Uber's Wrong Turn

With  CEO Travis Kalanick resigning earlier this week from the ride-sharing service he co-founded, it's another twist in an otherwise rough year for the company.Uber has faced scandals on multiple fronts. The company launched two investigations into allegations of harassment. Kalanick, who took an indefinite leave of absence last week Opens a New Window. , was at the center of controversy over a profanity-laced outburst with an Uber driver that was caught on video. There’s also a court battle stemming from allegations that Uber stole trade secrets from Waymo, Alphabet’s (GOOGL) self-driving car development company.

Here's a timeline of Uber's troubles so far this year.

- Jan. 28: After President Donald Trump releases his first executive order on immigration, New York taxi drivers protest by refusing to pick up passengers at Kennedy Airport for an hour. Some protesters say Uber tries to capitalize on the protest by picking up passengers anyway, prompting a Twitter protest urging people to delete Uber's app from their smartphones.

- Feb. 2: Uber CEO Travis Kalanick quits President Trump's council of business leaders amid mounting pressure from employees and customers over the immigration order.

- Feb. 19: A former Uber engineer, Susan Fowler, discloses sexual harassment and sexism claims in a blog post about her year at Uber. Fowler says her boss propositioned her and higher-ups ignored her complaints. Kalanick calls Fowler's accusations "abhorrent" and hires former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder to investigate.
- Feb. 23: Waymo, a self-driving car company spun off from Google, sues Uber. Waymo alleges that Anthony Levandowski - a former top manager for Google's self-driving car project - stole pivotal technology from Google before leaving to run Uber's self-driving car division.

- Feb. 28: A video emerges of Kalanick arguing with an Uber driver. It includes yelling and profanity and ends with a combative Kalanick dismissing the agitated driver's claims that sharp reductions in fares forced him into bankruptcy. In an email to employees, Kalanick admits he needs leadership help. "I must fundamentally change as a leader and grow up," he says.

- March 3: The New York Times reveals that Uber used a phony version of its app to thwart authorities in cities where it was operating illegally. Uber's so-called Greyball software identified regulators who were posing as riders and blocked access to them. The U.S. Justice Department is investigating Uber's use of the Greyball software.
- March 19: Uber's president, Jeff Jones, resigns less than a year after joining the company. He tells the tech blog Recode that his approach to leadership is at odds with what he experienced at Uber.

- April 18: Sherif Marakby, a global vice president who leads Uber's self-driving car program, leaves the company.

- April 27: Levandowski announces he is stepping aside while Uber defends itself against the allegations from Waymo.

- May 11: A federal judge in San Francisco rejects Uber's request for arbitration and refers Waymo's case to the U.S. Attorney's office for a possible criminal investigation. Days later the judge bans Uber from using technology taken from Waymo, but doesn't order Uber to halt its self-driving vehicle program, as Waymo requested. The case is set for trial in October.

- May 26: Kalanick's mother dies in a boating accident. His father is seriously injured.

- May 30: Uber fires Levandowski.

- May 31: Uber's finance chief Gautam Gupta says he plans to leave the company in July.

- June 6: Uber fires 20 people after a law firm, Perkins Coie, investigates complaints of harassment, bullying and retaliation. That investigation, which was separate from Holder's, checked into 215 complaints; 57 are still under investigation.

- June 11: Uber's board meets with Holder and adopts a series of recommendations based on his report.

- June 12: Emil Michael, Uber's senior vice president for business and a close ally of Kalanick, leaves the company.

- June 13: Kalanick tells Uber employees that he's taking a leave for an unspecified period, but will be available for "the most strategic decisions." Uber's board releases Holder's recommendations, which include removing some of Kalanick's responsibilities and replacing Uber's chairman and founder, Garrett Camp, with an independent chairman. Holder also recommends many cultural and policy changes, from establishing an effective complaint process to recruiting more diverse applicants to prohibiting alcohol and drug use during core work hours.

- June 20: Uber embarks on "180 days of change," seeking to persuade riders and investors that it is a company with a conscience and a heart. The first move was allowing riders the ability to give drivers tips through the Uber app, something that Kalanick had resisted. Details of the rest of the plan were not made public.

- June 21: CEO Travis Kalanick resigns under pressure from investors and the board. He will stay on as a board member.

Commentary: Ride-sharing companies such as Uber or Lyft have been popular amongst young people, including business travelers, families on vacation. Taxi companies have been hit hard by the decrease in business for their drivers, many of whom do this job full time. Driver's for both Uber & Lyft have never been subjected to the rigorous back-ground checks nor drug screenings as their Taxi counter-parts.

Were all ride-sharing companies held to the same standards as Taxi or Limo companies, this would be an entire different ball game. We realize why people select those services, primarily because they're less expensive than their Taxi counter-parts. When any infraction is found on any driver's record while they're applying for or renewing their Taxi permits, the permit is then denied, the driver no longer has a job.

People using ride-sharing services aren't aware of many of these things. It's only when something major occurs that the news is revealed, riders are left scratching their respective heads.

All counties in California ought to make it mandatory for ride-sharing drivers to undergo back-ground checks & drug testing. You'd be surprised how many drivers would depart both companies.