Report: Uber Miami accused of coaching drivers to circumvent airport laws
Filed under: Government/Legal, Safety, Technology, UAW/Unions
More and more users are finding on-demand ridesharing services to be extremely convenient. However, there isn’t much love for the competition among traditional taxi drivers for these new services, with some going so far as to protest their development in Europe earlier this year. Now, fresh controversy is popping up around Uber, with accusations surfacing that it’s instructing drivers how to illegally pick up and drop off people at South Florida airports, including Miami International.
Airports often have a vetting process to decide what for-hire ride services can legally operate within their borders, with violators subject to fines. These allegations of Uber knowingly circumventing these rules come from an email (which can be read in full, here) obtained by an organization called Who’s Driving You, which is fully funded by the Taxicab, Limousine and Paratransit Association. The short alleged note instructs drivers on ways to avoid getting tickets at Miami International, including keeping their phone off of the windshield, asking riders to sit in the front, using the lanes furthest from the terminal and calling passengers beforehand. The document does claim that Uber is working with the facility to find a solution to the ticketing, and the company will further reimburse drivers for any fines and “provide any necessary legal support.”
Who’s Driving You spokesperson Dave Sutton tells Autoblog that he believes that the letter indicates Uber is coaching its drivers on how to “act surreptitiously” to skirt the law. “Uber shows complete disregard for the serious concerns involved in airport security. Uber may be able to pay for drivers’ tickets, but it won’t be able to fix the records of drivers who incur legal problems,” he says in the company’s release.
When contacted by Autoblog, Uber representative Taylor Bennett responded with the following statement:
“Miami officials should follow the lead of the nation’s leading airports by welcoming ridesharing and its impact on reducing curbside churn and deadhead trips, rather than unjustly ticketing driver partners for providing a safe and reliable ride.”
Scroll down to read the full statement from Who’s Driving You about its thoughts on the email.
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Uber Miami accused of coaching drivers to circumvent airport laws originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 14 Nov 2014 17:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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