# Uber Hit With New 'Safe Rides' Lawsuit



## chi1cabby (May 28, 2014)

*Uber Hit With New 'Safe Rides' Suit*
Ben Hancock
http://m.therecorder.com/#/article/1202757325399/Uber-Hit-With-New-Safe-Rides-Suit?kw=Uber Hit With New 'Safe Rides' Suit&cn=20160511&pt=News Alert&src=EMC-Email&et=editorial&bu=The Recorder&slreturn=20160411142528&_almReferrer=

SAN FRANCISCO - A new class action against Uber Technologies Inc. says it will test the bounds of the company's claim to be solely a "technology services provider."

The *suit*, filed Monday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, alleges that Uber took money from drivers' pockets that it had no right to claim as a passive technology platform.

The challenge centers on how Uber charged its "safe ride fee," now called a "booking fee." The complaint says that when a passenger only goes a short distance and is charged a minimum fare, the company takes the safe ride or booking fee from the driver. That allegedly is a breach of Uber's contract with the driver.

"[T]he Uber driver contracts consistently made clear that Uber was no more than a service provider to the driver; that each driver was a wholly independent business free to negotiate its own fares with riders; that each driver owned the fares paid by riders; [and] that Uber would simply be paid a fee for the services it provided to the driver's business (like a CPA, a lawyer, a mechanic, or a plumber)," the complaint says.

John Crabtree of Miami-based Crabtree & Auslander, who is lead counsel in the case, said the premise underlying the suit is that "Uber means what it says &#8230; and that the drivers own the fares."

"Uber's ability to reach in and grab that money out of drivers' pockets is non-existent," Crabtree said.

The suit is the first that Crabtree & Auslander has filed against Uber. Andrew August of Browne George Ross in San Francisco is acting as local counsel in the case, and referred a request for comment to Crabtree.

An Uber spokesman did not immediately respond to an email.

The complaint seeks to recover the safe-ride fee charges for a nationwide class of drivers from when the fee was introduced in spring 2014 through November 2015, when Uber changed its contract. In February, the company agreed to pay $28.5 million to settle separate litigation brought on behalf of passengers challenging the safe-ride fee.

Contact the reporter at [email protected].


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## Pepo (Sep 9, 2014)

I quit Uber months ago, but I never understood the rationale behind the safe riders fee.


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## ChortlingCrison (Mar 30, 2016)

If uber ends having to refund all of the "booking fees", that is probably going to come out to a lot more then $28million.


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## Another Uber Driver (May 27, 2015)

Has this been certified as "class action", yet, or is it that counsel has announced such an intention?


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## tohunt4me (Nov 23, 2015)

chi1cabby said:


> *Uber Hit With New 'Safe Rides' Suit*
> Ben Hancock
> http://m.therecorder.com/#/article/1202757325399/Uber-Hit-With-New-Safe-Rides-Suit?kw=Uber Hit With New 'Safe Rides' Suit&cn=20160511&pt=News Alert&src=EMC-Email&et=editorial&bu=The Recorder&slreturn=20160411142528&_almReferrer=
> 
> ...


The passengers pay the safe rider fee.
In my city,the city gets .50 cents a ride.
Not coming out of my pocket.


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## andaas (May 19, 2015)

The success or failure of this case will depend on how upfront Uber has been in identifying that the "SRF/Booking Fee" is included in the minimum fare calculations and that that fee was not intended as part of the actual "fare" calculation. The current website clearly states this with, _"*The min fare includes the Booking Fee."_


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## Pepo (Sep 9, 2014)

That's true. What sucks though about it is that if you are a few cents above the min. fare on a trip, you could potentially mathematically lose more money on that trip than what you could make.


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## observer (Dec 11, 2014)

Pepo said:


> I quit Uber months ago, but I never understood the rationale behind the safe riders fee.


The rationale is that it splits the fare in two pieces. Ubers share and the drivers share.

Uber can raise its share and lower the drivers share independent of each other.

Uber gets a larger portion of the fare, the driver gets a smaller portion of the fare and the pax only sees one total fare.

It is no longer a straight percentage split as was originally sold to the drivers.


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## Beur (Apr 14, 2015)

This is what I've come to like about Lyft. The minimum fare belongs to the driver minus Lyft's percentage, the trust and safety fee is added to each fare separately.


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## chi1cabby (May 28, 2014)

Another Uber Driver said:


> Has this been certified as "class action", yet, or is it that counsel has announced such an intention?


The lawsuit was filed on Monday, 05/09/16. There have been no hearings on the case yet.


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## chi1cabby (May 28, 2014)

I spoke today with the attorneys who filed this case. They are seeking other Drivers to add to the case, especially those Drivers that were driving in 2014.
The attorneys contact info is listed in the lawsuit:
*Uber SRF/Booking Fee Lawsuit*


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## chi1cabby (May 28, 2014)

This is the website where Drivers can learn more about this Safe Rides Fee Lawsuit & contact the attorneys:

*http://www.safedriverfee.com*


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## X-Cabbie (Oct 27, 2015)

Pepo said:


> I never understood the rationale behind the safe riders fee.


It's a tip. Uber takes a $1 tip for themselves out of every fare.


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## Hackenstein (Dec 16, 2014)

Seems like an obvious blatant lie. What do they claim, that it goes toward their insurance? Lie. They're just stealing money from drivers.


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## Uber123s (Dec 2, 2014)

this is a good lawsuit specially since they lost it already once


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## Flarpy (Apr 17, 2016)

I think this could be a good suit, depends on the original contract. It's a much simpler breach of contract suit than the employment suit.


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## elelegido (Sep 24, 2014)

Pepo said:


> I quit Uber months ago, but I never understood the rationale behind the safe riders fee.


What's hard to understand about it? Uber wants to take for itself a portion of the fare paid by pax, without sharing any of it with the driver, with the objective of increasing its revenue.


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## UberReallySucks (Jul 17, 2015)

chi1cabby said:


> *Uber Hit With New 'Safe Rides' Suit*
> Ben Hancock
> http://m.therecorder.com/#/article/1202757325399/Uber-Hit-With-New-Safe-Rides-Suit?kw=Uber Hit With New 'Safe Rides' Suit&cn=20160511&pt=News Alert&src=EMC-Email&et=editorial&bu=The Recorder&slreturn=20160411142528&_almReferrer=
> 
> ...


_
I'm loving it. Day after day, I see Uber in more and more hot water. The predator is once again becoming the prey and that's such a beautiful thing ... _


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## uberdriverfornow (Jan 10, 2016)

elelegido said:


> What's hard to understand about it? Uber wants to take for itself a portion of the fare paid by pax, without sharing any of it with the driver, with the objective of increasing its revenue.


The Safe Rides Fee is essentially a tip for Uber, on our backs, none of which goes to drivers.


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## TwoFiddyMile (Mar 13, 2015)

Hopefully it's a firm other than Liss-Jiordan.
Rude it out to the bitter end, score every penny back for the drivers.


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