From Spain to America, Uber's global record on background checks is shameful

US-based cab-sharing app Uber has admitted that it does not carry out background checks of drivers in India but rather leaves it to cab companies to get the  checks  done. But now comes news that elsewhere in the world, the company is fighting against legislations which require background checks as strong as those demanded of traditional taxis. Uber’s record is all the more damning given that it is working towards making urban transit safer for women in India.  In fact, according to Financial Express , in an email response to a Mumbai passenger last month, Uber claimed , In addition to their individual employers screening them, each of our (Uber driver partners are put through a rigorous quality control process, that is implemented religiously across the country even before a partner gets behind the wheel of your vehicle. In fact screening for safe drivers is just the beginning of our safety efforts. Our process includes prospective and routine checks of drivers’ license and vehicle records to ensure ongoing safe driving. Unlike the taxi industry, our background checking process and standards are so detailed, it is often more rigorous than what is required to become a taxi driver. Moreover, most of our partners are introduced to us via our preferred partners, which means that someone in the system has to vouch for their track record, creating a referral system of trust.

An FIR was registered by the Delhi police against Uber following the alleged rape of a 27-year old woman executive by an Uber cabbie. The FIR states that Uber had around 4,000 drivers working for it in Delhi but the company had no idea whether any of them were verified by cops or had a PSV badge which is mandatory to drive any public transport vehicle in the city. Globally too Uber has been subject to a  spate of international clashes with regulators who argue that Uber and its drivers are in violation of taxi law. Uber claims that it is not a taxi company, does not own any vehicles, and therefore is not bound by such laws. [caption id=“attachment_1842611” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Image used for representational purposes only. Reuters.[/caption] In California, that argument  resulted in state regulators establishing an entirely new class of transit carriers to accomodate Uber, Lyft, and other rivals. In fact, prosecutors in Los Angeles and San Francisco have sued Uber over its background check policies and other business practices, alleging that Uber lied to give customers a false sense of security.   In a related development, a former Uber driver in San Francisco was charged on Tuesday with vehicular manslaughter in the death of a 6-year-old girl he struck last New Year’s Eve. Regulators in Spain and Thailand too have ordered Uber to  stop its services after finding that it was in violation of local transit law. In Thailand, at issue is the types of cars Uber uses to ferry people from place to place. Uber is using private cars rather than licensed taxis in violation of the country’s laws, while in Spain Uber drivers have no official authorization to operate the service and are competing unfairly with licensed taxi drivers. In a related case, a Dutch appellate court found on Monday that Uber drivers  are also non in compliance with national law and banned it in Netherlands.  Last month, Uber shut down its service in Nevada over “confusion” about its business model and it is also facing regulator scrutiny in Indonesia, Singapore, Vietnam, as well as inToronto, according to media reports. What this means that Uber continues to face legal challenges from governments and taxi companies around the world, while recent controversies over safety and privacy have tarnished its reputation. But rather that doing damage control, Uber continues to flout norms and is actually lobbying to persuade lawmakers to ease drivers’ background checks in bills that legalized ride-sharing companies, says this New York Times article.   “In Colorado, Uber spent about $60,000 on lobbyists to support legislation that in June made the state one of the first to legalize companies like Uber and Lyft. That law does not require such drivers to undergo the same strict fingerprint checks required of taxi and limousine drivers. In May, Illinois legislators passed two bills, supported by the taxi industry, that more heavily regulated ride-sharing services, including requiring state-conducted background checks for drivers. After the bills were passed, Uber hired lobbyists, including Jack Lavin, the former chief of staff of Governor Quinn. In August, the governor vetoed the bills, saying the industry “is best regulated at the local level.” the NYT article highlights . The district attorney of San Francisco, George Gascón in his complaint pointed out that Uber’s marketing materials and a $1 “Safe Rides Fee” led customers to believe that it ran exceptionally rigorous background checks on drivers before letting them on the road. But they say that Uber does not include a fingerprint check that would stop drivers from passing off someone else’s identification as their own, and that it put out misleading information after allowing convicted criminals to become Uber drivers. The same argument  holds true in India as well where a character certificate endorsed by the police can be forged and obtained for Rs 8,000 . And it is this police certificate that is  a key elements of Uber’s background check in India because it does not see  see how it can be blamed since the government approved Yadav’s license, registration and character certificate. Even the statement issued by Uber in no way suggests that it will take lessons from the Delhi incident to improve its services to provide a safer and reliable journey to its passengers but rather that it will continue its -hands-off approach of of leaving it to local governments to carry out background checks. “What happened over the weekend in New Delhi is horrific. Our entire team’s hearts go out to the victim of this despicable crime. We will do everything, I repeat, everything to help bring this perpetrator to justice and to support the victim and her family in her recovery. We will work with the government to establish clear background checks currently absent in their commercial transportation licensing programs,” is what Uber CEO Travis Kalanick said in a blog post **.**  This is nothing but a classic  case of blame game and sheer arrogance. Instead of owning up Travis Kalanick  shifted the blame on to the government but remained silent about the firm’s own procedures for checking drivers’ background before bringing in them to its platform. And it is casual comments like these which have led to the backlash against the company. Just last month,  one of its senior executives suggested that it could “spend a million dollars” to hire investigators to dig up dirt on journalists who wrote negative articles about it, a comment made in the presence of a Buzzfeed editor, earning it further negative publicity.