EDITORIAL
2 Obiter Dicta
Uber Innovation,
Uber Disruption
W
hen one proceeds to write about
Uber, you are faced with a dilemma. Do
you go through the process of explaining what Uber is, or can you safely
assume that it is common knowledge? It’s analogous
to writing about iPhones or Facebook; the possibility exists that a reader isn’t aware of what it is, but it
seems highly unlikely. Its growth and presence are
astonishing—in just over five years Uber has grown to
a company operating in fifty-eight countries; it is currently worth fifty billion dollars. Yes, billion with a b.
We love peer-to-peer services like Uber because
they enable the use of an underused resource and cut
out the middleman. We no longer have to search for
a cab, or risk a cab being poached by another rider.
Gone are the days of “sorry, I can only take cash” or
“I’ll have to charge a fee for such a short ride.” And
without the middleman, transaction costs drop significantly, resulting in a lower cost to consumers.
Beyond the convenience and reduced prices, Uber
may have some very positive effects in society. Drunk
driving may be eliminated! We’re reducing harm to
the environment by buying fewer cars; parking lots
could become parks some day! Take that antiquated
and corrupt taxi industry, Uber for the win.
But a deeply troubling underbelly exists on the
Uber beast. Along with lower costs, with fewer middlemen comes less accountability.
Despite Uber’s “industry leading” background
checks, a report filed by district attorneys in Los
Angeles and San Francisco concluded that in 25
cases persons with criminal records were able to slip
through the screening process. The same has happened in numerous other cities. Of course not everyone with a criminal record is dangerous, and not
everyone with a criminal record should be barred
from the transportation industry. What is most
important to note is that Uber isn’t being truthful when they say that their background checks are
“industry leading.” If other currently used systems
are able to catch what Uber’s system missed, a falsehood is being shared.
Additionally, many incidents of harm coming
to Uber patrons have occurred. Monica Serrott, a
Columbus Ohio resident, died this past August after
an Uber ran over her with their back tires. A sevenyear-old girl was struck and killed by a San Francisco
driver in May 2014. A driver in Chengdu, China was
accused of rape and robbery in August. Incidents have
occurred closer to home. Police sought two different Toronto Uber drivers for alleged sexual assaults in
September. A Mississauga driver was charged for sexually assaulting a passenger in May.
There are instances of egregiously poor data handling practices. In 2012 it was revealed that Uber data
scientists had tracked customers’ apparent one-night
stands in six US countries…in a blog post on Uber’s
website. In November of last year it came to light that
driver >(