Uber has 30 days to require certain drivers to be fingerprinted if it intends to continue transporting unaccompanied teens in California.
The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) on Thursday issued a ruling requiring taxi and ride-hailing drivers who transport unaccompanied minors in the state to pass fingerprint background checks. The ruling also requires trucking companies to pay for these background checks.
Uber has a history of fighting back against mandatory fingerprint-based background checks for drivers. Seven years ago, Uber and Lyft blocked a similar effort to fingerprint drivers in California. The company argued that current name-based background checks and other guardrails are sufficient and that such inconvenient measures discourage drivers from registering on the platform and disproportionately impact minorities.
Everything is out the window when it comes to safely transporting children and keeping them out of cars with potential sex offenders.
“When an adult is assigned to provide services to a minor, that adult is placed in a position of trust, responsibility, and control over California's most vulnerable population: children.'' ”, the judgment reads. “Without conducting fingerprint-based background checks to identify adults with arrest eligibility or criminal records, unaccompanied minors are exposed to potentially dangerous, if not life-threatening, situations. You will fall into it.”
In February 2024, Uber launched Uber for Teens, a service that allows teens between the ages of 13 and 17 to hail an Uber without a parent or guardian. The CPUC sent a warning letter to Uber, strongly recommending that the company suspend its service until background rules are enacted in 2016. The check may be resolved. In March, Uber asked for clarification of its rules, particularly where it said operators “primarily” transporting minors must conduct rigorous background checks. The company announced this summer that unaccompanied minors account for less than 10% of its rides.
The debate centers on whether Uber will be required to participate in the Justice Department's TrustLine program. Trustline is a registry maintained by the California Department of Human Services that uses fingerprinting to screen caregivers for criminal arrests and convictions. We also screen applicants against the Central Child Abuse Index, which includes reports of suspected child abuse and neglect.
Uber says its unique name-based screening system with Checkr and safety features like live ride tracking included in Uber for Teens are sufficient to keep riders of all ages safe. Uber also says it only pairs its most experienced and highly rated drivers with teen drivers.
Uber has also been accused of not doing enough to protect passengers from dangerous situations such as child trafficking. In July, two South Carolina families sued Uber, alleging the company allowed their teenage daughters to be taken across state lines to the home of a predator, one of whom was sexually assaulted. I was assaulted.
The CPUC's ruling is bad news for Uber, which launched its Uber service for teens in California in February 2024, but for HopSkip Drive, a startup that provides rides for kids and argues in support of the ruling. Good news.
HopSkipDrive calls its drivers “CareDrivers” and says they all have caregiving experience and undergo a 15-point certification, including a fingerprint background check, before being hired. The startup also uses telematics to detect risky driving behavior, enables real-time ride tracking, and has a dedicated team to monitor each ride.
The CPUC's ruling also requires carriers planning to transport minors to conduct live trip tracking for parents, implement safety procedures at pick-up and drop-off locations, and what specific driver training they provide. It also asks them to share information with authorities about whether they are doing so. Regarding the carriage of unaccompanied minors.
The ruling also states that each company is responsible for paying for the checks.
Uber also opposed the provision, arguing that forcing the company, which had a market capitalization of about $150 billion as of December, to pay for fingerprint authentication would lead to higher prices for its Uber 4 Teens service. Like many large companies, Uber has a history of passing judgment and legal costs on its customers. For example, passengers in California can expect to see the following message at the bottom of their Uber receipt: “On average, in California, approximately 33% of the customer price went toward government-mandated commercial insurance coverage for rideshares in July 2024, the highest rate in the country.”
HopSkipDrive pays for the driver's fingerprint check. In its ruling, the committee wrote: [transportation network companies] Just as HopSkipDrive can cover the cost of TrustLine's background checks, so should Uber. ”
Uber did not respond in time to TechCrunch's request for comment.