Uber agrees to $28.5M settlement over ad claims — reboots 'Safe Ride Fee'
Business
Uber agrees to $28.5M settlement over ad claims — reboots ‘Safe Ride Fee’
The San Francisco-based ride-hailing firm told a federal judge in San Francisco that it wants to resolve class-action lawsuits by paying about 25 million riders who made U.S. trips between Jan. 1, 2013, and Jan. 31, 2016. The lawsuits attacked Uber for charging a fee of up to $2.30 per trip for what it called industry-leading background checks on would-be drivers. However, Uber didn’t do the kind of fingerprint checks required of taxi drivers. The judge must still approve the deal.
We are glad to put these cases behind us and we will continue to invest in new technology and great customer services so that we can help improve safety in the cities we serve.
Uber statement
Under the settlement, Uber also would stop using certain “safety-related” advertising language and would rename its “Safe Ride Fee” as a “Booking Fee." Uber said its technology does provide safety features, such as tracking trips through GPS and sharing a driver’s photo identification and license plate number before the passenger gets into the car.
Accidents and incidents will happen. That’s why it’s important to ensure that the language we use to describe safety at Uber is clear, precise and accurate.
Uber statement
