NewsWatch
Keeping a critical eye on Uber,
Lyft and other transportation
network companies
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Uber and Lyft are getting pushback from municipalities all over the US
Uber and Lyft, and others, want hailing a ride to be as common as catching the bus. But their aggressive expansion plans are being stymied in many places in the U.S. by lawmakers because of safety concerns, pressure from taxi companies or a desire to level the playing field for incumbents. Some methods lawmakers are using to thwart their expansion include introducing requirements on driver fingerprinting, vehicle inspection, insurance, fees, and limits on where drivers can pick up and drop off passengers.
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Uber and taxis keep going head to head at PSP
Two competing petitions are vying for the attention of taxi or ride-share users. Michael Brock, general manager for Yellow Cab of the Desert, has posted an online petition on the site change.org to require fingerprint background checks and drug and alcohol testing of anyone paid to drop off or pick up passengers at Palm Springs International Airport. Taxi drivers already must meet this level of scrutiny, and the taxi industry says drivers for ride-share companies like Uber and Lyft should as well.
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Uber driver charged with raping passenger in Boston
An Uber driver has been charged with raping a passenger in Boston. Michael Vedrine, 32, of Brockton, pleaded not guilty at his arraignment in Dorchester Municipal Court on two counts of rape and two counts of indecent sexual assault, according to Boston Police. Vedrine picked up the young woman after she called for a ride to her home. Instead of taking her there, he's accused of driving her to another location in the city and attacking her between 2 and 4 a.m.
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Another Uber settlement rejected, this time over riders' fee
Uber Technologies Inc. was dealt a second rejection of a legal settlement, this time in a case over claims the company misled riders when it charged them a $1 "safe rides fee" that earned the company almost half a billion dollars. U.S. District Judge Jon Tigar in San Francisco said the proposed $28.5 million payout wasn't enough for customers, considering how much Uber took in from the fees.
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After apathetic first response, cops arrest Uber & Lyft driver who allegedly assaulted cyclist
Police have arrested the Uber and Lyft driver who a cyclist says assaulted her after which cops refused to do anything about it. Officers caught up to Farrukh Rakhmankulov, 29, and police charged him with misdemeanor assault. Rakhmankulov, a Midwood resident, allegedly attacked cyclist Lee James on the night of August 4th in Williamsburg, after she says she passed close to him and left a handlebar smudge on his window.
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Uber driver takes comedian who fell asleep on 35-mile detour
It would only have taken five minutes to walk, but comedienne Hannah Warman did what many of us are guilty of doing and decided to get a cab. However, despite the short distance the journey should have taken, Hannah's trip ended up taking her around the houses. All of them. The map from her route shows she set off at 4.30am and ended up going as far as Hanwell, west London.
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Uber, Lyft unregulated and unsafe in New Orleans, taxi union says
Ride-hailing companies Uber and Lyft are openly bucking city regulations and endangering public safety, and Mayor Mitch Landrieu's administration is doing nothing about it, according to a scathing report to the City Council's transportation committee. The report, compiled by lawyer Tracie Washington and the city's taxi drivers union, accused the so-called "transportation network companies" of failing to drug test their drivers after crashes, to complete proper vehicle inspections, to acquire proper licenses or to ensure a portion of their fleet is accessible to people with disabilities - all requirements under city law.
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Why the disabled oppose ride share services like Uber and Lyft
The ride-share services Uber and Lyft have been a bane for taxis, but they've also delivered a particularly dispiriting defeat to the Philadelphia residents with disabilities. The disabilities community fought for years to get wheelchair accessible cabs on city streets, and it was finally about to happen. Two years ago, the state passed legislation creating 150 taxi medallions specifically for such cabs, but just as they went on sale, along came Uber and Lyft, killing the market for new medallions, and sending activists such as Rebecca Hamell of Liberty Resources back to the drawing board.
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Beware back to school: Worst Uber attacks on students
As students prepare to return to college, one thing female students cannot go without is caution. Assaults, especially sexual assaults, are a haunting part of daily life for so many students. Uber has made that nightmare even more of a reality. We tell our students that getting a driver when they've had too much to drink is the responsible course of action - it's safer. But what happens when Uber drivers take advantage of that false sense of security?
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