Category Archives: Uber

Union calls on UK Uber users to join 24-hour strike over revelations

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Public asked to avoid using ride-hailing service on Wednesday in response to issues raised by Uber files

A trade union representing “gig economy” workers is calling on Uber customers to join a 24-hour strike in response to the Uber files, a series of revelations about the cab-hailing app published by the Guardian and its media partners.

The App Drivers and Couriers Union (ADCU) invited Uber users to avoid using the service for a day on Wednesday and instead join a demonstration at the company’s headquarters in London.

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The Uber files: how the leak prompted outrage across the world

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From Europe to India and the US, the revelations have fuelled anger from across the spectrum, from the drivers to politicians

The release of the Uber files has prompted a frenzy of reaction around the world, piling pressure on senior politicians, fuelling calls for a crackdown on corporate lobbying and drawing outrage from groups including traditional taxi drivers.

The fuse was lit with the publication of revelations from a trove of more than 124,000 documents about Uber spanning from 2013 to 2017, leaked to the Guardian and shared with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) and international media.

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EU seeks clarification from former EC vice-president over Uber revelations

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EU executive responds following claims Neelie Kroes lobbied Dutch PM and others

The EU executive has announced it will write to its former vice-president Neelie Kroes “for clarification” following revelations that she secretly helped Uber lobby the Dutch prime minister, Mark Rutte, and a string of other national politicians.

The European Commission has been facing calls to open an immediate inquiry and “defend the EU’s integrity” in the wake of the reports, which showed that Kroes called Dutch government authorities about Uber less than six months after leaving her post as the EU’s top official on internet policy.

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The Moscow moves: how Mandelson’s firm helped Uber reach Russian elite

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Leak shows how the former Labour minister used his access to pro-Kremlin oligarchs, including some now under sanctions

Even before Uber’s top executives arrived in Davos in January 2016, its bosses were trying to secure invitations to the exclusive party hosted by the billionaire Russian metals magnate Oleg Deripaska. Famous for its free-flowing vodka, the event was an invitation-only, after-hours fixture of the world economic forum, the annual gathering of corporate leaders and politicians in the Swiss Alps.

Fortunately for Uber, it had hired someone who could pull strings. “Put them on list at door,” ordered Peter Mandelson, according to messages in the Uber files data leak.

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The Uber files: the unicorn (part 1)

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A leak of internal documents from inside Uber reveals evidence that the company broke laws, duped police, exploited violence against drivers and secretly lobbied prime ministers and presidents in an effort to break into markets long held by taxi companies

Back when Uber was starting up, barely more than a concept and attempting to break into new cities, it had a playbook. First it would attract drivers to switch to its service from the competition. Then it would encourage customers to try it out by subsidising fares. And then, when it had gained a foothold, it would heap pressure on local regulators to grant them approval to continue operating.

As Johana Bhuiyan tells Michael Safi, the Uber model was spectacularly successful. The company grew from its San Francisco beginnings to be a truly global company in a matter of years. But as it grew, it attracted controversy, and the scandals started to mount up.

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Uber and Transport Workers’ Union strike agreement on gig economy employment standards

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Ride-sharing giant and union support an independent regulatory body to create industry-wide standards and resolve disputes

Ride-sharing giant Uber and the Transport Workers’ Union have struck a landmark agreement on proposed employment standards and benefits ahead of expected new gig economy regulation from the Albanese government.

The union and Uber have also agreed to jointly support the creation of a new independent government-funded regulatory body to create industry-wide standards for ride share and food delivery gig workers following months of negotiations.

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Blow to Uber as top Massachusetts court blocks ballot question

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Justices reject planned ballot measure, citing proposal limiting companies’ liability for accidents

Massachusetts’ top court on Tuesday blocked an effort to ask voters whether app-based ride-share and delivery drivers should be treated as independent contractors rather than employees, in a setback for companies such as Uber and Lyft.

The unanimous decision by the Massachusetts supreme judicial court marked a victory for labor activists who sued and argued the ballot measure proposal contained loopholes that would create a sub-minimum wage for drivers for the companies.

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‘Beyond a joke’: Uber and taxi drivers plead for relief as petrol prices rise again

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Drivers say costs have surged but fares have stayed flat, forcing them to be picky about the trips they choose

Ride-share and taxi drivers say the rising cost of petrol is putting them under enormous strain and have bemoaned existing relief measures as a “joke”.

Major ride-share companies including Uber introduced a temporary levy in response to record high petrol prices in March. Ola was the first to act, increasing its fares by 15%.

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At least 50 US gig workers murdered or killed since 2017 – study

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Activists say companies like Lyft and Uber ‘try to protect their bottom line by offloading risk’ on to workers

On a Sunday afternoon in August 2021, the Lyft driver Isabella Lewis was shot in the head by a passenger she had just picked up and left for dead as the man sped off in what appeared to be a fatal carjacking.

Lyft released a statement to the press at the time saying it was “heartbroken by this incident” – but Allyssa Lewis, Isabella’s sister, said her family had never received direct communication from the company, nor any financial compensation.

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Uber strikes deal to list all New York City taxis on its ride-share app

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Passengers will pay roughly same fare for taxi and Uber X rides in move that could help overcome shortage of drivers

Uber Technologies Inc has agreed a deal to list all New York City taxis on its app, a move that could help the ride-hailing firm overcome a shortage of drivers in one of its biggest markets.

The agreement was announced by Creative Mobile Technologies, which makes apps for the city’s yellow cabs, and Curb, a ride-hailing app for licensed taxi and for-hire rides in North America.

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Afghanistan’s former finance minister is now Uber driver in Washington DC

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Washington Post rides with Khalid Payenda, who left for the US before the fall of Kabul

Days before Afghanistan fell to the Taliban last August, Ashraf Ghani, the Afghan president, was “welcomed” to the United Arab Emirates. He was alleged to have taken with him $169m, from his country’s treasury.

Six months on, Khalid Payenda, once Ghani’s finance minister, is driving an Uber in Washington DC.

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Uber fares to rise in UK as 20% VAT rate is applied

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Change comes after high court ruling that Uber should be regarded as a contractor, not an agent

Uber fares across the UK are to rise sharply from Monday night when VAT of 20% will be applied to rides booked via the app.

The change comes after a high court ruling last December that Uber could not be viewed as simply an agent but should be regarded as the contractor.

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‘It’s not worth it’: rising gas prices force drivers to work for less than minimum wage

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Drivers already hit by low wages and poor working conditions are spending more time driving to keep their wages the same

By Tuesday afternoon, Lyft driver Elida Zabaleta had earned $100 in the five hours she spent ferrying passengers across the city of San Jose. With gas prices in California surging, she’d have to use more than half of that to cover fuel for the day, leaving her with just $45.

The rising cost of gas has made a difficult job all the more difficult, Zabaleta said, forcing her to spend more time behind the wheel to earn enough to afford living in one of the country’s most expensive cities.

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Video shows police dog severely mauls Uber driver who missed car payments

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Officers in a San Francisco Bay area city stopped the driver because the rental company had reported his car as stolen

Newly released video footage appears to show California police officers using a law enforcement dog to severely maul an Uber driver, who fell behind on payments for the car he rented to do his job.

San Ramon police stopped Ali Badr, a 42-year-old Egyptian immigrant, in December 2020 after a rental company reported his vehicle as stolen. In footage obtained by the San Francisco Chronicle, police in the Bay Area city can be seen releasing the dog on the unarmed and barefoot driver without warning within seconds of stopping him, even though Badr was not resisting.

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Lyft admits it recorded 4,000 sexual assault claims in long-awaited report

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Company reveals figures, promised in 2019, as ride-hailing companies face growing safety scrutiny

The ride-hailing app Lyft received more than 4,000 reports of sexual assaults during rides from 2017 to 2019, the company revealed in a new report, including 1,800 reports in 2019 alone.

Lyft revealed the numbers on Thursday, after having pledged in 2019 to do so. In its report, the company said the number of sexual assault reports collected through its app had risen from 1,096 in 2017 to 1,255 in 2018 and 1,807 in 2019.

Information and support for anyone affected by rape or sexual abuse issues is available from the following organisations. In the US, Rainn offers support on 800-656-4673. In the UK, Rape Crisis offers support on 0808 802 9999. In Australia, support is available at 1800Respect (1800 737 732). Other international helplines can be found at ibiblio.org/rcip/internl.html

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Uber rival Didi Chuxing suspends plans for UK and Europe launch

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Company won licences for Manchester and Sheffield but faces pressure from Chinese government

Chinese Uber rival Didi Chuxing has reportedly suspended plans to launch in the UK and Europe, as the ride-hailing company faces pressure from authorities in its home market.

The company’s plans to launch in the UK and Europe have been pushed back at least 12 months, and staff working on the launch have been told they face possible redundancy, the Daily Telegraph first reported.

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Blow for Uber as judge finds California’s gig-worker law unconstitutional

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  • Judge sides with drivers in lawsuit brought over Prop 22
  • Uber criticizes decision and says it plans to appeal

A judge on Friday struck down a California ballot measure that exempted Uber and other app-based ride-hailing and delivery services from a state law requiring drivers to be classified as employees eligible for benefits and job protections.

Related: One airport, 1,300 snakes: San Francisco helps to save endangered species

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CEOs told to ‘think before they tweet’ after Just Eat spat with Uber

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Boss’s Twitter rant against Uber Eats risks backfiring, as experts warn online outbursts can damage companies’ reputation

Chief executives are being warned to “think twice before they tweet” after the boss of takeaway company Just Eat Takeaway was told his Twitter spat with Uber threatened to undermine the firm’s reputation.

Jitse Groen this week became the latest in a growing list of chief executives to be rebuked by customers, investors and even regulators over ill-judged tweets.

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Court tells Uber to reinstate five UK drivers sacked by automated process

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Ruling in Amsterdam overturns company’s decision to exclude operators for alleged sharing of account details

Uber has been ordered to reinstate five British drivers who were struck off from its ride-hailing app by robot technology.

The five drivers, backed by the App Drivers & Couriers Union (ADCU) and the campaign group Worker Info Exchange, argued that they had been wrongly accused of fraudulent activity based on mistaken information from Uber’s technology, and that the company had failed to provide the drivers with proper evidence to support the allegations.

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NSW food delivery taskforce ignored riders’ safety concerns, advocates say

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Taskforce initiated after five riders died on the job recommends ‘refining the App’ and offering free mobile phone holders

A taskforce set up to improve safety after five delivery riders died on the job in the space of two months has suggested only minor changes to the industry, according to a draft of its report to be released next week.

The action plan has been criticised for “caving to the demands” of delivery companies by not setting any enforceable actions, and not mentioning the impact of time pressure, wages and working conditions.

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