NewsWatch
Keeping a critical eye on Uber,
Lyft and other transportation
network companies
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Two Uber drivers arrested while on duty
Uber continues to run into roadblocks when it comes to driver safety. Two Uber drivers were arrested in separate incidents. A man in Palo Alto, California, was arrested and charged with sexual assault after a female passenger told police that he made uninvited advances and ignored her requests to stop the vehicle, according to police. Another driver in Chicago was pulled over for not wearing a seat belt and was arrested when officers discovered marijuana and a loaded weapon in the car.
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California says its claims in Uber case could exceed $1 billion
A California state agency told the federal judge reviewing Uber Technologies Inc.'s $100 million settlement with drivers that state claims for labor violations related to the case are estimated at more than $1 billion. The California Labor and Workforce Development Agency said in a court filing that there was "no rationale" for the $1 million allotted for those claims under the settlment.
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Uber drivers sue Gov. Cuomo, state Labor Department over unemployment benefits
Two former Uber drivers sued Gov. Cuomo and the New York Department of Labor for leaving their unemployment benefits claims stuck in neutral. The drivers - Levon Aleksanian and Jakir Hossain, who sued along with the New York Taxi Workers Alliance - alleged that the Labor Department refuses to determine whether they're eligible for the benefits, even though they are independent contractors.
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Is Uber reducing drunk driving? New study says no.
A new study casts doubt on Uber's claim that ride-sharing has reduced drunken driving. Researchers at Oxford University and the University of Southern California who examined county-level data in the United States before and after the arrival of Uber and its competitors in those markets found that ride-sharing had no effect on drinking-related or holiday- and weekend-related fatalities.
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Federal judge rips Uber apart over dirt-digging investigation
In December of last year, Yale environmental researcher Spencer Meyer filed suit against Uber, alleging price fixing by Uber's drivers and founder in violation of federal antitrust law. Hardly the first person to accuse Uber of corporate malfeasance, Meyer nonetheless became the target of private investigators, working for a security company hired by Uber, who attempted to dig up derogatory information - an act the district judge hearing the case, Jed Rakoff, has now, in a 31-page order, called "blatantly fraudulent and arguably criminal."
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Why Uber drivers want a union (one earned $2.85 for a ride)
Chris P. works full-time for Uber in Seattle, including long shifts on the weekends. The rest of the week, he's a stay-at-home dad. He likes the job, but he hopes a union could get him more stability. Chris: "If we have a union and we have a collective bargaining, we can get higher rates, tips, we have better job security, this will become a respectable position and not so much a disposable one." The Seattle City Council has voted to offer union representation to drivers for Uber and Lyft.
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Uber driver threatens Clay Aiken with bat, 'American Idol' star alleges in tweet
Former "American Idol" star Clay Aiken was too idle for a New York Uber driver who allegedly threatened him with a baseball bat. The North Carolina crooner tweeted that his Uber driver "threatened me" with a bat because "I took too long to get out!!" "Uber won't take him off of the road! beware NYC," Aiken wrote on Twitter, posting a photo of the offending cabbie's license plate.
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Passenger claims Uber driver was playing Pokémon Go during 20 minute taxi ride
An Uber passenger claims to have seen his driver playing Pokémon Go behind the wheel. The chef even claimed to see the cab driver swiping the screen to catch Pokémon during the journey. Paul Mohammad was travelling from Haringey to Bounds Green in north London when he noticed the male driver with the popular gaming app open on his mobile phone.
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Uber summoned; driver accused of rape
The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) has called officials of Uber System Inc. to a hearing in connection with a rape complaint filed by a passenger against an Uber car driver in Quezon City. LTFRB issued a show cause order to the transport network company, asking the firm to disclose details about the driver to help the complainant.
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Woman sues Uber for alleged sexual assault by driver
Keather Taylor from West Hollywood, says she was sexually assaulted by an Uber driver in 2014. Now, she is suing the company for negligence. Taylor says she drank from a water bottle the Uber driver gave her and then blacked out. "The next thing I remember is waking up (...) in my bed on top of my sheets and I was completely nude," Taylor said. Taylor says she found a condom on her nightstand and called police to report she had been raped.
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Uber driver sentenced to prison for Montco sexual assault: Report
An Uber driver accused of sexual assault in West Norriton has been sentenced to 7.5 to 15 years in prison, according to court documents. Abdellah Elkaddi, 46, a Moroccan national, has maintained his innocence throughout the process, according to a Times Herald report. His lawyer previously classified the charges as "merely allegations," according to the report, citing the fact that Elkaddi has not been in criminal trouble before.
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China finally made ride-hailing legal, in a way that could destroy Uber's business model
Ride-hailing companies like Uber have finally become legal in China after attracting billions of dollars in investments and staging a battle to dominate the Chinese market. The Chinese government released a set of new rules legalizing ride-hailing services like Uber and its homegrown rival, Didi Chuxing, nationwide. Previously these services operated in China in a legal gray area, with drivers facing arrests in some areas.
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Lyft driver arrested in attempted kidnapping of jogger in University City
Police have arrested a 21-year-old man in connection with an alleged attempted kidnapping of a woman as she was jogging in the University City area. The incident was reported when a man - whom police later determined has a Lyft sticker on his car, signifying that the person who owns the car is a Lyft driver - reportedly used an electric stun gun in an attempt to pull the woman into his parked car.
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Uber, Lyft are costing the MTA money, officials say
The MTA says ride-sharing programs like Uber and Lyft are costing them money - and it's not because fewer people are riding the subway. The MTA receives $.50 cents for every passenger that gets into a yellow cab - a fee that Uber and Lyft drivers are not subject to, WCBS 880's Alex Silverman reported. Instead, ride-share programs pay a sales tax, with only a fraction of a percent going to the MTA. This causes the MTA's bottom line to suffer, as Uber and Lyft continue to pick up a growing percentage of the market share.
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