Uber still at odds with regulators

On March 3, Uber lost to Transport for London (TfL), the local government agency managing the city’s transportation system, in its challenge to the latter’s requiring all taxi drivers to take a written English test.

TfL introduced the requirement in June 2016. As per the requirement, which is applicable to all drivers seeking to obtain or renew their private hire licence to drive inside London after April 1, 2017, drivers will have to pass a written English exam, including a 120-word essay.

Uber did succeed in getting TfL to apply the requirement to all drivers, including those from English-speaking countries on grounds of discrimination. However, it failed to get TfL to drop the requirement.

In London, Uber drivers have to hold a private hire license issued by TfL.

As reported by The Guardian, general manager of Uber London, Tom Elvidge, earlier called the requirement a “deeply disappointing outcome for tens of thousands of drivers who will lose their livelihoods because they cannot pass an essay writing test.”

“We’ve always supported spoken English skills, but writing an essay has nothing to do with communicating with passengers or getting them safely from A to B,” Elvidge added.

On the other hand, the mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said being able to speak English and understand information from passengers and licensing requirements is a vital part of a driver’s job in ensuring that passengers get the high standard of service they need and deserve.

“This could include discussing a better route, talking about a medical condition, or ensuring that every driver is fully up to date with new regulations,” he said.

In another instance, Uber has been found using a tool called Greyball to deceive law enforcement officials in cities where its services are not legal.

As reported by The New York Times, Greyball uses geolocation data, credit card information, social media accounts, and other data points to identify government officials. As a result, officials attempting to hail an Uber cab can see icons of cars navigating nearby, but no one would come pick them up. The programme helped Uber drivers avoid being ticketed.

Greyball has been used in Portland (Oregon), Philadelphia, Boston, and Las Vegas, as well as France, Australia, China, South Korea, and Italy.

According to a statement from Uber, the programme is aimed at violators of its terms of services. “This programme denies ride requests to users who are violating our terms of services—whether that’s people aiming to physically harm drivers, competitors looking to disrupt our operations, or opponents who collude with officials on secret ‘stings’ meant to entrap drivers,” the company said.

In 2016, Uber was estimated to be valued at $66 billion. In an interview with Vanity Fair in October last year, CEO Travis Kalanick isaid that Uber is not going to have an initial public offering (IPO) anytime soon.

With Uber not being in the good books of governments in many countries and territories around the world, coupled with a host of recently revealed controversies, one may wonder whether the company retained its $66 billion value.

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