Issues affecting Uber service in specific cities or regions, including city-specific or regional requirements and Uber’s compliance or noncompliance.
A Chicago-area Uber driver was ordered held on $100,000 of bond based on the allegation that he demanded sex from a 19-year-old passenger. The allegations continued: When she refused, the driver repeatedly locked the car’s doors and refused to let her out. She ultimately jumped out of the moving vehicle when it slowed in traffic.
Uber said it removed the driver from its service.
After the City of San Francisco requested records about driver safety, disability access, and other operations, via a subpoena, Uber objected and refused to cooperate. San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera summarized Uber’s approach: “Unfortunately, Uber is doing what it always seems to do: raise obstacles and drag its feet— all while continuing to flout the law.”
When trains were out of service Uber sometimes charged far higher prices.
For example, during an August 15, 2017 train service disruption in Chicago, Uber charged as much as five times its normal prices. A spokeswoman for Chicago’s Business Affairs and Consumer Protection department remarked: “It is unfortunate that at least two ride-share companies chose to take advantage of this morning’s difficult commuter situation.” Under pressure, Uber refunded passengers who paid a surge in this period.
The Philippines Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) fined Uber for 5 million Philippine pesos (about US$97,000) for letting some drivers operate without permits. Uber and fellow TNC Grab defended their action by citing passenger demand, explaining that if the did not add new drivers, they would be unable to serve passenger requests. But LTFRB Chairman Martin Delgra III pointed out that this purpose did not excuse the companies from complying with applicable laws.
According to the LTFRB, of the 10,054 active drivers that Uber submitted, less than 2,000 had active and valid permits.
LFTRB Tweet alerting drivers to the obligation to cease operations, and encouraging Uber to “to extend financial assistance” to drivers because drivers “would not have suffered the current predicament were it not for the predatory actions of respondent Uber.”
The LTFRB subsequently offered to lift the one-month suspension if Uber paid a penalty of 190 million pesos ($3.7 million). Senator Grace Poe, a Philippines legislator favoring improving transport, said the hefty fine should “make Uber rethink its actions and re-evaluate its strategy in testing the extent of government regulations.”
After the Philippines Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) ordered Uber to cease operations, Uber cited “overwhelming rider and driver demand” in deciding to continue to operate. Uber filed a motion for reconsideration, asking LTFRB to revisit its decision, but the regulator indicated that Uber drivers were still not allowed to pick up passengers while that request was underway. Nonetheless Uber continued service.
In September 2014, Uber experienced a data breach resulting from an Uber engineer posting an access code which let an unauthorized third party accessed driver names and driver license numbers. Uber failed to notify affected drivers or the state of New York for seven months.
The New York Attorney General described the breach and Uber’s handling of the situation:
The Attorney General found that in early 2014 an Uber engineer posted an access ID for Uber’s third-party cloud storage on Github.com, a website designed to allow software engineers to collaborate. The post was accessible to the general public. On May 12, 2014, someone unaffiliated with Uber accessed the database that included Uber driver names and driver license numbers. Uber discovered the breach in September 2014 but did not provide notice to the affected drivers and Schneiderman’s office until February 26, 2015. General Business Law § 899-aa requires notice be provided to affected individuals and various government agencies including Schneiderman’s office “in the most expedient time possible and without unreasonable delay.”
As part of a settlement with the New York Attorney General’s office, Uber promised to implement multi-factor authentication for any employee could to access especially sensitive rider personal information, among other improved data security practices. Uber also paid a $20,000 penalty for failing to timely notify drivers and the State of New York.
A subsequent FTC investigation and settlement found that more than 100,000 drivers were affected. The FTC reported that in addition to 100,000+ names and driver’s license numbers, Uber also revealed 215 names and bank account numbers with routing numbers, and 84 names and security numbers. Furthermore, the FTC found that Uber’s efforts to notify affected drivers were piecemeal and incomplete: The company initially notified less than half of the drivers affected, whereas others were notified some 16+ months later.
Uber passenger Dane Wilcox reports the saga of a ride in an Uber in Boston. He told the driver he was leaving a bag in the passenger compartment as he unloaded luggage from the trunk — but then the driver drove off. When the driver didn’t return his calls or voicemails, he sought assistance from Uber and ended up filing a small claims lawsuit against Uber.
Meanwhile, in response to Wilcox’s police report, an officer tried to investigate, but Uber falsely told the investigating detective that the driver at issue had not worked for Uber for two years, and that the company had no record of the ride — both provably false. Based on these false statements which impeded the investigation, the small claims court awarded Wilcox the full $4000 he sought.
See also coverage by Ars Technica.
TMZ reported a lawsuit by a Chicago Uber passenger who says driver Munstr Abuseimi punched him repeatedly — then came back to his house with a metal rod which he used for further attacks. The passenger said he received a fractured left orbital, bleeding in his brain, concussion, and a dislocated jaw with nerve injury. Uber did not comment but said the driver no longer has access to the company’s app.
The Guardian reported a letter from the London Metropolitan Police’s taxi and private hire team, complaining that Uber failed to timely report drivers attacking passengers. “Had Uber notified police after the first offence, it would be right to assume that the second would have been prevented,” the letter explained. The letter said that Uber failed to report sexual assaults as well as an incident in which a driver “produced what was thought to be pepper spray during a road rage argument.”
Fox 32 news reports that 56-year-old Florida man Terry Lynn Kimball died after being punched by his Uber driver. The driver punched Kimball due to a dispute about the route the driver chose. A police investigation is ongoing.