Your Uber driver might be a convicted felon
Even though Uber prides itself on the extensive background-checking of its drivers, it is now being accused that some of its drivers are convicted felons.
According to a report by Sky News, a complaint was filed by the San Francisco district attorney’s office, in which it was said that one of the drivers is a convicted murderer who spent 26 years in prison before being released on parole in 2008.
He allegedly joined Uber in 2014 under a fake name and gave 1,168 rides before being discovered.
Another driver had a conviction for "committing lewd or lascivious acts against a child under 14" which did not appear in a background check. According to the filing, he gave close to 6,000 rides, unaccompanied children included.
One driver was convicted of kidnapping for ransom with a firearm, cocaine selling and drunk driving.
San Francisco district attorney wants Uber to use a fingerprint-based system called Livescan to identify its drivers, but Uber is rejecting it, saying Livescan is no better than their own background-checking system.
In a statement Uber said: "While we agree with the district attorneys that safety is a priority, we disagree that the Livescan process used by taxi companies is an inherently better system for screening drivers than our background checks".
"The reality is that neither is 100 percent foolproof -- as we discovered last year when putting hundreds of people through our checks who identified themselves as taxi drivers", added Uber. "That process uncovered convictions for DUI, rape, attempted murder, child abuse and violence".
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