# It's Now Easier than Ever to Become a Rogue Uber Driver



## Nova (Sep 3, 2014)

It's Now Easier than Ever to Become a Rogue Uber Driver
By Nate Boroyan, BostonInno

http://bostinno.streetwise.co/2014/09/05/how-to-become-an-uber-driver-ubers-background-check-policy/


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## Moofish (Jun 13, 2014)

A 4.57 driver at the end of the article?!? Makes me feel better about my 4.8.

Here is where the massive amount of drivers is going to backfire on Uber, unless they start screening every rider at the end of the trip to find out if the driver and car matched their request, it will be impossible to find out who's sharing their account or not.


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## Nova (Sep 3, 2014)

My understanding is that 4.8 is pretty good. I had a 4.91 when I quit after 800 trips or so.

Have taken 3 UberX rides since then and all 3 drivers had a 4.6, which mystified me. All polite, all cars clean, all asked me if I wanted to navigate or if I preferred they used GPS, no unpleasant odors in cars. Did not disclose I was ex-Uber driver for at least first 5 minutes. After that we discussed their rating and none of the 3 had a clue why their rating was was so low. And all 3 had asked Uber about their ratings and only received standard form-BS responses, nothing specific. All 3 were first generation immigrants. And all 3 had interesting stories about their past before moving to US. Three guys I'd be happy to share a beer with.

Uber uses the ratings scheme as an imitative scheme, especially Amazon. But because you can not see comments it is useless as a feedback or learning tool. There is no "loop" in the Uber feedback loop. And I suspect Uber likes it that way. Keep the drivers in the dark.

#UberLies


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## cybertec69 (Jul 23, 2014)

Ubers rating system is extremely flawed, and everyone knows it, it's just a way to be able to keep the drivers in line and on their toes, I have done 1500 trips to date and I am at 4.85.


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## chi1cabby (May 28, 2014)

@The Geek or anyone else who can wade through this, please add your learned expertise on this thread, thanx!


__
https://www.reddit.com/r/flextweak/comments/2ec6td


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## chi1cabby (May 28, 2014)

Boston drivers what's the acceptable driver rating in your market? This driver is at 4.57 Stars! It's time for the Drivers to blow the lid off this Uber's Rating System Fraud. This Rating System is a Terror perpetuated by Uber on its Drivers!



















Post the screenshots of the lowest rated drivers you can find on Twitter! I'd once seen a Tweet by a pax of a 3.8 Star driver, but can't find it anymore. The Acceptable Driver Rating should be Lowered to 4.0 Stars, imho, because riders are conditioned to rate 4 Stars as that is considered a Good Rating in ALL other Star Rating Systems in the World!


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## chi1cabby (May 28, 2014)




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## UberJourno (Sep 8, 2014)

I'm, Nate, the reporter who wrote the piece at the top of this thread. If any drivers would like to chat about it/answer some follow up questions, don't hesitate to reach out.


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## chi1cabby (May 28, 2014)

UberJourno said:


> I'm, Nate, the reporter who wrote the piece at the top of this thread. If any drivers would like to chat about it/answer some follow up questions, don't hesitate to reach out.


Hey Nate @UberJourno ! 
Welcome to the forum!
If journalists like yourself keep showing interest in the Uber drivers' side of things in a media world full of UberHype, we'll have to petition the forum admin to create a category of UberJournalist for member profiles!


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## UberCemetery (Sep 4, 2014)

chi1cabby said:


> Hey Nate @UberJourno !
> Welcome to the forum!
> If journalists like yourself keep showing interest in the Uber drivers' side of things in a media world full of UberHype, we'll have to petition the forum admin to create a category of UberJournalist for member profiles!


Great idea - Just do it right away.


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## UberJourno (Sep 8, 2014)

chi1cabby said:


> Hey Nate @UberJourno !
> Welcome to the forum!
> If journalists like yourself keep showing interest in the Uber drivers' side of things in a media world full of UberHype, we'll have to petition the forum admin to create a category of UberJournalist for member profiles!


I'll be honest. I can't exclude myself from the "UberHype": I've touted its efficiency before, and I use it frequently for rides.

Having said that, over the last couple of months in particular, I've noticed that Uber is both A) growing at an extraordinary rate and B) the prices have continued to drop. This recent story, I believe, presents what could potentially be an enormous problem. I agree with Uber that to exploit the UberDriver app leak to fullest would be extremely risky and tough to execute with a great deal of success. But: Uber is in 45 countries; everyone has iPhones; and all it takes is a few drivers to make this large-scale public safety concern.

Would be great to know if anyone here has heard of people "sharing" accounts with unscreened drivers. (Also, if anyone here thinks the story is sensationalistic, I'd like to hear why. Truthfully, I believe it's not as harsh as it could have been - but others have said it's overblowing an issue.)


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## chi1cabby (May 28, 2014)

UberJourno said:


> I'll be honest. I can't exclude myself from the "UberHype": I've touted its efficiency before, and I use it frequently for rides.
> 
> Having said that, over the last couple of months in particular, I've noticed that Uber is both A) growing at an extraordinary rate and B) the prices have continued to drop. This recent story, I believe, presents what could potentially be an enormous problem. I agree with Uber that to exploit the UberDriver app leak to fullest would be extremely risky and tough to execute with a great deal of success. But: Uber is in 45 countries; everyone has iPhones; and all it takes is a few drivers to make this large-scale public safety concern.
> 
> Would be great to know if anyone here has heard of people "sharing" accounts with unscreened drivers. (Also, if anyone here thinks the story is sensationalistic, I'd like to hear why. Truthfully, I believe it's not as harsh as it could have been - but others have said it's overblowing an issue.)


The problem of individuals sharing the same Uber Driver account has been a problem known to Uber for a long time now. The release of the Downloadable UberDriver App for iPhone, and soon Android, has made this just ONE step easier for unauthorized Drivers and cars to proliferate on the Uber platform! But Uber doesn't care "it's just a tech platform, and not a transportation company", right? Uber gets its 20% (or more...upto 30% for UberSUV). And if there is an incident/accident, Uber can just deactivate the authorized Driver and wash its hands of any responsibility and liability! @Sydney Uber had reported this problem to Uber many times, but stopped due to Uber's inaction.


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## SupaJ (Aug 12, 2014)

UberJourno said:


> Would be great to know if anyone here has heard of people "sharing" accounts with unscreened drivers. (Also, if anyone here thinks the story is sensationalistic, I'd like to hear why. Truthfully, I believe it's not as harsh as it could have been - but others have said it's overblowing an issue.)


Yes, plenty of people in Southern California share their driver account and the car. It's prevalent with UberBlack/limo/suv but also plenty of Priuses as it seems. It's mostly done by ex-cabbies: 2-3 people pitch in to buy a used prius and have their regular shifts like they used to with taxi. I was offered a shift by one of them once (declined).


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## BeachBum (Aug 6, 2014)

UberJourno said:


> I'll be honest. I can't exclude myself from the "UberHype": I've touted its efficiency before, and I use it frequently for rides.
> 
> Would be great to know if anyone here has heard of people "sharing" accounts with unscreened drivers. (Also, if anyone here thinks the story is sensationalistic, I'd like to hear why. Truthfully, I believe it's not as harsh as it could have been - but others have said it's overblowing an issue.)


Never heard of anyone sharing their account, you'd have to be an idiot, or have a rating of 4.57. First there is a picture of the driver, so even if you use the same car that should raise a red flag. Next, the driver would have liability should the person he shared with get in a wreck, rape someone, or God forbid, get a one star rating.


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## chi1cabby (May 28, 2014)

@UberJourno I've seen plenty of tweets by riders complaining about being picked up by neither the driver nor car matching! This is just from yesterday!


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## BeachBum (Aug 6, 2014)

SupaJ said:


> Yes, plenty of people in Southern California share their driver account and the car. It's prevalent with UberBlack/limo/suv but also plenty of Priuses as it seems. It's mostly done by ex-cabbies: 2-3 people pitch in to buy a used prius and have their regular shifts like they used to with taxi. I was offered a shift by one of them once (declined).


Sounds like it would raise some suspicion at Uber if someone was online 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.


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## BeachBum (Aug 6, 2014)

SupaJ said:


> It's mostly done by ex-cabbies: 2-3 people pitch in to buy a used prius and have their regular shifts like they used to with taxi. I was offered a shift by one of them once (declined).


I thought the whole Uber experience was designed to avoid cabbies.


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## chi1cabby (May 28, 2014)

@UberJourno So you might ask "It's not really Uber's fault that individuals are cheating the system, is it?" But when the fix could by as easy as isolating driver accounts where drivers are logged in say 16 hrs/day, day after day, why hasn't this digirati darling giant lifted a finger to address this issue?


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## chi1cabby (May 28, 2014)

@UberJourno Here are some more recent tweets to Uber on this problem.


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## Daemoness (Aug 27, 2014)

This is really silly guys, what would be the incentive for someone to do this, unless it's just to cause trouble. The money goes into the real driver's account. Nate, you should have done more homework. Uber allows you to use a car that doesn't belong to you, as long as you're covered under the owner's policy. You can be added to a policy at no cost. You'd have to be a stupid driver to give your login to someone. Even if you trust someone like they're your brother, have more to lose than you could possibly gain, and it is super easy to get caught. All it would take is one alert rider, and there are many of them.


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## chi1cabby (May 28, 2014)

Daemoness said:


> This is really silly guys, what would be the incentive for someone to do this, unless it's just to cause trouble. The money goes into the real driver's account. Nate, you should have done more homework. Uber allows you to use a car that doesn't belong to you, as long as you're covered under the owner's policy. You can be added to a policy at no cost. You'd have to be a stupid driver to give your login to someone. Even if you trust someone like they're your brother, have more to lose than you could possibly gain, and it is super easy to get caught. All it would take is one alert rider, and there are many of them.


Simple answer @Daemoness the unauthorized Drivers couldn't get approved to be Uber drivers. And unauthorized car couldn't make the cut either. I dug up 4 tweets from just the past few days, and I've seen plenty in the past too. Actually the problem discovered by Nate @UberJourno is more widespread and older than even he uncovered. So kudos to him!


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## Daemoness (Aug 27, 2014)

If the driver is correct then they're probably driving a different car, they shouldn't do it, but that's not the same issue. What if their car is in the shop?


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## getemtheresafely (Jul 1, 2014)

BeachBum said:


> Sounds like it would raise some suspicion at Uber if someone was online 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.


Another dodge-ball subject....You'd think safety vs hours driven would be a big concern.....It actually is but apparently from a company perspective, if you're a "technology entity" more hours driven equals more money for the company.....who gives a shit about the safety of passengers or their independently contracted drivers??.........
Other transportation services have regulation for limits of operation in place already


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## Daemoness (Aug 27, 2014)

Who would you trust enough to give your login to? How would they know you will pay them for their effort? Why would you risk deactivation? There's zero incentive for a driver to participate. Nate did not do his homework, because he stated in his article that not having a car and using your roommate's could lead to this scenario, when the fact is, it's not an issue at all to use another person's car. Did he even talk to Uber? Doesn't seem like it. He seems not to be aware that if someone uses your account to drive, the earnings all go into your account. It's just not likely anyone would want to do this. The app availability changes nothing, you can't use the same account to drive at the same time.


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## SupaJ (Aug 12, 2014)

Daemoness said:


> This is really silly guys, what would be the incentive for someone to do this,


It actually makes complete financial sense to do that. That's what Travis K. calls 'fully utilized' car. There is no down time, 4yo prius' ROI just doubled! Exactly same as renting out your taxi cab when you're not working.


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## Daemoness (Aug 27, 2014)

chi1cabby said:


> Simple answer @Daemoness the unauthorized Drivers couldn't get approved to be Uber drivers. And unauthorized car couldn't make the cut either. I dug up 4 tweets from just the past few days, and I've seen plenty in the past too. Actually the problem discovered by Nate @UberJourno is more widespread and older than even he uncovered. So kudos to him!


The only tweets I've seen are ones where the car is wrong, but not the driver. The Chinese situation could be a random pick up.


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## BeachBum (Aug 6, 2014)

Daemoness said:


> If the driver is correct then they're probably driving a different car, they shouldn't do it, but that's not the same issue. What if their car is in the shop?


The issue is that they probably signed up using mom's '14 Lexus, and they're driving a beater '97 Camry. Not the experience the rider was expecting, and they deserve a one star rating. Not to mention not being covered by Uber's insurance if they get in an accident.


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## SupaJ (Aug 12, 2014)

Daemoness said:


> Who would you trust enough to give your login to? How would they know you will pay them for their effort?


Who - I would trust my business partner more than I trust uber 
How - ummmmm by keeping records, the stuff normal people do anyway


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## chi1cabby (May 28, 2014)

Daemoness said:


> Who would you trust enough to give your login to? How would they know you will pay them for their effort? Why would you risk deactivation? There's zero incentive for a driver to participate. Nate did not do his homework, because he stated in his article that not having a car and using your roommate's could lead to this scenario, when the fact is, it's not an issue at all to use another person's car. Did he even talk to Uber? Doesn't seem like it. He seems not to be aware that if someone uses your account to drive, the earnings all go into your account. It's just not likely anyone would want to do this. The app availability changes nothing, you can't use the same account to drive at the same time.


These are people at the margins of society who are doing this. Folks with checkered history, recent legal or even illegal immigrants who are in cahoots with friends, roommates, family...people with big financial interest in doing this. These are not normal folks with moral compunctions or ethics! They are putting their riders at risk as there is NO insurance when they do this.


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## Daemoness (Aug 27, 2014)

SupaJ said:


> It actually makes complete financial sense to do that. That's what Travis K. calls 'fully utilized' car. There is no down time, 4yo prius' ROI just doubled! Exactly same as renting out your taxi cab when you're not working.


If you can register as a driver, you can share a car. That solves the fully utilized car problem.

So you all know now you can share a car under Uber's rules. So that's just a moot point.

Sharing an account is a completely different issue. A driver who gives out his account info. risks having his earnings stolen. You all are completely ignoring that fact. Earnings only go into one bank account at a time. If a guy can't pass a background check, then why would you trust him with access to your earnings? I always identify my driver before getting in a car, and I'd raise hell with Uber if the pic and driver didn't match. This is SO not a problem for safety conscious people for that reason. You can just cancel and reorder and take a photo of the asshole while you're at it. I'm pretty sure this constitutes a crime. Oh, and one other thing, I'd ask why a driver is driving a different car. Geez, why are people so wimpy?

The earnings are so small, (what "huge financial incentive??") and the risks so great, it doesn't make sense to believe this is a problem.


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## SupaJ (Aug 12, 2014)

Daemoness said:


> If you can register as a driver, you can share a car. A driver who gives out his account info. risks having his earnings stolen. You all are completely ignoring that fact. Earnings only go into one bank account at a time. If a guy can't pass a background check, then why would you trust him with access to your earnings? I always identify my driver before getting in a car, and I'd raise hell with Uber if the pic and driver didn't match.


So here you have Peter and Paul, two good friends. They open up a joint checking account, or maybe even set up simple but official partnership. For whatever reason Paul didn't get accepted as uber driver. So now they pitch in few $K each and buy used prius. Or maybe Peter already had one, doesnt matter. Now they can drive that hybrid 24/7, with no down time. They can even go a bit further and get TCP sticker for airport and pick up passengers 24/7. Oh wait now you have 2 ex cabbies having 1 car and splitting shifts. Reminds me of something 

Uber is just a glorified taxi service that gets hails by tapping phone instead of raising your hand. They eliminated a dispatcher service. )))


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## getemtheresafely (Jul 1, 2014)

Daemoness said:


> If you can register as a driver, you can share a car.


Yeah ....and the process involves getting a background check and a separate user profile as well


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## chi1cabby (May 28, 2014)

Daemoness said:


> The only tweets I've seen are ones where the car is wrong, but not the driver. The Chinese situation could be a random pick up.


I had screenshots from earlier in the year. I could go looking for them again, but I'm not going to bother. 
There have been articles written about people getting into strangers cars thinking it was their Uber car. And multiple reports of assaults as result. When people are drunk they are not quite as cautious or attentive to details. When I come across @Sydney Uber post on this problem and Uber's response to him, I'll post it here.


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## chi1cabby (May 28, 2014)

Daemoness said:


> The only tweets I've seen are ones where the car is wrong, but not the driver. The Chinese situation could be a random pick up.


Here is @Sydney Uber relating this to @Farlance , an Uber CSR btw, in this thread.

https://uberpeople.net/threads/uber...o-add-manymore-drivers-until.2954/#post-30393
Edit: @Daemoness @UberJourno Please read the whole thread...it's very revealing on this topic.


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## LUXYRIDE (Jul 5, 2014)

I can't speak for anyone else, but after I've been logged in for 12 hours, the Uber app won't let me log on for another 8 hours (i.e., rest time).


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## KevinH (Jul 13, 2014)

Daemoness;
The incentives are strong for one of Uber's largest driver pools, underpaid new immigrants to the US. They are frequently part of a social chain that help friends and relatives get a start in the US. Take a look at the exploited Nigerian Supershuttle drivers in DC:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/busin...chise-system/2012/04/19/gIQAFbp9VT_story.html

Just Google Washington Post Supershuttle.

Here in San Francisco the going rate for a "rented" Uber phone was $500/mo before Uber charged weekly for the phone and I have not checked in the last few months. If you are a limo company you can have more than one driver per car and get several drivers approved for your vehicles. The company then has several phones "at large" and "rents" them out to a network of friends and relatives, not all of which has been declared to Uber.

Also individuals "rent" their personal Uber phone to friends and relatives for the days that they do not want to drive, or if they want to make money and not drive, they just "rent" the phone to an eager friend. The market here for slightly older Lincoln Town Cars is enormous, with high mileage Town Cars going for thousands of dollars more than just a few years ago. Uberx Passengers don't look at the plates.
At nearby San Francisco International Airport, an enforcement effort to keep UberX from picking up and dropping off this spring netted many of these drivers. From a Bay Area news story:

_"(San Francisco Police Commander) Corriea said a first-time violation of the rules is a misdemeanor offense. In just the last three weeks, airport officials at SFO identified more than 295 TNC drivers without permits, and some who did not even have licenses. They also found drivers breaking their own company's rules by borrowing cars or sharing company issued phones with drivers not approved by the TNC."_

In July, the Washington Post had a story about an Uber driver that took passengers on a high speed chase to evade a taxi inspector that was checking the drivers documents in an area that allowed Uber to operate legally. Perhaps the car or the driver was not the one permitted for the phone.


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## KevinH (Jul 13, 2014)

Daemoness;
Some more:
Some other popular schemes ="rent" the car and the phone, or just the car. One insurance adjuster i spoke to found that there were several layers of rental, with each person taking a percentage or cut of the action. They found it difficult to identify the real driver or to validate the chain of use permission that makes the insurance coverage valid. (Sorry chi1cabby, another insurance comment.)


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## chi1cabby (May 28, 2014)

LUXYRIDE said:


> I can't speak for anyone else, but after I've been logged in for 12 hours, the Uber app won't let me log on for another 8 hours (i.e., rest time).


I've never heard that with Uber. Not from a driver or from a company communication. With Lyft there is a mandatory rest period of 8 contiguous hours in a 24 hour span.


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## uberdriver (Aug 4, 2014)

KevinH said:


> Daemoness;
> 
> In July, the Washington Post had a story about an Uber driver that took passengers on a high speed chase to evade a taxi inspector that was checking the drivers documents in an area that allowed Uber to operate legally. Perhaps the car or the driver was not the one permitted for the phone.


Please don't spread wrong information that misleads the drivers. We already have the Uber corporation doing a lot of exactly that. In DC UberX drivers are routinely being stopped, ticketed thousands of dollars and having their cars impounded by teams of a taxi inspector and a DC police officer. According to them (the DC authorities) Uber driving is a violation of DC law. So Uber is not "allowed to operate legally" in DC. And saying "perhaps" when you have no basis whatsoever to speculate that is also not appropriate.


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## Just Some Guy (Jun 10, 2014)

chi1cabby said:


> Boston drivers what's the acceptable driver rating in your market? This driver is at 4.57 Stars! It's time for the Drivers to blow the lid off this Uber's Rating System Fraud. This Rating System is a Terror perpetuated by Uber on its Drivers!


I've gotten weekly updates in Boston where I've had a 4.7 rating for the week, and it said I was _above average_. If he's only driving Thursday through Saturday at night when there's surge for much of the night, that rating wouldn't surprise me at all. We all know riders rate more than just the driver and their car.

Ratings dropped significantly over the summer in my experience. I blame the lack of college students. I've found that the students tend to rate higher, even when there's surge. College students are easy to please. They don't expect to be pampered, and they don't care what route you take. Get them to the club so they can get drunk, let them blast their music, and they rate you 5 stars no matter what the surge is.


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## Nova (Sep 3, 2014)

KevinH said:


> Daemoness;
> The incentives are strong for one of Uber's largest driver pools, underpaid new immigrants to the US. They are frequently part of a social chain that help friends and relatives get a start in the US. Take a look at the exploited Nigerian Supershuttle drivers in DC:
> 
> http://www.washingtonpost.com/busin...chise-system/2012/04/19/gIQAFbp9VT_story.html
> ...


This.

Those of you who have been to an Uber office with other drivers (on-boarding, returning a phone, etc.), did you talk with any of the other people there? I visited the Uber DC office several times for different reasons, and each time the number of people (other than Uber staff) for whom English was clearly not their first language was between 90% and 98%.

And please no bs replies about how I must be a racist. Anyone who comes to this country, legally or illegally, has shown a lot more gumption than most US citizens. Think about what it would take to get you to uproot your family and move them to a new country or across an ocean.

YMMV

_


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## Sydney Uber (Apr 15, 2014)

chi1cabby said:


> I've never heard that with Uber. Not from a driver or from a company communication. With Lyft there is a mandatory rest period of 8 contiguous hours in a 24 hour span.


Uber On! (And On, And On, And On and Zzźzzs)


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## UberJourno (Sep 8, 2014)

Hey guys. Just published a piece as a follow up to the story that started this thread. If you'd like to read it, search – "Uber closes a loophole, but its app leak is still out there"

Spoke with an apple technician and two Boston tech executives, and all agreed this UberDriver app leak is a problem. Uber has issued a statement:

"These comments are ridiculous and irresponsible. At Uber we pride ourselves on using state of the art technology to ensure a safe ride, including a number of fraud prevention techniques and algorithms. Throughout the testing of this limited availability BYOD beta, additional anti-fraud features are continually being built into the program. It’s also important to note that attempting this type of fraud is not only explicitly prohibited by our terms and conditions – it’s illegal."

My question: doesn't Uber allow phone sharing between drivers and their friends and family? I thought I saw this on Uber's website, but I could be mistaken.


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## KevinH (Jul 13, 2014)

uberdriver said:


> Please don't spread wrong information that misleads the drivers. We already have the Uber corporation doing a lot of exactly that. In DC UberX drivers are routinely being stopped, ticketed thousands of dollars and having their cars impounded by teams of a taxi inspector and a DC police officer. According to them (the DC authorities) Uber driving is a violation of DC law. So Uber is not "allowed to operate legally" in DC. And saying "perhaps" when you have no basis whatsoever to speculate that is also not appropriate.


Here is the text from the Post article, is Uber allowed or not?

_*"Neville Waters, a spokesman for the D.C. Taxicab Commission, confirmed that there was an incident Tuesday involving one of the commission's inspectors and an Uber driver.

Waters said the inspector filed a written report, and officials hope to interview him for more details.

Waters said the inspector noticed that the vehicle had Virginia license plates and wanted to ensure that the pickup was done through Uber's app rather than as a street hail, which is illegal in the District. But before the inspector could confirm the information, the Uber driver fled, Waters said.

If the inspector discovered the driver was making an unauthorized pickup,the Uber driver could have had his car impounded and faced a fine - though not a $2,000 fine, Waters said. However, if the driver showed he was there because the passengers had booked him via app, he likely would not have faced sanctions."*_


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## SupaJ (Aug 12, 2014)

UberJourno said:


> My question: doesn't Uber allow phone sharing between drivers and their friends and family? I thought I saw this on Uber's website, but I could be mistaken.


You're mistaking. No sharing. 
(Not even ride sharing lol)


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## SF Uber Driver (Sep 9, 2014)

This could potentially be another Ubererror.

About a month ago the driver app randomly changed the make and model of my vehicle to that of an Acura SUV. It also started showing a picture of a little red car that looked like a Toyota Yaris. 

I would have never realized it if not for rider comments. I reported it immediately to Uber and after a week and a half of back and forth emails, they finally confessed that others were having the same problem and there 'might' be a problem with the app.

Eventually it got straightened out, but now I'm wondering how many bad ratings it caused me...


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## chi1cabby (May 28, 2014)

*Uber Closes a Loophole, but Its Leaked Driver App Is Still Out There*

*http://bostinno.streetwise.co/2014/09/09/is-uber-safe-uberdriver-enterprise-ios-app-leaks/*


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## Sean O'Gorman (Apr 17, 2014)

Maybe I'm missing something here, but this article makes it sound like anyone who downloads the app can go Ubering on their own, when that is clearly not the case. I was waitlisted for the past two weeks (I've been reactivated as of this afternoon from what I've been told, I don't have the phone near me to verify) and couldn't log in on the app on the Uber phone, so why would it be any different on a personal phone?

Also, this would probably end up being even more of an issue if/when an Android app comes out, as the APK file can probably be spread pretty easily.


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## Moofish (Jun 13, 2014)

My guess would be that either they are just logging into a "friend's" account but using their own car, or they were added as a driver to the account, but never registered their vehicle, maybe because Uber didn't accept it. So there are a few loopholes, I think one way to help prevent this would be to verify the driver login with a text to the registered phone number, but Uber is the big technology company, I'll let them figure that out.


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## cybertec69 (Jul 23, 2014)

SupaJ said:


> Who - I would trust my business partner more than I trust uber
> How - ummmmm by keeping records, the stuff normal people do anyway


What states are you people talking about, this will not and can not happen in NYC, as all Taxis, Livery and TLC "FHV" vehicles must go through the same TLC inspection stations, with commercial insurance, commercial registration, and the driver must have a TLC or Taxi License issued by the TLC after you go through a fingerprint screening and annual drug tests "or you will not be able to drive a FHV or Taxi or any type of street hail service", we here are regulated to the hilt. No black car company "dispatch service" which Uber is considered one can not issue you a radio without the proper paperwork from the TLC office, then you will get your TLC, Taxi or Livery license plates for the car which you must provide commercial insurance when you go to the TLC inspection station, once your car pases inspection you will receive your diamond stickers "three to be exact, plastered on your car, one on the front right hand corner windshield, and one on either side on the back passengers doors corner window" from the TLC inspection office, then you can go pick up people. Here in NYC you can not use your family car with your plain old Jane state plates and Geico insurance. Many of you would not even be able to operate a FHV if you lived in NYC, do to the high costs of just putting the car "not mom's house car" on the road.


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## Daemoness (Aug 27, 2014)

Thanks for the info, Kevin and others, however, why would an immigrant new to the US with no history here, fail a background check?
Yes you can share an Uber phone with spouse or family, you get a different login. I have an email from Uber confirming. You can also run a sort of 24 hour operation this way, as long as the drivers have all passed their background check. But everyone here is griping about pay. How does it become economically feasible if you have middlemen taking more of the action? You're already saying that you don't earn anything. It doesn't make sense to risk the whole operation with a rogue driver. One bad passenger experience and your whole clandestine operation is out the window. Why would anyone be stupid enough to risk that? You can get a legitimate driver and STILL charge them rent for the car.


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## Heather517 (Sep 11, 2014)

Nova said:


> My understanding is that 4.8 is pretty good. I had a 4.91 when I quit after 800 trips or so.
> 
> Have taken 3 UberX rides since then and all 3 drivers had a 4.6, which mystified me. All polite, all cars clean, all asked me if I wanted to navigate or if I preferred they used GPS, no unpleasant odors in cars. Did not disclose I was ex-Uber driver for at least first 5 minutes. After that we discussed their rating and none of the 3 had a clue why their rating was was so low. And all 3 had asked Uber about their ratings and only received standard form-BS responses, nothing specific. All 3 were first generation immigrants. And all 3 had interesting stories about their past before moving to US. Three guys I'd be happy to share a beer with.
> 
> ...


I too wondered why we could not view all of our comments. It would be like corrective criticism. How can we improve as drivers if we aren't made aware of the problem?


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## Oscar Levant (Aug 15, 2014)

Moofish said:


> A 4.57 driver at the end of the article?!? Makes me feel better about my 4.8.
> 
> Here is where the massive amount of drivers is going to backfire on Uber, unless they start screening every rider at the end of the trip to find out if the driver and car matched their request, it will be impossible to find out who's sharing their account or not.


As soon as Uber discovers this discrepancy, it will be a simple programming fix to make it impossible to log into the same acccount on two different phones, unless cleared with Uber in advance.


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## Just Some Guy (Jun 10, 2014)

Daemoness said:


> Thanks for the info, Kevin and others, however, why would an immigrant new to the US with no history here, fail a background check?


For the same reason they'd fail a credit check, ie no history. Not having any history is not a good thing, it raises red flags.


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## Baron VonStudley (Jun 20, 2014)

It seems easier for someone to impersonate a police officer than an uber driver. There are stories of horrible things happening in any scenario. Uber lets you run your own business. in running your own business you can have multiple drivers multiple cars and all that. I would be more concerned with the authorized drivers who might be sociopaths or preverts.


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## Just Some Guy (Jun 10, 2014)

Baron VonStudley said:


> It seems easier for someone to impersonate a police officer than an uber driver. There are stories of horrible things happening in any scenario. Uber lets you run your own business. in running your own business you can have multiple drivers multiple cars and all that. I would be more concerned with the authorized drivers who might be sociopaths or preverts.


A fairly recent study I read said that as much as 20% of the population are sociopaths...


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## The Geek (May 29, 2014)

Baron VonStudley said:


> I would be more concerned with the authorized drivers who might be sociopaths or preverts.


Like a certain sociopathic CEO we all adore?


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