Uber-flawed: the problem with Uber

Manila. America. India. What do these three places have in common? Uber, the ride-sharing company, has come under fire from all three places. Normally, analysts would scour the common factor that would link all three. After which, they’d pounce on Uber and expose its shams. But the funny thing is, all three have different reasons for attacking the company.

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Uber is a ride-sharing service that uses a mobile app to arrange rides between Uber users, both as passengers and drivers. Lucky passengers might even get a luxury car to drive them around. Their drivers don’t come from the transportation industry. They’re not taxi drivers or chauffeurs. They’re regular Joes and Janes like you and me who downloaded the app. On paper, it’s just like asking a friend to pick you up (for a fee). What could possibly go wrong? A lot of things, apparently.

Manila. Let’s start right here at home. A few months ago, the LTFRB conducted a sting operation to hunt down the vehicles of the drivers from Uber. A Toyota Fortuner was fined for P200,000. The reason wasn’t for anything Uber had done to its customers. It was more because of this country’s oodles of red tape. Apparently, Uber had no license to operate or franchise its operations in the country. The MMDA and the DOTC defended the company, praising Uber’s nifty concept. Besides the Philippines, this red tape exists in various other countries where Uber operates.

Actually, one theory is that taxi companies are complaining that Uber has been stealing business from them illegally. It’s a rational fear, but a selfish one. This controversy is more from a business perspective, than an ethical one. It’s one that’s measurable in pesos. It’s when we go to the other countries that things get heated up.

America. In the land of NSA paranoia, it doesn’t come as a surprise that the Uber controversy in America is a result of data collection. An important issue that rose over the years of Uber’s existence is that they collect riding information about its users. They were even careless about this information, offering sneak peeks to job applicants.

Another particular incident is when one executive from the company threatened journalists who wrote negative things about the service. This executive threatened to use Uber’s collected data to use against the offending journalist in some way. (Good thing I don’t use Uber.) The executive has since apologized, but not without leaving a tarnish on Uber’s record.

As we have all learned this year, data collection is part and parcel of business management. We don’t care that much. It’s normal. Life goes on. It’s only when it’s pointed out to us that we start acknowledging the fact. And it’s only when that data is used for the wrong reasons that we turn our heads and care. Uber made that mistake, even if it was a misguided employee.

India. And the latest chronicle on Uber’s record comes from India where an Uber driver has been arrested for raping his passenger. Here we take up the safety issues of Uber. These drivers answer only to Uber, arguably not a tangible company that tracks their comings and goings everyday when they go to work.

Supposedly, the 25-year-old woman was led to a desolate location and raped by the Uber driver. How safe is Uber? As I said before, Uber is similar to asking a friend for a lift. Actually, it’s not. More often, it’s simplified hitchhiking or allowing your phone to tell you to get into a stranger’s car, take the stranger into your trust, and be driven to a location. These drivers are being tracked, but only where they’re going. What they do when they drop you off is at their own discretion.

But is Uber to blame for these actions? Yes and no. These people have individual lives as well. They’re not tied to Uber professionally, not in the sense that they’re employees of Uber. Then again, these drivers carry the Uber name with them. What they do reflects the company. As much as these individuals aren’t tied, Uber might do well to screen them more stringently.

Legality. Data privacy. Security. These issues aren’t black and white when it comes to Uber. These are various shades of gray spread around the world. These controversies aren’t limited to just three countries. By far, the only negative thing that Uber has done is to flaunt and misuse its data archives. But all else falls within or teeters on the edge of ethics.

I still prefer the convenience of booking car trips through an app for a minimal fee, the assurance that a third party is monitoring the route we’re taking, and the comfort that a BMW might come and pick me up. But I’d be blind to ignore the facts. The Uber system is still flawed on various levels. I’m still looking for a time when we can trust getting into a taxi without getting mugged. But for now Uber isn’t as uber as we have been led to believe.