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A same-sex couple in Houston say an Uber driver kicked them out of the car for sharing a “quick kiss.” Randall Magill, 28, and his fiancé Jose Chavez, 26, told KTVU they believe they were singled out because they were gay. The incident happened last month after leaving a holiday event at a friend’s house, they… (more…)
Transport for London (TfL) has informed US tech firm Uber that it will not issue it a private hire operator licence after the expiry of its current licence on 30 September. TfL cited the company’s policy on reporting criminal offences, hiring policies and tech software which could bar regulatory organisations for gaining full access to its technology as some of its reasons.
Uber has 21 days to appeal and those appeals could see the battle for Uber on London’s street rage for years into the future. Tfl also noted that Uber had the right to appeal the decision and that it could continue to operate ” until any appeal processes have been exhausted”.
So technically Uber can still continue to offer cars to its customers as Tfl has stated that it can continue to operate whilst any appeals process goes on.
The blow to Uber could potentially mean the loss of tens of thousands of jobs across London as well affecting over 3.5 million passengers who use the service. The company has around 40,000 drivers in London – but they aren’t considered employees of the company, but self-employed.
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said in a statement, “I fully support TfL’s decision – it would be wrong if TfL continued to license Uber if there is any way that this could pose a threat to Londoners’ safety and security.”
In a statement, Uber said, “far from being open, London is closed to innovative companies”.
In making its decision to effectively ban Uber TfL said,
TfL has concluded that Uber London Limited is not fit and proper to hold a private hire operator licence.
TfL considers that Uber’s approach and conduct demonstrate a lack of corporate responsibility in relation to a number of issues which have potential public safety and security implications. These include:
In a statement regarding TfL’s decision Mayor Sadiq Khan said,
“I want London to be at the forefront of innovation and new technology and to be a natural home for exciting new companies that help Londoners by providing a better and more affordable service.
However, all companies in London must play by the rules and adhere to the high standards we expect – particularly when it comes to the safety of customers. Providing an innovative service must not be at the expense of customer safety and security.
“I fully support TfL’s decision – it would be wrong if TfL continued to license Uber if there is any way that this could pose a threat to Londoners’ safety and security.
“Any operator of private hire services in London needs to play by the rules”.
The blow to the Saudi backed Uber could potentially mean the loss of tens of thousands of jobs across London as well affecting over 3.5 million passengers who use the service.
Transport for London (TfL) has informed US tech firm Uber that it will not issue it a private hire operator licence after the expiry of its current licence on 30 September. TfL cited the company’s policy on reporting criminal offences, hiring policies and tech software which could bar regulatory organisations for gaining full access to its technology as some of its reasons.
The blow to Uber could potentially mean the loss of tens of thousands of jobs across London as well affecting over 3.5 million passengers who use the service.
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said in a statement, “I fully support TfL’s decision – it would be wrong if TfL continued to license Uber if there is any way that this could pose a threat to Londoners’ safety and security.”
In a statement, Uber said, “far from being open, London is closed to innovative companies”.
In making its decision to effectively ban Uber TfL said,
TfL has concluded that Uber London Limited is not fit and proper to hold a private hire operator licence.
TfL considers that Uber’s approach and conduct demonstrate a lack of corporate responsibility in relation to a number of issues which have potential public safety and security implications. These include:
Uber has 21 days to appeal and those appeals could see the battle for Uber on London’s street rage for years into the future. Tfl also noted that Uber had the right to appeal the decision and that it could continue to operate ” until any appeal processes have been exhausted”.
And guess what you could now be barred from using the Uber service if you break one of their community guidelines. The guidelines say US only at this point. So you could find your Uber account blocked if you break one of the rules.
So you could find your Uber account blocked if you break one of the rules.
So what are Uber’s rules?
No fighting,
No flirting
No swearing
No personal questions
No sex – with a driver or another passenger,
No discrimination
No stalking
No being sick
No breaking the law
No guns
And while we agree with many of those – we’re wondering how Uber is going to deal with its own drivers when they break the law (using mobile phones whilst driving – don’t think we don’t see you!) or discriminating against someone because of their sexuality.
https://twitter.com/wehatemarc/status/805301793571958784
Just saying.
In other news you know when you rate your Uber journey, you get rated back by your driver! You can actually find out what your Uber star rating is.
CREDIT: Uber
The taxi disruptor tech giant, Uber, has had a giant investment from the Saudi Arabia Public Investment fund (royal government’s investment arm) as it plans to expand into the middle east. Saudi Arabia which bans women from driving has found that 80 per cent of Uber’s customers are women. The deal is said to be worth £2.4bn, $3.5bn (US) and is one of the largest investments in a tech firm the country has ever made.
Saudia Arabia is one of the countries where homosexuality can still attract the death sentence. Men found guilty of homosexual acts can be executed by stoning.
The investment now means the company’s value stands at $62.5bn and will give Yasir Al Rumayya, the managing director of public investment fund a chair at one of Silicon Valley’s most prized firms.
Uber has had a troubling history of anti-gay incidents, especially in the US, its home market, with Twitter users reporting their homophobic experiences from drivers on their timelines.
Recently an alleged verbal assault in London left one gay man fearing for his safety after he asked his driver what his ‘craziest’ ride was. The driver, according to customer Lewis Peters, left him in shock, when the driver described two men kissing in the back of his car which he said was “disgusting” and “vile”.
Uber responded by saying,
“Uber celebrates diversity and does not tolerate any form of discrimination whatsoever.
“We take any allegations of discriminatory behaviour very seriously and it is our policy with any serious incident to prevent the partner-driver from using our app while we investigate.”
Does investment from anti-gay governments like Saudi Arabia in a firm like Uber put you off using them?
— TheGayUK Magazine (@TheGayUK) June 2, 2016
The rugby star has been criticised by some fans after he posted a message and photo on his facebook profile of Mohamed Uzair, an Uber driver who he claims “is the most horrible & rudest man”.
He then questioned why the man was working for the app based taxi firm. Uber works via an app by which users can order cars that are closest to them.
Ben has remained tight lipped about exactly what went wrong with the driver. The post on Facebook has now been liked by over 358 people and shared 23 times.
One Facebook member, Neil Rogers, accused Mr. Cohen of making an mistake in posting the message in front of hundreds of thousands of people. He wrote,
“I don’t think you should be putting this up on your page in front of 361k people. That could be considered bullying.”
Whilst another, Bobby Long, wrote:
“Ben, please don’t use your status for this, he won’t have a nice time with any of your fans who recognise him, he maybe rude, but he will become worse after this.”
Whilst مصعب المقدسي wrote:
“Ben, that is a shame to use your influence to bully people who are rude to you.”
The firm’s drivers have received their fair share of criticism in the past. In January a gay couple said they were kicked out of an Uber taxi for kissing and cuddling.
In May an Uber driver told Neil Shah and his friend “no gays allowed” when they started kissing. The driver has since been suspended pending an “internal investigation” by the US based firm.
In Oklahoma, USA, the transport bill was re-written by Republican Senator Jason Smalley in April to allow drivers to discriminate against LGBT users. However Uber have made it clear that their policy is not to allow discrimination in any form.
Breaking this policy will result in the removal from the app platform.