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 slapped with $7.6 million CPUC fine for 'contempt', non-compliance
Citing failure to meet reporting requirements, the California Public Utilities Commission voted to fine Uber Technologies $7.6 million or face a 30-day suspension of service in California. Affirming an administrative judge's earlier decision, the regulatory board voted unanimously to fine the transportation network for non-compliance, imposing an additional $1,000 fine for "contempt" in providing availability, safety and accessibility information. The agency says that Uber did not comply with reporting requirements until August 2015, nearly two years after the agency first requested data from the company.
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Uber's mystifying behavior costs company big
Uber has a history of skirting or ignoring rules that it considers unfair or anti-competitive. But the California rules it initially refused to comply with are neither. Whatever the final regulatory framework the state ends up adopting for Uber-type transportation services, it is reasonable for it to continue to evaluate if poor or minority communities are being neglected. Read more from the San Diego Union-Tribune |
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Uber will give people whose felonies have been reduced to misdemeanors a chance to drive
Almost anyone can drive for Uber: actors, musicians, retirees, stay-at-home moms. One group that has never been allowed on the platform is people who have been convicted of felonies. That could soon change. The San Francisco company announced an initiative that could help clear the path for convicted felons whose crimes are reduced to misdemeanors to drive for the ride-hailing platform.
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Family demands answers from Uber after collision kills their son
A South Florida family is taking action against a popular ride sharing service after a devastating crash. They believe their loved one would still be alive today if he hadn't hired an Uber driver. Twenty-year-old Pablo Sanchez Jr. lost his life along an intersection in Southwest Miami-Dade, and now his family is demanding answers from the service that was hired to bring him home safely.
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Valley Uber driver's job in limbo after deadly accident
A Uber driver's job is in jeopardy after a deadly accident in Scottsdale last month. David Hollon has been driving for Uber for months. He gave up his career to do it. But on December 19, everything changed.
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Uber driver refuses to pick up woman in labor, charges her $13
An Uber driver left a woman in labor stranded on the sidewalk. Her baby is okay, but the family is fuming at how the company acted. The baby was early, but the first time parents were ready. They summoned the birthing coach, grabbed the overnight bag, and stepped out the door of their New York apartment for a three mile ride to the delivery room. The Uber arrived, but then came the hitch.
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Report: Fla. Uber driver faked mess, billed customer $100
A Florida attorney was upset to find an additional charge added to his Uber bill when he got home, which led to an investigation and termination of the driver. Alex Serrano told WFLA that he got an email saying that he had been charged $100 "to account for the mess that you all made" in the Uber car that picked him up. According to Serrano, nothing happened in the car and he contacted Uber to clear the fee.
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Customer claims Uber driver assaults her, he says he is the victim
A customer claimed an Uber driver attacked her on New Year's Eve near Hollywood and plans to sue. Kristy Ortiz said her mobile phone video shows the driver smacked her before dragging her out of his car and physically assaulting her again. Ortiz said she is still recovering from a broken jaw. "I spent days in the hospital getting reconstructive surgery," she said.
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Uber might owe tens of thousands of California passengers $1.8 million in class action lawsuit
Several Uber customers in California received notice they're involved in a class-action lawsuit against the rideshare giant. Uber agreed to the terms of a $1.8 million suit alleging it inappropriately charged customers an "airport fee toll" late last year. The lawsuit, filed in November 2015, accused Uber of charging customers the "airport fee toll" several months before the airport required it, letting drivers keep the fee instead.
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Wheelchair users' advocacy group demands TLC crackdown on Uber
An advocacy group for wheelchair users slammed Uber for "separate and unequal service" and called on the Taxi and Limousine to step in and regulate. In a letter to TLC Commissioner Meera Joshi, the United Spinal Association accused the city of "acquiescing to a multi-billion-dollar company" by failing to impose accessibility requirements on Uber and other car services, which they say amounts to discrimination against wheelchair users.
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War on Uber grows as taxi drivers stage noisy airport protest
Taxi drivers staged a noisy protest at Newark Liberty Airport, snaking about 100 cabs slowly through the airport to highlight their call for regulating ride share services such as Uber and Lyft. Most of the anger was directed at Uber as a group of taxi drivers chanted "Uber must go." Various Communications Workers of America Union and public officials called for legislation to make Uber drivers adhere to the same licensing, insurance and background check requirements that cab drivers do.
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