[NewsPoster]

Uber is being sued by the cities of Los Angeles and San Francisco, for unlawful business practices. The District Attorneys of both cities claim the cab company is misrepresenting how effective its driver background checks are to its users, as well as including fare calculations and other fees that have not been approved by the state itself.

George Gascón and Jackie Lacey, representing San Francisco and Los Angeles respectively, jointly wrote "these companies can be innovative in the way they deliver services without ignoring the laws that protect the public," reports Recode. Similar complaints were levied against Lyft by the District Attorneys, resulting in the company agreeing to get all the complaints fixed, with the civil penalty of $500,000 halved if it is all completed within one year.

Aside from the driver checking complaint, the filing alleges that the use of the Uber app for calculating fares is not suitable without it being regulatory check to make sure it is "accurate, reliable, and does not facilitate fraud." While Uber charges a $4 fee for entering airports, it is claimed Uber transports passengers to and from the airport without any authorization from the airport authorities in the first place. The $1 "Safe Rides Guarantee" is also attacked in the complaint.

Uber spokesperson Eva Behrend states the company "has met with the District Attorneys to address their concerns regarding airport operations, the UberPool product, background checks, and operation of the app. We will continue to engage in discussions with the District Attorneys."

The lawsuit is the latest in a number of incidents negatively affecting the company in recent days. Bans in Spain, Thailand, and India were accompanied by news that Vietnam was also examining operations in the country. Portland, Oregon has also sued the service shortly after its launch in the city.

Uber Complaint (Filed) by Liz Gannes

[ElectroTech]

Please continue to work out the bugs and put cab companies out of business. I am opposed to criminal involvement in the cab / municipal authority collusion.

[FireWire]

I think they should fix the taxi industry before blaming Uber.. same as the RIAA, it's more simple to chase the guy downloading one song that to fix the outdated industry.. there shouldn't be a special fee to go to the airport in the first place.. and taxi permit shouldn't cost 10000-300000$ either, that's pure madness... as long as the driver has appropriate commercial insurance, there should be no problem with people giving rides...

[elroth]

Uber doesn't require commercial insurance, and has failed to do background checks of drivers - the driver in India who raped a passenger had a false address on file with Uber. Uber executives have bragged about being able to access passengers' private information, even showing a reporter (who had criticized Uber) how Uber could easily access her info (that's a threat). That exec still works at Uber.


There's nothing wrong with governments trying to regulate a company in the commercial driving industry, especially one as sleazy as Uber has been shown to be. Notice how Lyft will work with local governments to do things right, while Uber just breaks the law, as they're dong in Portland. (Lyft is in talks to iron out the issues, while Uber quit meeting with officials and just started their service).