Uber Technologies Legal Issues

Uber Technologies Incorporated is an online transportation network company that was founded in 2009 by Travis Kalanick and Garrett Camp. With over 2 billion rides taken and operations in more than 450 cities in over 70 countries, Uber has quickly risen to become one of the most notable and newsworthy startup companies in the past few years. Since its inception in 2009, the ride sharing company has experienced its share of ups and downs along with numerous controversies. Nonetheless, the private company continues to increase its popularity across the globe and has recently been valued at $66 billion. Uber describes themselves as,” What started as an app to request premium black cars in a few metropolitan areas is now changing the logistical

One important major legal problem the company must resolve is the Americans with Disabilities Act. “The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 is a civil rights law that prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities in all areas of public life, including jobs, schools, transportation, and all public and private places that are open to the general public.” (ADA) The focus of this law is to gaurantee that any person with a disability has the same rights and opportunities as anyone else, which causes major trouble for Uber. Under the Americans with Disabilities Act, private taxi services cannot discriminate against the disabled and must have vehicles that can transport wheelchairs. Ridesharing companies like Uber involve the use of private vehicles, which do not usually follow the Americans with Disabilities Act and therefore do not have wheelchair accessibility. Uber does not provide vehicle-for-services to mobility-impaired consumers such as individuals who require a wheelchair accessible vehicle. Uber also allows their drivers to deny service to the disabled and additionally does not provide any form of training to the drivers to educate them on how to properly address the needs of disabled consumers. This is of course a major roadblock for Uber and other ridesharing companies who must look to resolve this issue and be in compliance with the law and the Americans with Disabilities Act. Another major challenge that Uber faces is local regulations across the Unites States. Some of these regulations revolve around the taxi industry, and many claim that Uber has not been operating legally. One example would be that taxi drivers are required to have a commercial drivers license and undergo regular car inspections, while ridesharing companies like Uber only require a regular drivers license and their drivers must meet an age