Uber backed a Nevada ballot question that would limit how much Nevada attorneys can charge in civil cases. Attorneys said that these limits would prevent them from taking on risky cases such as claims by victims of sexual assault against Uber and its drivers.
Strategic Services Group infiltrated Uber driver discussions
Mike Isaac’s Super Pumped (p. 310) reports that Uber’s Strategic Services Group operatives sought to infiltrate Uber driver discussions. Isaac explains:
Undercover operations could include impersonating Uber drivers to gain access to closed WhatsApp group chats, hoping to gather intelligence on whether drivers were organizing or planning to strike against Uber.
Uber Xchange leases to marginal drivers
Mike Isaac’s Super Pumped (p. 265) describes perils in Uber’s Xchange program, in which Uber provided vehicles to high-risk driver with poor or nonexistent credit. One, these drivers had disproportionate rates of safety incidents including speeding tickets and sexual assaults. Two, dealerships were pushing these drivers into expensive leases that lowered profits for both drivers and Uber — causing Uber to lose more than $9,000 per vehicle. Furthermore vehicles were returned in far worse condition than anticipated.
Sent free iPhone 4s to prospective drivers (and scammers)
Mike Isaac’s Super Pumped (p. 264) reports that Uber’s early effort to provide free iPhones to drivers went amiss when some employees sent phones before drivers passed background checks or completed paperwork. With Uber sending phones in advance, fraudsters could submit bogus applications — and keep the iPhones.
Disdain for drivers
Mike Isaac’s Super Pumped (p. 234) describes Uber leaders’ disdain for drivers. As managers examined comments from drivers, “one manager expressed disgust with the spelling and grammatical errors the drivers included in their responses. ‘God, I can’t believe these people’s votes count the same as ours,” he quipped to his subordinates.”
Isaac also points out the high churn of drivers — how quickly drivers stop driving and don’t return. As of early 2016, roughly a quarter of Uber’s drivers churned every three months — requiring the company to constantly seek other drivers.
Detected notifications from the Lyft app
Mike Isaac’s Super Pumped (p. 232) reports that Uber used its app’s accelerometer and gyroscope to detect the sound of notifications that came from the Lyft app. If Uber knew that a driver also used Lyft, Uber could offer promotions designed to attract them to use Uber only.
Brazilian thieves and taxi cartels anonymously attacked, robbed, and even murdered drivers
Mike Isaac’s Super Pumped (p. 216) reports that in Brazil, Uber had a particularly light sign-up process: No identify documents, no credit card (since cash was more widely used), and just an email address or phone number. Thieves and taxi cartels could therefore sign up for Uber anonymously — then steal or burn cars, attack or rob drivers, and sometimes commit murder. Among the victims was Luis Filho, who was stabbed to death as passengers stole his vehicle.
Mexican taxi operators beat, robbed, and even murdered Uber drivers
Mike Isaac’s Super Pumped (p. 215) reports that taxi drivers in Mexico were frustrated at having spent spent thousands of dollars on licenses, permits, training classes, and other regulatory requirements — only for Uber to take their business. As cabbies grew more desperate, they beat and robbed Uber drivers — and killed one Uber driver in Guadalajara.
2014 hack released data about drivers
Mike Isaac’s Super Pumped (p. 208, 215) reports a May 2014 hack in which the names and license numbers of more than 50,000 drivers were compromised. Uber kept the hack secret, although California law required notifying authorities of a data breach.
Under guidance from new Chief Security Joe Sullivan, Uber finally reported the breach in February 2015, nine months after it occurred.
Detailed taxonomy of sexual misconduct and assault
Mike Isaac’s Super Pumped (p. 207) that complaints about sexual misconduct and assault (typically though not exclusively between drivers and passengers) were so common that Uber created a twenty-one category classification system for these problems.