San Francisco investigating whether Uber, Lyft are public nuisances
San Francisco investigating whether Uber, Lyft are public
nuisances
By Heather Somerville | SAN FRANCISCO Mon Jun 5, 2017 |
5:01pm EDT
San Francisco has issued subpoenas to Uber Technologies
Inc and Lyft Inc for a broad scope of records on driving and business practices
as part of an investigation to determine whether the ride-services companies
have become a public nuisance.
City Attorney Dennis Herrera said on Monday he was
seeking records to investigate whether Uber and Lyft fail to adequately serve
poor neighborhoods and the disabled and whether their drivers create hazards on
the road.
Herrera said the subpoenas sought four years of records
from the companies, which are based in San Francisco and have an estimated
45,000 total drivers in the city. The sweeping request includes hours and miles
logged by drivers, driver incentives, traffic infractions and city zip codes
visited by drivers.
"No one disputes the convenience of the ride-hailing
industry, but that convenience evaporates when you're stuck in traffic behind a
double-parked Uber or Lyft, or when you can't get a ride because the vehicle
isn't accessible to someone with a disability or because the algorithm
disfavors the neighborhood where you live," Herrera said.
The subpoena sets up San Francisco and Uber for yet
another legal battle, as the two are already locked in a fight over the city's
demands for drivers' names and addresses. Herrera sued Uber last month to
compel the company to comply with the data request, which Uber has said is an
invasion of driver privacy.
Investigating whether Uber and Lyft are a public nuisance
in the city is an unusual approach for San Francisco. An influx of cars driving
for the two companies often clog city streets and block bicycle lanes and
double-park while they wait for passengers, according to the city.
Such concerns reflect how large the two companies have
grown in their hometown.
A Lyft spokeswoman said that 30 percent of rides in San
Francisco take place in underserved neighborhoods, and 20 percent begin or end
at a public transit station, underscoring its collaboration with public transit
agencies.
"Lyft has always been focused on improving
transportation access for people across all cities in which we operate,"
said spokeswoman Chelsea Harrison.
Uber pointed to a report by the San Francisco Municipal
Transportation Agency which says it has the goal of making ride-sharing one of
the "preferred means of travel" by 2018. Spokeswoman Eva Behrend said
Uber is "more than happy to work with the city to address
congestion," but that the city needs to also look at contributing factors
such as construction and population growth.
Herrera added that the "long-distance" Uber and
Lyft drivers who travel hours from the Central Valley and small communities
elsewhere to find rides in San Francisco are a potential "threat" to
public safety. They are on the road for such long shifts that they become
drowsy, making the streets unsafe.
Herrera also requested four years' of documents and data
submitted by Uber and Lyft to the California Public Utilities Commission, the
state agency that regulates ride-services companies and collects much of the
data the city is looking for.
The commission did not immediately respond to a request
for comment.
(Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)
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