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Most of Uber's Bases In New York City Have Been Suspended

The ban will not be lifted until Uber offers up electronic trip data, a major point of contention during its months-long battle with the city's taxi commission.
Photo via flickr/Gary Burke

Uber is already facing a new set of problems in 2015, and this time they emerged in New York City, where the city's taxi regulator is suspending all but one of the company's bases after a months-long dispute over trip data.

In a decision handed down on Tuesday, New York City Taxi's and Limousine Commission (TLC) barred five of Uber's six bases from operating throughout the city after the company refused to provide electronic trip records for rides taken using its service between April and September of 2014.

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The ban will not be lifted until Uber provides the information, which was initially requested by the commission in early October. Additionally, the company will be forced to pay a $200 fine for each base.

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"I would just say that with the new FHV [for hire vehicle] accountability rules in effect, which among other things requires them to routinely provide essential trip data going forward, today's decision was all the more significant," Allan Fromberg, TLC spokesman, said in an interview with Newsweek. "I should also point out that when Uber initially came into this market, they enthusiastically committed to providing this data, and it is unfortunate that they have reneged on that commitment."

With Uber's operating model in New York City, each driver is affiliated with one of the six bases and is dispatched independently through the company's app. According to a spokesperson for Uber, today's decision will not impact the way the company operates in the Big Apple. All drivers will now be designated to the remaining base.

"Uber continues to operate legally in New York City, with tens of thousands of partner drivers and hundreds of thousands of riders relying on the Uber platform for economic opportunity and safe, reliable rides. We are continuing a dialogue with the NYC Taxi and Limousine Commission on these issues," the spokesperson said in a statement to VICE News.

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The decision stems from a TLC guideline that says "a Licensee must truthfully answer all questions and comply with all communications, directives, and summonses from the Commission or its representatives."

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While other car-for-hire upstarts like Lyft have complied with the commission's request, Uber argued the TLC was asking for trade secrets that could hinder its hold on competitors in the industry, according to the New York Business Journal. The company previously claimed the directive violates the Fourth Amendment and has expressed concerns that complying could breach their drivers' privacy.

The data was a central point during a heated meeting with the parties in mid-October. At the time, Uber's New York General Manager Josh Mohrer said, "I think there is a difference between having a binder of information you would come by once a week and check, or me delivering you a CSV file that is mined for things like our growth, which we would want to keep secret."

Uber has been recently plagued with bad press around the world. There have been questions about the company's responsibility for its drivers' actions, like in the case of a deadly crash in San Francisco in 2014, or more recently an incident in New York City in which a man driving an Uber-affiliated vehicle hit and killed a pedestrian on the Upper East Side of Manhattan.

Internationally, the company has seen pushback from governments in countries like Germany, largely revolving around local regulations. At the end of 2014, France announced a new ban would go into effect on the company's discounted UberPop service. In further controversy, Delhi officials barred the company from operating in the Indian city in December following reports that a driver raped a female passenger.

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Photo via Flickr