Uber Faces Hefty Fine From Pennsylvania Regulators
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Administrative law judges: “Uber clearly should have been aware that arranging transportation with uncertificated drivers was not permitted.”
Uber could be facing a nearly $50 million fine for operating in Pittsburgh without a license.
Two administrative law judges issued the fine Tuesday in response to the San Francisco-based ride-booking company operating in Pittsburgh for six months in 2014 before it was granted permission. The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission, which regulates buses and taxis, must sign off on the fine before it is final.
“It is inescapable that Uber chose to launch its ride-sharing service and then continued to evade commission oversight,” the judges wrote in their decision. “As a sophisticated company, Uber clearly should have been aware that arranging transportation with uncertificated drivers was not permitted.”
The $50 million fine would be the largest ever imposed by the Utility Commission. The judges also cited Uber for failing to properly respond to requests for documents in the investigation.
While Uber is legally able to offer its services in most of Pennsylvania, it still operates in Philadelphia without a local license. National Public Radio reported in August that Uber had accumulated $300,000 worth of fines in Philadelphia that the company plans to fight.
A spokesman for Uber told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that the company would seek a settlement with the state. The company’s chief rival, Lyft, settled a similar case in Pennsylvania earlier this year for a $250,000 fine.
From its beginning, Uber has run afoul of local and state officials around the country for attempting to bypass local taxi regulations. The discontent has spread outside U.S. borders, with Rio de Janeiro's mayor announcing that Uber was banned from operating in the city. The company has run into resistance in several countries, including the United Kingdom, Australia and Belgium.
(Photo by MikeDotta / Shutterstock.com)
Jason Hancock is a journalist based in Jefferson City, Missouri.
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