NewsWatch
Keeping a critical eye on Uber,
Lyft and other transportation
network companies
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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 and fair commerce from so-called ride-sharing or ride-booking services such as Uber and Lyft. Visit the Archive to read previous editions.
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The dark side to Uber's unstoppable cash grab
Uber's insane fundraising streak looks to get even more insane, as the New York Times is reporting that a new fund for super wealthy investors to bet on Uber has recently cropped up. But even as cash continues to rain down on Silicon Valley's biggest unicorn, the deluge could spell trouble for Uber on a number of fronts. Morgan Stanley and Bank of America are encouraging private wealth clients with net worths of $10 million to invest in a fund call the New Rider LP, which is a fancy way for people with money to buy stock in companies that haven't gone public yet. The strange thing, though, is that investors aren't allowed to view any of Uber's financial information, which in essence means they are making blind bets on Uber.
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Kevin Smith's daughter recounts 'very, very scary' encounter with fake Uber drivers
The daughter of director and actor Kevin Smith told ABC News how she was nearly abducted by two men posing as drivers for ride-sharing service Uber. Harley Quinn Smith, 16, says she ordered an Uber car to pick her up at a Starbucks in the Los Angeles area. When the car arrived, Harley, an actress, said she knew something was suspicious. "The second I started talking to them, I realized they were definitely not Uber drivers," she said. "They had just printed out the Uber symbol and put it at the front of their car."
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Jacksonville Lyft driver accused of groping woman, charged with stalking
A driver for an app-based transportation service has been charged after a woman said she was groped by the man following her Lyft ride. But Lyft officials say the driver who was arrested has had his ability to work for the company suspended immediately. Ismael Esa, 24, was charged with battery after the woman said she was attacked in the back seat of his car after a ride home from her boyfriend's on Jan. 5. At the end of the ride, she said the driver got in the back and locked the doors before fondling her and asking for a kiss.
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They jumped in what they thought was an Uber from a strip club and got robbed
Memphis police are still looking for the person accused of posing as an Uber driver and robbing two people at gunpoint in the 3400 block of Lamar. Police said the two were leaving a strip club down the street when they came across a man with dreadlocks they thought was an Uber driver. People in this area said it will make them think twice about who they can trust.
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Uber cab driver arrested for allegedly molesting woman journalist
A woman journalist has accused an Uber cab driver of molesting her while she was on her way from Delhi to Noida. The cab driver has been arrested. According to the complaint, the woman journalist suspected that the cab driver, Ravinder Singh, was taking a wrong route near Noida Sector 15 metro station, and asked him to stop the vehicle, said Deputy Superintendent of Police Vijay Dhul. She then got down from the cab and started walking, while the driver insisted on taking her to her destination, Mr Dhul added.
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Uber hosts TOP SECRET Sin City 'team building' junket for 4,800 employees from around the world (no drivers, please)
Controversial US tech corporation Uber - the mobile car service app - has thrown a lavish top secret extravaganza in Las Vegas for its entire staff, Daily Mail Online can reveal. Cocktails were aplenty at the hush-hush multimillion dollar five-day event, which saw 4,800 employees flown in from around the world. The tech firm took over several hotels along the famous Las Vegas strip. Workers stayed at the Paris, Planet Hollywood, Flamingo, Bally's and LINQ hotels and were treated to a series of glitzy events and boozy parties in Sin City.
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Uber, Lyft price cuts have attracted the attention of NYC taxi regulators
The taxi price wars have caught the attention of the city's cabbie regulator, who said the agency will hear from aggrieved drivers about fares and income. After Uber and Lyft slashed fare prices to attract passengers, drivers were incensed that the new low prices would put a dent in their pay. "We endeavor to make sure that the people driving TLC-licensed vehicles are paid fairly for their work, so the commission will be listening very closely to what drivers across all the sectors we regulate have to say about their economics in the coming months," Taxi and Limousine Commission Chair Meera Joshi said.
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Uber NYC: Angered by fare cuts, drivers at LaGuardia Airport say they want a union -- Some 600 Uber drivers at New York City's LaGuardia Airport could make history by becoming the first workers at the ride-hailing giant to form a federally recognized labor union. Earlier this week, Local 1430 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers filed for an election on their behalf. Jordan El-Hag, business manager and attorney for the union, said outreach to drivers began more than a year ago. But it was the company's recent decision to slash fares that gave the campaign the boost in support it needed to file for an election.
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Uber CEO appears to respond to outraged drivers on Facebook
Travis Kalanick, Uber's pugnacious founder and CEO, took to Facebook a to post a link to a five-month-old blog post about the improving quality of life of uberX drivers in New York City. Three hours before, a group called the Uber Drivers Network posted an open letter to Kalanick and his investors on Medium, taking their beef with the company's recent fare cuts directly to the man in charge. The dueling posts are a sign that Uber's driver problem is not quieting down, especially as the court date for a class action lawsuit challenging the way the ride-hail company classifies its drivers grows near.
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Uber's rebranding reveals everything that's wrong with Uber
Uber, Uber, Uber. When will you learn? If you haven't heard, the company that everyone loves (or hates, depending on which side of the fence you're on) unveiled a complete rebrand. My take? It reveals Uber's true colors. And they're not very pretty. I've followed this company from the beginning. At that stage, I thought these guys had a brilliant idea. In fact, I still believe that. It's what they've done with that idea that horrifies me.
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Uber's labor relations is driving it into a ditch
The hundreds of angry Uber drivers protesting wage cuts and calling for a strike outside the company's Queens, N.Y., office are only the latest sign the company's once-Teflon veneer is starting to show some cracks. Americans are learning something fundamental about the on-demand economy: It's not all about Uber. Sure, Uber is injecting some competition into the for-hire transportation market, but what Uber wants is an uneven playing field in which it's exempted from the rules that apply to most employers.
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How Uber profits even while its drivers aren't earning money
"If I'm doing something useful for the company, I should be paid for that time," Mark says to me as he drives me over the Brooklyn Bridge. "That's what work is, right?" It seems like a simple enough principle. And yet when it comes to the nature of work in the digital platform economy, getting paid for that time is anything but a simple proposition. Mark has a special appreciation for what constitutes value to a corporation.
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