# Uber Uber Alles
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uber-uber-alles/714105
**Category:** The BBQ Pit
**Created:** [March 3, 2015, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uber-uber-alles/714105 "2015-03-03T17:23:09Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Kenm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kenm)
#### Post date: [March 3, 2015, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uber-uber-alles/714105/1 "2015-03-03T17:23:09Z")
The mods have ruled that [**this thread on the Uber**](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=750428&highlight=Uber) cab service cannot stray from discussion on the Uber app.
Nothing can be said against Uber, Uber commands, lest those running the company threaten the complainer and the complainer’s family.
Uber should be taken behind the barn and shot. Uber über alles. Don’t you forget it.
Uber executive says he’d “spend millions” [**to stalk female reporter and her family**](http://www.dailytech.com/Uber+Exec+Threatens+to+Spend+Millions+to+Stalk+Female+Reporter+and+Her+Family/article36907.htm).
> [@](#):
>
> • Uber drivers have been accused of raping women
> • Uber PR team looks to discredit those women, claiming were “drunk” or "dressed provocatively"
> • Uber driver with a felony history reportedly commits a brutal hate crime against a gay passenger
> • Uber executive proposes stalking and harassment of the family of one of his company’s top critics, a female journalist
> • Executive calls that journalist to apologize on a private line she had not given him.
> • He refuses to say how he got that number
> • He demands apology be off the record
> • He later emails her a short apology when she refuses to accept the off the record phone conversation
> • Uber executives track reporters via a “God View” app
Reporter threatened by Uber führer [**reacts to stalking threat**](http://pando.com/2014/11/17/the-moment-i-learned-just-how-far-uber-will-go-to-silence-journalists-and-attack-women/).
New Delhi [**Uber driver charged with rape**](http://www.ibtimes.com/uber-driver-india-charged-rape-abduction-threat-life-court-rejects-lifting-ban-uber-1766706).
[**”This city has failed me”**](http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-others/uber-cab-rape-victim-breaks-her-silence-see-something-say-something/)
> [@](#):
>
> That night, I did not see any patrols on that street. And Uber, the taxi-hailing service that I had trusted, had employed a driver with a criminal background, without a (Public Service Vehicle) badge. I later learnt that they had also neglected a complaint by another female passenger, Nidhi Shah, about driver Shiv Kumar Yadav’s conduct, and failed to take action. The irreversible loss that my family and I have suffered because of this is unimaginable.
[**John Hodgman quits using Uber**](http://jezebel.com/john-hodgman-quits-uber-over-executives-threat-to-dox-f-1660620818) over stalking threat.
---
### Author:  [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)
#### Post date: [March 3, 2015, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uber-uber-alles/714105/2 "2015-03-03T17:38:18Z")
Uber is essentially a criminal syndicate running unlicensed taxicabs and getting away with not obeying the law or paying their taxes because millennials will worship anything that comes with an app and can market itself as being “rebellious”.
They ought to be prosecuted under the RICO Act if they’re not going to start doing business on the up-and-up.
---
### Author:  [@doorhinge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doorhinge)
#### Post date: [March 3, 2015, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uber-uber-alles/714105/3 "2015-03-03T17:50:03Z")
Why should Uber get a break? It’s supposed to be just another company doing business with the public. The public should be able to applaud, or complain, about the service, the company, and the employees.
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### Author:  [@user\_hostile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/user_hostile)
#### Post date: [March 3, 2015, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uber-uber-alles/714105/4 "2015-03-03T18:00:18Z")
Well, good luck explaining that to your auto insurance company when your Uber passenger is seriously injured or killed in an auto accident. IRCC, your policy does not cover this situation. It’s called the SOL clause.
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### Author:  [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)
#### Post date: [March 3, 2015, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uber-uber-alles/714105/5 "2015-03-03T18:05:32Z")
> [@Smapti](#):
>
> Uber is essentially a criminal syndicate running unlicensed taxicabs and getting away with not obeying the law or paying their taxes because millennials will worship anything that comes with an app and can market itself as being “rebellious”.
I wasn’t aware that the US Justice system was so totally under the control of the whims of people under the age of thirty.
---
### Author:  [@Fenris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fenris)
#### Post date: [March 3, 2015, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uber-uber-alles/714105/6 "2015-03-03T18:12:06Z")
> [@Smapti](#):
>
> Uber is essentially a criminal syndicate running unlicensed taxicabs and getting away with not obeying the law or paying their taxes because millennials will worship anything that comes with an app and can market itself as being “rebellious”.
>
> They ought to be prosecuted under the RICO Act if they’re not going to start doing business on the up-and-up.
:rolleyes:
This is an idiotic argument. It’s essentially carpooling and chipping in for gas. Not “a criminal syndicate”.
---
### Author:  [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)
#### Post date: [March 3, 2015, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uber-uber-alles/714105/7 "2015-03-03T18:17:04Z")
> [@Fenris](#):
>
> It’s essentially carpooling and chipping in for gas.
And a bus is just a cruise ship without no buffet.
Uber is a business that employs drivers who transport, for a fare, people not known to them. They’re operating a taxi and/or livery car service, and they’re doing so without adhering to the laws that govern either.
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### Author:  [@Trom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trom)
#### Post date: [March 3, 2015, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uber-uber-alles/714105/8 "2015-03-03T18:18:53Z")
I love Uber. I use it multiple times each week. It’s an absolutely terrific service.
Executives of a multi-billion dollar company are assholes? I’m shocked. Better go off the grid if that’s enough to make you boycott a product.
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### Author:  [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)
#### Post date: [March 3, 2015, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uber-uber-alles/714105/9 "2015-03-03T18:19:21Z")
> [@Smapti](#):
>
> And a bus is just a cruise ship without no buffet.
>
> Uber is a business that employs drivers who transport, for a fare, people not known to them. They’re operating a taxi and/or livery car service, and they’re doing so without adhering to the laws that govern either.
Why haven’t they been prosecuted, then?
---
### Author:  [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)
#### Post date: [March 3, 2015, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uber-uber-alles/714105/10 "2015-03-03T18:20:20Z")
> [@Miller](#):
>
> Why haven’t they been prosecuted, then?
[Their drivers have.](http://www.fastcompany.com/3029754/most-innovative-companies/undercover-police-are-targeting-uber-and-lyft-drivers-to-send-a-me)
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### Author:  [@Asimovian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asimovian)
#### Post date: [March 3, 2015, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uber-uber-alles/714105/11 "2015-03-03T18:37:11Z")
I think this discussion may be better served in the Pit.
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### Author:  [@Fenris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fenris)
#### Post date: [March 3, 2015, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uber-uber-alles/714105/12 "2015-03-03T18:38:25Z")
> [@Smapti](#):
>
> [Their drivers have.](http://www.fastcompany.com/3029754/most-innovative-companies/undercover-police-are-targeting-uber-and-lyft-drivers-to-send-a-me)
And I’m sure cruise employees have been prosecuted for various crimes without the whole principle of a cruise being a “criminal syndicate”. :rolleyes:
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### Author:  [@LurkerInNJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkerInNJ)
#### Post date: [March 3, 2015, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uber-uber-alles/714105/13 "2015-03-03T18:39:02Z")
Brooklyn cabbie charged with rape
> **[Brooklyn cabbie charged with rape, victim blasts his statement that she...](https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/nyc-crime/brooklyn-cabbie-charged-rape-victim-wanted-article-1.2101767)**
>
> Esa Alusaimi, 26, was ordered held on $100,000 bail Tuesday at his Brooklyn Supreme Court arraignment on first-degree rape charges.
Delaware taxi driver charged with raping victim inside cab
[http://www.wboc.com/story/26346001/taxi-driver-charged-with-raping-victim-inside-cab-in-sussex-county](http://www.wboc.com/story/26346001/taxi-driver-charged-with-raping-victim-inside-cab-in-sussex-county)
Nashville cab driver charged with rape
> **[Nashville cab driver charged with rape of Belmont University student ...](http://privateofficerbreakingnews.blogspot.com/2015/02/nashville-cab-driver-charged-with-rape.html)**
>
> NASHVILLE, Tenn. Feb 21 2015 A Yellow Cab taxi driver was arrested Thursday in connection with the rape of a Belmont University student ...
I guess being an Uber :rolleyes: driver isn’t what drives men to rape. It must be being a taxi driver in general that does it.
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### Author:  [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)
#### Post date: [March 3, 2015, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uber-uber-alles/714105/14 "2015-03-03T18:40:16Z")
> [@Smapti](#):
>
> Uber is essentially a criminal syndicate…
Okay, I could not even get past this. Just could not.
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### Author:  [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)
#### Post date: [March 3, 2015, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uber-uber-alles/714105/15 "2015-03-03T18:42:39Z")
> [@LurkerInNJ](#):
>
> Brooklyn cabbie charged with rape
> [Brooklyn cabbie charged with rape, victim blasts his statement that she ‘wanted it’ as ‘cliché, textbook defense by a rapist’ – New York Daily News](http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/nyc-crime/brooklyn-cabbie-charged-rape-victim-wanted-article-1.2101767)
> Delaware taxi driver charged with raping victim inside cab
> [http://www.wboc.com/story/26346001/taxi-driver-charged-with-raping-victim-inside-cab-in-sussex-county](http://www.wboc.com/story/26346001/taxi-driver-charged-with-raping-victim-inside-cab-in-sussex-county)
> Nashville cab driver charged with rape
> [Private Officer Breaking News: Nashville cab driver charged with rape of Belmont University student privateofficer.com](http://privateofficerbreakingnews.blogspot.com/2015/02/nashville-cab-driver-charged-with-rape.html)
>
> I guess being an Uber :rolleyes: driver isn’t what drives men to rape. It must be being a taxi driver in general that does it.
They can’t help it. They were driven to do it.
Can I hire a handbasket through Uber?
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### Author:  [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)
#### Post date: [March 3, 2015, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uber-uber-alles/714105/16 "2015-03-03T18:43:56Z")
> [@LurkerInNJ](#):
>
> Brooklyn cabbie charged with rape
> [Brooklyn cabbie charged with rape, victim blasts his statement that she ‘wanted it’ as ‘cliché, textbook defense by a rapist’ – New York Daily News](http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/nyc-crime/brooklyn-cabbie-charged-rape-victim-wanted-article-1.2101767)
> Delaware taxi driver charged with raping victim inside cab
> [http://www.wboc.com/story/26346001/taxi-driver-charged-with-raping-victim-inside-cab-in-sussex-county](http://www.wboc.com/story/26346001/taxi-driver-charged-with-raping-victim-inside-cab-in-sussex-county)
> Nashville cab driver charged with rape
> [Private Officer Breaking News: Nashville cab driver charged with rape of Belmont University student privateofficer.com](http://privateofficerbreakingnews.blogspot.com/2015/02/nashville-cab-driver-charged-with-rape.html)
>
> I guess being an Uber :rolleyes: driver isn’t what drives men to rape. It must be being a taxi driver in general that does it.
Bus drivers, too, at least in Mexico:
> **[Mexico police seek killer vigilante 'Diana: the hunter of bus drivers'](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/sep/03/mexico-killer-vigilante-diana-bus-drivers)**
>
> Blonde assassin allegedly shot two men dead in separate incidents, claiming to be 'instrument of vengeance for women'
---
### Author:  [@GreasyJack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreasyJack)
#### Post date: [March 3, 2015, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uber-uber-alles/714105/17 "2015-03-03T18:45:10Z")
> [@Smapti](#):
>
> Uber is a business that employs drivers who transport, for a fare, people not known to them. They’re operating a taxi and/or livery car service, and they’re doing so without adhering to the laws that govern either.
There’s no question they’re violating the spirit of the various taxi licensing laws, but obviously whether they’re actually violating the letter of the law is at least a gray area given that they seem to be able to operate without being prosecuted in most markets. There are incidentally markets where the laws _do_ explicitly prevent Uber from operating and so they don’t.
In a great many parts of the country the laws that govern taxi services serve the function more of providing a state-sanctioned monopoly to one or a handful of operators, not assuring a level of safety or service. In fact it does the opposite since it assures a non-competitive market. If Uber et al can get around those regulations with what amounts to a loophole or just flying under the enforcement radar, more power to 'em I say.
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### Author:  [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)
#### Post date: [March 3, 2015, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uber-uber-alles/714105/18 "2015-03-03T18:46:15Z")
> [@LurkerInNJ](#):
>
> I guess being an Uber :rolleyes: driver isn’t what drives men to rape. It must be being a taxi driver in general that does it.
And will subjecting taxi companies to _fewer_ regulations fix that?
---
### Author:  [@Taber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Taber)
#### Post date: [March 3, 2015, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uber-uber-alles/714105/19 "2015-03-03T18:49:14Z")
> [@Fenris](#):
>
> And I’m sure cruise employees have been prosecuted for various crimes without the whole principle of a cruise being a “criminal syndicate”. :rolleyes:
Presumably the cruse ship employees aren’t being prosecuted for being employed by a cruise ship.
---
### Author:  [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)
#### Post date: [March 3, 2015, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uber-uber-alles/714105/20 "2015-03-03T18:49:42Z")
> [@GreasyJack](#):
>
> In a great many parts of the country the laws that govern taxi services serve the function more of providing a state-sanctioned monopoly to one or a handful of operators, not assuring a level of safety or service. In fact it does the opposite since it assures a non-competitive market.
Sometimes a non-competitive market is in the public’s best interest, especially when it relates to inherently dangerous machines that pollute the environment and compete with mass transit.
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