The Boston Police Department announced yesterday that taxi cab drivers in the city would have to undergo fingerprint background checks. In response, Uber’s chief advisor, David Plouffe, responded by reiterating Uber’s resistance to the use of such security measures for Uber.
“Our problem with fingerprinting is we think it’s discriminatory, meaning there’s a lot of people who might have been arrested who weren’t convicted, that would be denied,” said Plouffe.
Plouffe continues to state that he believes the company does a good job of screening drivers, and said that “most places around the country, they have accepted the background check and security regiment that we and our competitors have utilized.” In Boston, police commissioner William Evans has indicated that he supports fingerprinting Uber drivers. There are recent efforts in Massachusetts to unveil a bill that will govern ridesharing services. Both Uber and Lyft have previously threatened to leave cities where they are forced to conduct fingerprint background checks, like in Austin, Texas.
In addition, Plouffe did not provide a response to whether safety measures, such as fingerprint background checks, could have prevented the recent shootings of Uber driver Jason Dalton in Kalamazoo, Michigan.
Would you feel safer, and be more likely to use ridesharing apps, if Uber (and other companies) were forced to fingerprint all drivers?
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4 comments
No. Don’t need a nanny state.
This is a lot to do over nothing. It is reminiscent of the fight to prevent mandatory fingerprinting of benefits recipients.
The reality is that real working people, such as your NY licensed Dentist have been fingerprinted. I believe these UBER drivers doth protest tUU much.
No, that’s ridiculous. Do you also want your garbage man and dry cleaner to be fingerprinted? What’s the benefit? I suppose soon you will need to be fingerprinted to take a dump in your own toilet?
I suppose the difference is that neither your garbage man nor your dry cleaner are directly responsible for your safety when they are performing their duties.