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 driver charged with sex assault in Dallas served time in federal prison, records indicate

An Uber driver accused of sexually assaulting a passenger in Dallas served time in federal prison on a weapons charge, records indicate. Talal Ali Chammout, 56, of Plano was arrested Wednesday and remained in custody early Saturday at the Dallas County jail. His bail was $100,000. He picked up a woman about 8 p.m. July 25 in Oak Lawn and drove her to her home near North Hampton Road and Fort Worth Avenue in West Oak Cliff, police say. 

Read more from The Dallas Morning News

EXCLUSIVE: Uber's rival says it uses 'tax avoidance on an industrial scale,' and wants Europe to investigate

An alliance of London minicab drivers wants the EU to probe Uber's tax arrangements and grill founder Travis Kalanick personally on the issue. Business Insider has seen a copy of a letter sent by the London Private Hire Car Association (LPHCA) to the chair of the European Parliament's tax committee, calling for it to probe what it alleges to be "tax avoidance on an industrial scale." The LPHCA represents 15,000 minicab drivers in the capital who are, obviously, biased against Uber. 

Read more from Business Insider

Six Los Angeles council members question plan to let Uber, Lyft pick up at LAX

Citing "significant questions" over equity and public safety, six members of the Los Angeles City Council said Wednesday that they want to reexamine the new rules that would allow Uber and Lyft to pick up passengers at Los Angeles International Airport. Earlier this month, the Board of Airport Commissioners gave the green light to a policy creating a permitting process for app-based ride-hailing  companies such as Uber and Lyft to operate at LAX. 

Read more from The Los Angeles Times

Man takes on Uber in possible class action lawsuit

A Southern California man has filed a lawsuit against Uber for the ride-sharing app's price claims and regulation of free ride vouchers, which he hopes to make a class-action lawsuit. Sennett Devermont is the creator of Mr. Checkpoint, an app that notifies its users of DUI checkpoint locations. He said he has taken nearly 500 rides with Uber in the last two years, and regularly recommends the service through his app to encourage drunken drivers to get home safely.

Read more from NBC4

Uber customer complaints from the US are increasingly handled in the Philippines

When Uber users have complaints, they tend to be personal and very specific. Their driver might have turned right on Second Street instead of First Street, causing the fare to go up when it shouldn't have. They might have left their purse in the car, leaving them with no cash on hand until it is retrieved. But as the company has grown, Uber's customer service, at least in the US, is increasingly being conducted from afar.  

Read more from Quartz

How Uber uses free rides as a lobbying tool

Uber's rapid rise has spawned one of America's most heated urban policy debates. In cities across the country, the company has been battling regulators seeking to rein it in, and it has enlisted a formidable army of lobbyists that has begun to rival some of the largest and most politically influential corporations. Uber has supplemented its more traditional lobbying tactics with the creative use of its customer base, which it mobilizes to pressure officials who seek regulations that the company opposes.

Read more from The Verge

Uber driver allegedly turns away Wisconsin blind man and his service dog

A blind Wisconsin man claims a driver affiliate with the car service Uber denied him a ride because he uses a service dog. David Tolmie said his Uber driver turned him away last Thursday because the driver did not want the dog, Divit, to scratch his leather seats, NBC station WMTV reported. Tolmie told the station that it was his first time using the car service. He said he made sure to check the ride-sharing website to ensure that it follows Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) standards before requesting a ride. 

Read more from NBC News

Uber, Lyft not popular with business travelers

Although ride-sharing companies like Uber and Lyft continue to expand across the country, the services remain one of the least popular ground transportation options among business travelers. When business travelers need a ride, 36% rent a car, 24% hail a taxi and 13% call for a chauffeur, with only 11% relying on a ride-sharing service, according to a new study by the educational arm of the Global Business Travel Assn., the trade group for the nation's business travel managers.

Los Angeles Times