Ridesharing service Uber, has seen a lot of growth in the five years since its debut. The company’s services have rapidly expanded into hundreds of cities around the world, the most recent being Budapest. Following the coattails of the company’s growth however have been a series of unfortunate and some would say, sinful, incidents that have cast the company in a bad light.
So Metro decided to put these sins into stone (the Web) and list all seven (there are probably more).
1)Sloth: Uber charges riders a “safe ride fee”
So you want to ride safely during a car ride you’re paying for? Uber thinks you should be safe too, and also thinks that you should pay for it. Since April of this year Uber has been charging customers in the U.S. a lazy extra dollar on their trip to fund “background checks, regular motor vehicle screenings, driver safety education, current and future development of safety features in the app, and more.” Nice one Uber, thanks for the effort. 2)Pride: Uber wants to protect its image by hunting down journalists
Earlier this weekBuzzfeed’s editor-in-chief wrote an alarming article that shed light on the extreme lengths the company is willing to go to keep a tight grip on its image in the media. Uber’s Vice President of Business, Emil Michael reportedly said the company would be willing to invest money in digging up dirt on journalists. Both Michael and the company released statements apologizing for the remarks and affirmed that what he said was in no way a reflection of the company’s actual policy 3)Greed: Uber surges it’s prices to extreme amounts
It’s no secret that Uber surges its prices to the point where traveling about three miles could cost about $91. Don’t worry though, now the company will give you a heads up when the prices drop, all you have to do is just wait in the snow storm or out in that bad part of town you got stuck in late at night till the prices drop. No big deal. 4)Envy: Lyft sabatoge
Late this summer, ride-sharing competitor Lyft accused Uber of sabotaging their business by ordering and canceling rides to waste the time and money of Lyft drivers. Lyft reportedly confirmed these allegations by cross referencing the cell phone numbers of canceled rides with those of Uber drivers. They of course found matches. Uber quickly denied this but did admit to recruiting Lyft drivers to Uber. 5)Lust: Driver abuse and harrassment
Perhaps this is a sin that all car services share (but at least in regular cabs there’s usually a giant partition to save you). Since at least 2013 or so allegations of harassment, abuse and even rape from Uber drivers have been coming from riders of the service. 6)Gluttony: Uber may be over estimating what drivers make In May of this year Uber posted a blog stating that the median income of UberX drivers in NYC was a whopping $90,766. An article from Slate however says that the numbers simply don’t crunch that way. Citing fare decreases and an increase in the company’s commission intake, Slate writes that “drivers have grown disillusioned with the company and its promises” and that yearly incomes come closer to about $50,000. 7)Wrath: Uber driver tell’s cancer patient “you’re not human”
How much do we really have to explain this one. Do you want to hear it again? An Uber driver told a cancer patient “You are not a human.” Once more? Okay. An Uber driver told a cancer patient “You are not a human.”
Uber’s Seven Deadly Sins
