NewsWatch
Keeping a critical eye on Uber,
Lyft, Sidecar, et al
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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.
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Uber driver charged with raping passenger he drove home in Georgia
An Uber driver from Georgia has been charged with raping a passenger after dropping her off at home. John Kamens, 49, returned to the woman's Athens house at midnight, broke in and attacked her in a terrifying assault. The woman called police to tell them she had been attacked by her Uber driver, and authorities then tracked down and arrested Kamens.
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Uber among those sued in inebriated man's Long Beach death
The parents of a man killed last summer by a homeowner after the decedent mistakenly strayed into a Long Beach residence are suing the alleged shooter along with Uber, which they say is liable because one of its drivers ordered him out of a car knowing he was impaired. Long Beach residents David and Lynn Anderson, the father and mother of Ryan Anderson, filed the negligence suit in Los Angeles Superior Court against Uber Technologies; Uber driver Festus Ekuma Okoh of Buena Park; and the homeowners, John Richard Reynolds and Lou Ann Reynolds.
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Uber driver arrested on suspicion of DUI after New Year's Day crash
When getting behind the wheel isn't an option, many choose to call services like Uber especially when ringing in the New Year. That's what Arlene Mendez, 19, decided to do around 1 a.m. on Jan. 1 so she could go hang out with friends. "I'm really mad because I would've lost my life," she said. When the driver picked her up, Mendez says she immediately felt uncomfortable with his rate of speed on local streets.
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Bourne man identified as Uber driver pleads not guilty to rape charges
A 39-year-old Bourne (Mass.) man who, according to his attorney, worked as a driver for the Uber ride-sharing service pleaded not guilty in Barnstable Superior Court to rape and assault charges. Yves Goin had been indicted Dec. 11 by a Barnstable County grand jury on one count of rape, two counts of indecent assault and battery on a person over 14 and one count of assault to rape, according to Superior Court documents.
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Dozens of Uber drivers 'urinating in gardens, leaving Tesco bags of feces in the road, and playing music through the night' in residential streets near Heathrow
Uber drivers are flocking to streets near Heathrow where they urinate in gardens, leave plastic bags of excrement and play music through the night as they wait for customers, it has been claimed. Residents in Stanwell, Surrey, took to social media to complain about more than 40 cars at a time waiting on one road. The 'aggressive' drivers were running their engines through the night, blocking the streets and urinating in gardens, they said.
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Mass. police chiefs urge fingerprinting for Uber drivers
The Massachusetts Chiefs of Police Association has added its clout to the call for mandatory fingerprinting of drivers hired by ride-hailing companies such as Uber and Lyft. In a recent letter to state legislative leaders, who are considering broader regulation, the chiefs wrote such a step would ensure that applicants with criminal records could not hide them by providing fake identities. "There is no dispute that biometrics, like fingerprints, serve as the best way to identify any individual," the chiefs said.
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Even as Uber, Lyft gain riders, drivers face $500 city fines
Next time an Uber driver picks you up in Boston, don't be surprised if a police officer pulls over the car. The violation? Being an Uber driver. As popular as ride-hailing services have become, and despite efforts by Governor Charlie Baker to legitimize them, companies like Uber and Lyft still operate in a legal gray area because their drivers have not been licensed locally as taxi or livery drivers. In Boston, driving without that license incurs a $500 fine.
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Limo service claims Uber is racketeering in Michigan
A metro Detroit limo company is suing the popular Uber ride service for alleged racketeering and claims that state transportation officials unfairly give Uber drivers a free pass on laws that traditional limo and taxi drivers must follow. The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Detroit, could reignite the unsettled debate on whether smartphone-enabled ride services such as Uber and its competitor Lyft represent an evolution of the limo and taxi business or an entirely new category best left outside the current regulatory framework.
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Can both Uber and Lyft stay competitive?
The word monopoly has a distinctly nefarious ring to it, conjuring up images of thuggish industrialists in smoky rooms, scheming to undermine their rivals. Yet in Silicon Valley, it's not at all uncommon for one company to dominate a particular field. Google is the runaway leader in online search. Facebook is the largest social network in the world by a wide margin. Amazon is far and away the biggest e-commerce site. Even among so-called unicorns - private startups worth $1 billion or more - de facto monopolies are already the norm.
Read more from the New York Times
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Uber sued by drivers excluded from class-action lawsuit
When a federal judge decided last year who could be part of a worker misclassification class-action lawsuit against Uber, two groups of drivers were excluded: Those who drove for Uber through limo companies and those who signed up to drive using corporate or fictitious names. The judge's reasoning? Their situation is different from those who contracted directly with Uber using their own names. Those groups have now filed their own lawsuit.
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Bigger battle for Uber, Lyft could be over employee status of drivers
I'm guessing almost none of you have heard of "Sledgehammer Shannon." I certainly hadn't until recently. But rest assured, top Uber and Lyft officials know all about Shannon Liss-Riordan, a Boston plaintiffs' lawyer. And for all the talk about how requiring fingerprints for driver background checks threatens the ride-hailing companies' business model, the real menace to Uber and Lyft's money machinery lies in a California federal court.
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