NewsWatch
Keeping a critical eye on Uber,
Lyft and other transportation
network companies
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Uber driver 'terrorized' women, tried to exchange rides for sex, police say
Police in Florida have arrested a man who worked as an Uber driver and accused him of sexually assaulting three women this year. Xolani Mtsitsha of Boca Raton was arrested and faces sexual battery charges, according to a statement posted on Facebook by the Boynton Beach Police Department. Mtsitsha, who police said "terrorized three women in our city this year," is being held on $150,000 bond in the Palm Beach County Jail, police said.
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Uber driver arrested in Costa Mesa with drugs, knife, police say
An Uber driver who was driving three female passengers in Orange County was stopped and arrested early Monday after police say they found drugs and a knife on him. Ramon Iribe, 23, was pulled over by Costa Mesa police on a traffic stop at 2:30 a.m. The officer discovered Iribe had an outstanding arrest warrant. He was arrested and officers say they also found a concealed knife, methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia and several Xanax bars.
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Police: Woman says Uber driver sexually assaulted her in Atlanta
Authorities are investigating after a woman said she was sexually assaulted by an Uber driver after leaving a bar in Buckhead. Atlanta police confirmed the victim told officers she was leaving Park Bench Pub, on Irby Avenue, around 2:30 a.m. when she called an Uber to get a ride home. The woman told police that a short while into the drive, the driver began to sexually assault her. She said the driver, described as a Hispanic male, then pushed her out of the car after she scratched him to get him to stop.
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Uber driver arrested for assault, footage surfaces online
An Uber driver was arrested for a physical altercation with at least two women, police confirmed. Officers responded to reports of a male driver striking two people in the area of the The Westin Harbour Castle in Toronto. One woman was transported to hospital with a finger fracture on her left hand. Mohammed Mahbubul Haque, 42, was arrested on scene with one count of assault.
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Uber drivers face criminal probes from Finland's police
Uber drivers in Finland are facing possible criminal prosecution and hefty fines as part of a police crackdown against drivers who lack the required taxi permits. Pekka Seppala, an inspector at the Helsinki Police Department, said in an interview that about 50 drivers in the city are currently being investigated. Uber Technologies Inc.'s app remains available in Helsinki but drivers are required to have a permit, which few drivers have, according to the police.
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Social media brings justice: Police arrest Uber driver for molestation after friend shares story on Facebook
Reports of molestation, rape and sexual abuse against women is a reoccurring phenomenon these days. It's disturbing but nevertheless a hard reality and at most times, our social media feeds are filled with such atrocities with people venting out their anger. Sometimes these posts are ignored and at other times people cope with it with a long sigh. Whatever be your reaction, you simply can't undermine the power of social media and a post on Facebook proves how.
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Lyft and Uber provide interesting economic truths from the ride sharing market
Two interesting little economic truths from the ride sharing market. Lyft has explored selling itself and failed to find a buyer at an attractive price. Then over at Uber we've got their continued drive toward driverless cars. Which one commentator hilariously calls a retreat from their obligations to employees. For it's actually the increasing pressure on Uber to be financially obliged to their drivers which is driving the push for not needing them.
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This Uber customer wants background checks of drivers
Both Uber and its rideshare competitor, Lyft, are pushing back against a Hillsborough County Public Transportation Commission proposed regulation that would require the companies' drivers to undergo a fingerprint background check, just as the area's taxi cab employees must. So adamantly opposed to the background checks are Uber and Lyft that they abandoned the very profitable Austin, Texas, market rather than comply.
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Judge overturns Uber's settlement with drivers
A federal judge on Thursday struck down a proposed class-action settlement between Uber and a group of its current and former drivers, potentially continuing a protracted lawsuit that questioned a key tenet of the ride-hailing company's business. Under a settlement forged in April, Uber had been set to pay up to $100 million in reimbursement damages to nearly 400,000 drivers. The drivers first sued Uber in 2013, claiming that they should have been classified as employees rather than independent contractors of the company.
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Uber faces possible multimillion-dollar tax in Taiwan
The government of Taiwan has asked Uber Technologies to pay about $6.4 million in sales taxes, Reuters reported. The request comes ahead of the country's forthcoming decision on the future of Uber in Taiwan. Taiwan's Investment Commission said it may order Uber to stop operating in Taiwan on the grounds that the company falsely represented itself as an internet company and not a transportation service.
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