Uber

to hail a cab in Paris. Their solution was to create a business in which customers use an app to signal the need for a ride. Uber employees would have their own version of this software that would identify potential passengers. Everything would be matched up nice and neat. Drivers would receive a percentage of the fares they earned, and the rest would go to the company. Even if that were all there were to the Uber story, we would still

call the company disruptive. There are complicated agreements between governments and car hire services that exist to regulate the industry and make sure both customers and companies get a fair shake. Uber and services like it tend to upset the delicate bureaucratic balance, but there are further complications when it comes to Uber. The company's history includes issues that range from problematic to deeply troubling. In seventeen alone, the company has

experienced several high profile crises. On February nineteen, former Uber employees Susan Fowler wrote a blog post that alled she had been sexually harassed while working for Uber, and that the company had an overall permissive attitude toward that sort of behavior, going so far as to refuse to hold one harassing manager accountable because he was quote a high performer end quote. She also said there was a blatant

gender bias in the company. CEO Travis Kalanick said the company would immediately investigate the claims, hiring Eric Holder, the former Attorney General of the United States, to lead the investigation. Just a few days later, on February twenty seventeen, The New York Times published a piece that included accounts from several other Uber employees that detailed instances of harassment. The piece also said that during a corporate retreat, employees engaged

in recreational drug use. The very next day, Google filed a lawsuit against Uber, claiming the company had stolen technology relating to self driving vehicles, and two of Uber's major investors sent an open letter to fellow investors in the Board of directors claiming that Uber had been ignoring their

efforts to change company culture for years. February seen would contain more problems for the company, including an embarrassing dash cam video of CEO Kalanik arguing with an Uber driver about the decrease and fair amounts which directly impacts driver's incomes. In March, the company had to deal with a new string of controversies. A report revealed that Uber software included

a tool called gray Ball. The purpose of this tool is to identify people using Uber who are, according to the company quote, violating our terms of service, whether that's people aiming to physically harm drivers, competitors looking to disrupt our operations, or opponents who colluded with officials on secret

stings meant to entrap drivers end quote. The report alleged that Uber was using this tool in order to circumvent authorities in cities where Uber had not received official license to operate or in ones where the company had been outright banned. On June one, two thousand seventeen, Travis Kalenik resigned as CEO, a move prompted by pressure from the company's worried investors. Kalen Nick had a hand in selecting

his replacement, former Expedis CEO Dara Kasro Shauhi. Meanwhile, the company Benchmark, a major investor in Uber, brought legal charges against Kalina, claiming he had committed fraud and that he was using his remaining power with the company to fill the board of directors with his own supporters. As for the recent bruhaha in London, according to city officials, the decision to deny the license renewal was made because Uber's

approach and conduct demonstrate a lack of corporate responsibility. By that, the city officials mean that Uber has a long history of failing to report criminal offenses or perform extensive background checks on drivers, and if you look into Uber's past even further, you'll see numerous news reports detailing the various

incidents that seemed to back up this assertion. London officials also noted that the gray ball tool, which effectively hides Uber driver activity from city authorities, wasn't cricket in their eyes. London Mayor City Kahn said all companies in London must play by the rules and adhere to the high standards we expect, particularly when it comes to the safety of customers. Providing an innovative service must not be at the expense

of customers safety and security. This news likely delighted the Black Cab Company, the historic car hire service in London, with drivers that must pass an infamously difficult test called the Knowledge Rather than relying on satellite navigation, a London cabby must be able to find the shortest, fastest route from one point to another simply through knowledge alone. In an area as massive as the Greater London Metropolitan Area,

this is no small task. As for Uber, the company has the chance to appeal this decision, but even if London officials reverse their stance, it's clear that Uber has a lot of house cleaning left to do. The company's reputation has suffered enormously in with investor and customer confidence dropping. As a result, Uber employee morale hasn't fared much better.

It could be that Uber will one day be held up as an example of how an enormously successful company can come undone without the right people and policies in place to protect employees and customers alike. To learn more about companies like uberb and the tech that lets them operate, be sure to subscribe to the podcast Tech Stuff. In every episode, I do a deep dive on the tech that makes our world. Tip or be or whatever. That's all from me for now, See you next time.