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, usurious and unscrupulous manner; and.
WHEREAS, A January 2, 2015 Chicago Sun-Times editorial called for a thorough review by this legislative body concerning Uber and the other transportation network providers the City of Chicago now regulates While recognizing the popularity of this innovation in public transportation, this legislative body is mandated to recognize the overriding necessity for public safety and consumer protection. It has become apparent that these transportation network providers continue to face regulatory hurdles and challenges in many of the cities and countries in which they operate. It behooves the members of this council to revisit the regulations put in place on May 28, 2014; now therefore
BE IT RESOLVED, That we, the undersigned members of the City of Chicago City Council, gathered this 21st Day of January, 2015 AD, do hereby call upon the chair of the Committee on License and Consumer Protection to form a subcommittee that shall review the current business and employment practices of all Class A and Class B transportation.network providers that operate within the City of Chicago, expeditiously hold hearings to take testimony and data from representatives of these providers and other interested parties regarding their operations and practices, and submit such findings in a report to this body within 90 days of the passage of this resolution.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED That copies of this resolution be prepared and presented to the Honorable Emma