Previously, the company has been banned, partially banned and suspended from numerous cities and countries around the globe, but as Uber is based in San Francisco, this particular situation will likely rise to the top of its priority list.
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In a ruling by an administrative law judge over claims by the California Public Utilities Commission that Uber had refused to provide necessary information to regulators, Uber is being fined $7.3 million and could be suspended in California, pending an inevitable appeal.
In a written statement, Uber spokeswoman Eva Behrend said the company had provided sufficient information and would appeal the ruling.
“This isn’t the first incident of an Uber driver harming a passenger and, unfortunately, it certainly won’t be the last”, said Rebecca Walls, spokesperson for the Who’s Driving You? campaign. Hillary Clinton slammed such startups during a speech Monday, promising she would “crack down” on companies for “misclassifying workers” as contractors. These CPUC requests are also beyond the authority of the Commission and will not improve public safety. The commission has repeatedly threatened to revoke the company’s operating license for allegedly failing to comply with the rules, and then later green-lighted its service.
The Transportation Network Company law, signed in February by Gov. Terry McAuliffe outlines regulations on vehicle registration and identification, yet fails to incorporate a comprehensive background check involving fingerprinting for its drivers. In the a year ago, the number of sexual assault, rape and kidnapping cases by Uber and Lyft riders have steadily been on the rise.
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The CPUC asked Uber, Lyft and Sidecar for their ride information in September 2013. “Rasier-CA, Uber’s subsidiary, is the only TNC that has failed to comply with the CPUC reporting requirements”, a CPUC press release stated. The ride hailing service now plans to take action on the CPUC order asking for accessibility information.
