RESOLUTION REGARDING THE REGULATION OF CLASS A AND CLASS B TRANSPORTATION NETWORK PROVIDERS
WHEREAS, On January 14, 2015, a driver for Uber, one of the transportation network providers the City of Chicago has recently began regulating, was charged with criminal sexual assault, unlawful restraint and kidnapping against a male passenger; and
WHEREAS, On November 16, 2014, a man was charged with raping a 22-year-old woman while working as a driver for Uber; and
WHEREAS, These were not the only heinous incidents in which this company has been implicated. In December of 2014, a Boston Uber driver was arraigned on charges of kidnapping and raping a female passenger. Uber riders have reported sexual assaults in Washington D.C., Seattle, and West Hollywood; and
WHEREAS, Uber's rapid global expansion has put them in more than 250 cities and 50 countries where similar allegations have been reported as well. Government officials have halted Uber operations in New Delhi, India after a rape accusation. It has been reported that Spain and Thailand also.have ordered Uber operations to cease in their countries; and
WHEREAS, In addition, many Uber drivers themselves have lodged complaints against the company, alleging unfair wage and business practices. Some Uber driver applicants have been encouraged to obtain subprime loans for vehicles that would qualify them as Uber drivers from the company's financial business partners; and
WHEREAS, Consumers have voiced bitter objection to Uber's exorbitant practice of dynamically adjusting prices for service, commonly known as "surge pricing", at times of peak demand. In one case, a woman was charged $362.57 after a 20-minute ride in Baltimore. A Denver customer was charged $539 for a 25-minute ride. During a terrorist incident in Sydney, Australia, Uber took full advantage of the scenario and quadrupled the cost of the average fare. No other regulated business in the City of Chicago is allowed to fluctuate their pricing in such an arbitrary,...
Click here for full text