The $1 charge tacked onto the bill for your next Uber ride will no longer be a safe ride fee, under the terms of a $28.5 million settlement the company announced Thursday.
Uber reached a deal to settle two lawsuits in San Francisco federal court, both of which claimed Uber misled riders by charging them $1 to support driver background checks and other safety measures. Plaintiffs claimed Uber s background checks are woefully inadequate and demanded the safety fees be refunded.
In a news release Thursday, Uber announced it will change the name of the charge from a safe ride fee to a booking fee, and will use the money to cover safety and other operational costs. If a judge approves the deal, Uber will distribute $28.5 million among what the company estimates to be 25 million elibible riders. That means that, more or less, each rider will be refunded his or her dollar for one trip. Drivers who took a trip in the U.S. between Jan. 1, 2013 and Jan. 31, 2016 are eligible and will receive notices by email.
Technology enables us to focus on safety for riders and drivers before, during and after a trip in ways that were simply not possible before smartphones, Uber wrote in a statement posted on its website. For example, by sharing driver information with riders – their license plate and photo ID – before they get into the car; by tracking trips using GPS from beginning to end; and by enabling riders to share their ETA or route with family and friends. However no means of transportation can ever be 100 percent safe. Accidents and incidents do happen. That s why it s important to ensure that the language we use to describe safety at Uber is clear and precise.
Lawyers for plaintiffs in the two cases – Mena v. Uber and Philliben v. Uber – did not immediately respond to emails requesting comment.
Uber has faced criticism in recent months over its safety practices. In October, two women sued the company claiming they were sexually assaulted by their male Uber drivers. The month before, Uber resolved another case with a woman who claimed she was raped by her driver in Delhi, India. The San Francisco and Los Angeles district attorney s offices also have attacked Uber in court, claiming the company misleads riders by claiming it puts its drivers through rigorous background checks.
Meanwhile, Uber is preparing to go to trial this summer in a class action lawsuit that claims the company illegally denied its drivers the benefits of employment – such as minimum wage and reimbursement for work expenses – by classifying them as independent contractors. Lyft settled a similar suit last month for $12.25 million, without agreeing to change the way it classifies its drivers. But on Thursday, the judge in that case showed some skepticism toward that deal. U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria questioned whether the deal could be deemed contrary to the original goal of the lawsuit.
The lawsuit seeks to have Lyft drivers declared employees rather than independent contractors under California law, he wrote. It appears the proposed settlement would move the drivers closer to independent contractor status. If that is correct, is the aspect of the settlement agreement contrary to the original goal of the lawsuit?
Generally, it s unusual for a judge to reject a settlement once both parties have signed off on it. But it may be becoming more common, as judges begin to scrutinize such deals more closely. U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh in the Northern District of California surprised court watchers in 2014 by rejecting the $324.5 million settlement Google, Apple, Intel and Adobe reached in the no-poach suit that accused them of illegally agreeing not to recruit each other s employees. She later approved a $415 million deal.
Lawyers in the Uber safe rides fee cases have been ordered to answer the judge s questions prior to a hearing next month.
Photo: In this file photo taken Dec. 16, 2014, a woman leaves the headquarters of Uber in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg, File)
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