistered drivers.

Read more from RT News

LA drivers file class action against Uber

Following a California ruling that an Uber driver is an employee not a contractor, two LA-based drivers have filed a class action lawsuit alleging labor violations against the ride-hailing company. Uber drivers Lori Kellett and David Cotoi sued Uber Technologies in state court for failure to pay overtime, regular wages and for not paying for meal or rest breaks.

Read more from Courthouse News Service

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 Bloomberg

This is how Uber takes over a city

Charlie Hales, the mayor of Portland, Ore., was running a zoning hearing last December when he missed a call on his cell from David Plouffe, the campaign mastermind behind Barack Obama's ascent. Although Hales had never met him, Plouffe left a voice mail that had an air of charming familiarity, reminiscing about the 2008 rally when 75,000 Obama supporters thronged Portland's waterfront. "Sure love your city," Plouffe gushed. "I'm now working for Uber and would love to talk."

Read more from Bloomberg Business

Citing gridlock, New York City proposes temporary cap on Uber and rivals

The de Blasio administration and City Council proposed to limit for-hire vehicle licenses in response to explosive growth by Uber and other e-hail app companies, which officials suspect is causing traffic congestion. More than 25,000 new for-hire vehicle licenses have been issued since 2011, increasing by 63% a market that includes livery cabs and black cars, according to the Taxi and Limousine Commission.

Read more from Crain's New York Business

Ride-hailing services revving up again

After a thwarted launch last year and four months of intense lobbying at the Nevada Legislature, Uber now can legally operate its ride-hailing service in Nevada, thanks to a pair of laws signed last month by Gov. Brian Sandoval. Before Uber drivers can start giving rides to valley residents, even more rules will need to be written, this time by the Nevada Transportation Authority. 

Read more from the Las Vegas Sun

Four Things About Uber You Wish You Never Knew
Four things about Uber you wish you never knew
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