WEBVTT - Uber

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<v Speaker 1>The car service company Uber suffered panic on the streets

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<v Speaker 1>of London after the city revoked its license. I'm Jonathan

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<v Speaker 1>Strickland and this is tech stuff. Dating. On Friday, September two,

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<v Speaker 1>London City officials rejected Uber's application for a new license

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<v Speaker 1>to operate as a private car hire company. What's going on?

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<v Speaker 1>Travis Kalinnik and Garrett Camp founded Uber in two thousand

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<v Speaker 1>nine after they had experienced a frustrating evening of trying

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<v Speaker 1>to hail a cab in Paris. Their solution was to

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<v Speaker 1>create a business in which customers use an app to

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<v Speaker 1>signal the need for a ride. Uber employees would have

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<v Speaker 1>their own version of this software that would identify potential passengers.

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<v Speaker 1>Everything would be matched up nice and neat. Drivers would

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<v Speaker 1>receive a percentage of the fares they earned, and the

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<v Speaker 1>rest would go to the company. Even if that were

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<v Speaker 1>all there were to the Uber story, we would still

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<v Speaker 1>call the company disruptive. There are complicated agreements between governments

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<v Speaker 1>and car hire services that exist to regulate the industry

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<v Speaker 1>and make sure both customers and companies get a fair shake.

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<v Speaker 1>Uber and services like it tend to upset the delicate

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<v Speaker 1>bureaucratic balance, but there are further complications when it comes

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<v Speaker 1>to Uber. The company's history includes issues that range from

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<v Speaker 1>problematic to deeply troubling. In seventeen alone, the company has

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<v Speaker 1>experienced several high profile crises. On February nineteen, former Uber

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<v Speaker 1>employees Susan Fowler wrote a blog post that alled she

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<v Speaker 1>had been sexually harassed while working for Uber, and that

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<v Speaker 1>the company had an overall permissive attitude toward that sort

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<v Speaker 1>of behavior, going so far as to refuse to hold

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<v Speaker 1>one harassing manager accountable because he was quote a high

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<v Speaker 1>performer end quote. She also said there was a blatant

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<v Speaker 1>gender bias in the company. CEO Travis Kalanick said the

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<v Speaker 1>company would immediately investigate the claims, hiring Eric Holder, the

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<v Speaker 1>former Attorney General of the United States, to lead the investigation.

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<v Speaker 1>Just a few days later, on February twenty seventeen, The

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<v Speaker 1>New York Times published a piece that included accounts from

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<v Speaker 1>several other Uber employees that detailed instances of harassment. The

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<v Speaker 1>piece also said that during a corporate retreat, employees engaged

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<v Speaker 1>in recreational drug use. The very next day, Google filed

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<v Speaker 1>a lawsuit against Uber, claiming the company had stolen technology

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<v Speaker 1>relating to self driving vehicles, and two of Uber's major

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<v Speaker 1>investors sent an open letter to fellow investors in the

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<v Speaker 1>Board of directors claiming that Uber had been ignoring their

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<v Speaker 1>efforts to change company culture for years. February seen would

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<v Speaker 1>contain more problems for the company, including an embarrassing dash

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<v Speaker 1>cam video of CEO Kalanik arguing with an Uber driver

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<v Speaker 1>about the decrease and fair amounts which directly impacts driver's incomes.

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<v Speaker 1>In March, the company had to deal with a new

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<v Speaker 1>string of controversies. A report revealed that Uber software included

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<v Speaker 1>a tool called gray Ball. The purpose of this tool

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<v Speaker 1>is to identify people using Uber who are, according to

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<v Speaker 1>the company quote, violating our terms of service, whether that's

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<v Speaker 1>people aiming to physically harm drivers, competitors looking to disrupt

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<v Speaker 1>our operations, or opponents who colluded with officials on secret

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<v Speaker 1>stings meant to entrap drivers end quote. The report alleged

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<v Speaker 1>that Uber was using this tool in order to circumvent

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<v Speaker 1>authorities in cities where Uber had not received official license

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<v Speaker 1>to operate or in ones where the company had been

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<v Speaker 1>outright banned. On June one, two thousand seventeen, Travis Kalenik

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<v Speaker 1>resigned as CEO, a move prompted by pressure from the

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<v Speaker 1>company's worried investors. Kalen Nick had a hand in selecting

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<v Speaker 1>his replacement, former Expedis CEO Dara Kasro Shauhi. Meanwhile, the

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<v Speaker 1>company Benchmark, a major investor in Uber, brought legal charges

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<v Speaker 1>against Kalina, claiming he had committed fraud and that he

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<v Speaker 1>was using his remaining power with the company to fill

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<v Speaker 1>the board of directors with his own supporters. As for

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<v Speaker 1>the recent bruhaha in London, according to city officials, the

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<v Speaker 1>decision to deny the license renewal was made because Uber's

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<v Speaker 1>approach and conduct demonstrate a lack of corporate responsibility. By that,

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<v Speaker 1>the city officials mean that Uber has a long history

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<v Speaker 1>of failing to report criminal offenses or perform extensive background

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<v Speaker 1>checks on drivers, and if you look into Uber's past

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<v Speaker 1>even further, you'll see numerous news reports detailing the various

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<v Speaker 1>incidents that seemed to back up this assertion. London officials

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<v Speaker 1>also noted that the gray ball tool, which effectively hides

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<v Speaker 1>Uber driver activity from city authorities, wasn't cricket in their eyes.

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<v Speaker 1>London Mayor City Kahn said all companies in London must

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<v Speaker 1>play by the rules and adhere to the high standards

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<v Speaker 1>we expect, particularly when it comes to the safety of customers.

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<v Speaker 1>Providing an innovative service must not be at the expense

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<v Speaker 1>of customers safety and security. This news likely delighted the

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<v Speaker 1>Black Cab Company, the historic car hire service in London,

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<v Speaker 1>with drivers that must pass an infamously difficult test called

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<v Speaker 1>the Knowledge Rather than relying on satellite navigation, a London

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<v Speaker 1>cabby must be able to find the shortest, fastest route

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<v Speaker 1>from one point to another simply through knowledge alone. In

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<v Speaker 1>an area as massive as the Greater London Metropolitan Area,

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<v Speaker 1>this is no small task. As for Uber, the company

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<v Speaker 1>has the chance to appeal this decision, but even if

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<v Speaker 1>London officials reverse their stance, it's clear that Uber has

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<v Speaker 1>a lot of house cleaning left to do. The company's

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<v Speaker 1>reputation has suffered enormously in with investor and customer confidence dropping.

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<v Speaker 1>As a result, Uber employee morale hasn't fared much better.

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<v Speaker 1>It could be that Uber will one day be held

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<v Speaker 1>up as an example of how an enormously successful company

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<v Speaker 1>can come undone without the right people and policies in

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<v Speaker 1>place to protect employees and customers alike. To learn more

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<v Speaker 1>about companies like uberb and the tech that lets them operate,

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<v Speaker 1>be sure to subscribe to the podcast Tech Stuff. In

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<v Speaker 1>every episode, I do a deep dive on the tech

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<v Speaker 1>that makes our world. Tip or be or whatever. That's

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<v Speaker 1>all from me for now, See you next time.