Since driving for Uber, I am losing hope.....

Search

Member
Joined
Sep 21, 2004
Messages
34,888
Tokens
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...n-tried-to-exchange-rides-for-sex-police-say/Uber driver ‘terrorized’ women, tried to exchange rides for sex, police say


<iframe style="border: 0px currentColor; vertical-align: bottom; display: none; visibility: hidden;" id="google_ads_iframe_/701/wpni.national/blog/morning-mix_3__hidden__" title="" height="0" marginHeight="0" src="javascript<strong></strong>:'<script type="text/javascript">document.domain = "washingtonpost.com";var adContent = window.parent["google-ad-content-jx7grn2hndwd"];window.parent["google-ad-content-jx7grn2hndwd"] = null;document.write(adContent);document.close();</script>'" frameBorder="0" width="0" name="google_ads_iframe_/701/wpni.national/blog/morning-mix_3__hidden__" marginWidth="0" scrolling="no"></iframe>







<section id="main-content" class="col-xl-9 col-lg-8 col-md-8 col-sm-12 col-xs-12 col-xs-offset-0 col-sm-offset-0 col-md-offset-0 col-lg-offset-0 layout">



By Peter Holley Morning Mix
August 20 at 5:49 PM Follow @peterjholley
<article itemprop="articleBody">
14022252_10154086535113096_3739050013488683218_n.jpg
Police say Xolani Mtsitsha of Boca Raton sexually assaulted three women that ended up in his vehicle. (Courtesy of the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office)
Police in Florida have arrested a man who worked as an Uber driver and accused him of sexually assaulting three women this year.
Xolani Mtsitsha of Boca Raton was arrested Thursday and faces sexual battery charges, according to a statement posted on Facebook by the Boynton Beach Police Department.
Mtsitsha, who police said “terrorized three women in our city this year,” is being held on $150,000 bond in the Palm Beach County Jail, police said.
Police said the assaults took place in January, June and July and were carried out in the same location — an industrial area on the city’s southeast side.
According to a police report cited by the Sun Sentinel, Mtsitsha told police that two of the women offered him sex in exchange for giving them a lift.
One woman, the report states, refused to have sex with him without a condom before he unexpectedly drove her to the industrial location and raped her. He agreed to take a second woman to a homeless shelter before driving her to the same location without warning, the report states, according to the paper.
[What the Michigan shooting spree reveals about Uber’s background checks]
“When they arrived, she realized she was in danger and began to cry, the report said,” the Sun Sentinel reported. “The man held her face down and raped her before dropping her off around Clint Moore Road, the report said.”
“The woman told investigators that the man kept saying, ‘You’re making me mad, you don’t want to get me mad.’”
The woman allegedly assaulted in July was able to give police Mtsitsha’s license plate number, allowing them to track him down, the paper reported.
After acquiring a DNA sample and reviewing cellphone records, investigators were able to execute a search warrant, the paper reported.
In their statement online, police credited investigator Raymond Lagor for his “Phenomenal” work in tracking the suspect down.
“Inv. Lagor spent countless hours pursuing leads and following the trail of evidence that led directly to Mtsitsha,” the statement said. “It is possible there are other victims.”
</article>

</section>
 

Member
Joined
Sep 21, 2004
Messages
34,888
Tokens
http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2016/09/22/jeremy-vague_n_12139924.html<header style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; font-family: Arial, FreeSans, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Jeremy Vague, Uber Driver, Charged With Sexually Assaulting Passengers

CP | By Julie Watson, The Associated Press


Posted: <time datetime="2016-09-22T13:50:08-04:00" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">09/22/2016 1:50 pm EDT </time>Updated: <time datetime="2016-09-22T13:58:37-04:00" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">5 hours ago</time>

<iframe width="100%" height="100%" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" allowfullscreen="" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px auto; padding: 0px; border-width: 0px; border-style: initial; vertical-align: baseline; display: block; width: 400px; height: 225px;"></iframe>




<menu id="social_badges" class="social_badges_en social-bar group floating" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; min-width: 570px; left: 76.5px;"><section class="social-badge" data-url="/ajax/social/phoenix_social_badge_json.php?badges=facebook_like%2Cfacebook%2Ctwitter%2Cgoogleshare%2Cpinterest%2Cstumbleupon%2Cemail%2Ccomments&id=12139924&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.huffingtonpost.ca%2F2016%2F09%2F22%2Fjeremy-vague_n_12139924.html" data-entry-id="12139924" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; float: left;">

  • Sh
  • Tweet
  • <iframe frameborder="0" hspace="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" tabindex="0" vspace="0" width="100%" id="I0_1474586113952" name="I0_1474586113952" src="https://apis.google.com/se/0/_/+1/sharebutton?plusShare=true&usegapi=1&action=share&annotation=vertical-bubble&origin=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.huffingtonpost.ca&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.huffingtonpost.ca%2F2016%2F09%2F22%2Fjeremy-vague_n_12139924.html&gsrc=3p&ic=1&jsh=m%3B%2F_%2Fscs%2Fapps-static%2F_%2Fjs%2Fk%3Doz.gapi.en_US.nHVqVwTRk-A.O%2Fm%3D__features__%2Fam%3DAQ%2Frt%3Dj%2Fd%3D1%2Frs%3DAGLTcCO3JlKftPlbf9Qsd9RjBV4h-Jkn3Q#_methods=onPlusOne%2C_ready%2C_close%2C_open%2C_resizeMe%2C_renderstart%2Concircled%2Cdrefresh%2Cerefresh%2Conload&id=I0_1474586113952&parent=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.huffingtonpost.ca&pfname=&rpctoken=29775048" data-gapiattached="true" title="+Share" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border-width: 0px; border-style: none; vertical-align: baseline; position: static; top: 0px; width: 58px; left: 0px; visibility: visible; height: 60px;"></iframe>
  • 0
  • <su:badge layout="5" style="box-sizing: border-box;"></su:badge>
  • Commen
</section></menu></header>

ESCONDIDO, Calif. — A former driver for Uber and Lyft was charged Wednesday with sexually assaulting several women while on the job, and Southern California investigators said that there are likely more victims.
An 18-year-old college student reported that she was assaulted Friday afternoon after requesting an Uber car in a city near San Diego, said Escondido police Lt. Justin Murphy.
The woman told police that the driver picked her up on the Palomar College campus in San Marcos and immediately turned off the Uber app. She texted friends, telling them she felt uncomfortable, and then he drove her to another location where he attacked her inside his blue 2014 Chrysler mini-van, Murphy said.
Later that day, police arrested Jeremy Vague, 37, at his home.
o-JEREMY-VAGUE-570.jpg

Former driver for Uber and Lyft, Jeremy Vague, was arrested on Friday in California after allegedly assaulting a young female passenger. (Photo: Escondido Police Department)

The former college basketball player, who is 7 feet tall and weighs 270 pounds, pleaded not guilty Wednesday to multiple sexual assault charges. A phone listing for Vague could not be found and his attorney could not be reached for comment.
More victims found

In the course of the investigation, Murphy said detectives discovered the additional victims, including two 19-year-old women in the neighbouring city of Escondido.

Vague had given one of them a Lyft ride on Sept. 7, and the other was waiting at the destination. Vague asked to take a picture with the two of them and as they posed he touched them inappropriately, Murphy said.
On Sept. 6, another student, who had not requested a ride, called Palomar College police to report that Vague had tried to lure her into his minivan, but she had refused. Campus police decided no crime had occurred, but they contacted Vague and told him to stay away from the college. Neither Uber nor Lyft was notified of the incident, Murphy said. It was unclear whether the woman and college police had identified Vague as an Uber or Lyft driver.
It was also unclear when the companies were contacted about the other two assaults or when they ended Vague's employment.
According to court records, Vague pleaded guilty to a misdemeanour charge of vehicle burglary in northern Utah stemming from a July 2002 incident. The Associated Press reported at the time that Vague and another man were arrested for stealing golf clubs.
No one at either company responded to emails asking whether they knew about his record and whether that would have prevented him from being hired.
Both companies have faced lawsuits over background checks

In April, Uber agreed to pay at least $10 million to settle allegations by California prosecutors that it misled passengers about the quality of its driver background checks. San Francisco and Los Angeles prosecutors sued in 2014, saying Uber's background checks were inferior to what taxi drivers undergo because they did not include fingerprint checks for past convictions. Instead, the San Francisco-based company's process relies on a name search of other criminal databases and motor vehicle department files going back seven years.

Lyft settled a similar case last year by agreeing to pay $250,000 and stop claiming its background checks were among the industry's best.
Both ridesharing companies are co-operating with authorities.
"There is no excuse for the violent acts described and reported to police."

Lyft said in a statement that the company has "a strict zero-tolerance policy for any type of violent behaviour, abuse or harassment and have permanently deactivated the driver's access to the platform. Drivers on the Lyft platform undergo a thorough criminal background check across local, state and federal databases that go back in time to the maximum extent allowable by law.''
A statement from Uber said, "There is no excuse for the violent acts described and reported to police. We are working with law enforcement officials to fully support their investigation, and the driver has been banned from accessing the Uber app.''
Vague, who is married, had worked for Lyft for nine months and Uber for three months, Murphy said.
Accused also worked as girls' basketball coach

Vague also has worked as a coach for a high school girls' basketball team in San Diego County. He played basketball for at least one season for Utah State University in 2000 and 2001, according to the team's website.

A bill requiring stricter background checks for ride-hailing companies has passed the California Legislature and is awaiting Gov. Jerry Brown's signature.
It would prohibit the companies from hiring drivers who are registered sex offenders, have been convicted of violent felonies or have a driving under the influence conviction in the past seven years.
"We're asking you to find the courage to come forward so we can hold Vague accountable for his actions."

Neither drugs nor alcohol were factors in the sexual assault cases, police said.
Police believe there may be more victims and Murphy urged them to call authorities.
"We're asking you to find the courage to come forward so we can hold Vague accountable for his actions,'' he said.
___
This story has been corrected to show that the suspected victim of sexual battery was a friend awaiting the 19-year-old victim on Sept. 7, not the 18-year-old victim on Sept. 16.
 

New member
Joined
Sep 13, 2016
Messages
66
Tokens
Well, I can understand if the Baby Boomer population get pissed with Uber sometimes. These people aren't tech savvy.
But for millenials, it's a shame if they can't even find the space they'd type their address in.
 

Member
Joined
Sep 21, 2004
Messages
34,888
Tokens
Ugggghh

http://www.ksat.com/news/uber-driver-feared-for-his-life-as-passenger-fondled-him-affidavit-says

Driver fondled
Police on Monday arrested Ryan on a charge of unlawful restraint.

The driver told investigators that he picked up Ryan after a party Friday in Alamo Heights and was taking him to a home in Olmos Park when things took an unusual turn, the affidavit said.

Ryan suddenly held a cold metal object to the driver's neck, grabbed him by his upper body and held him against his seat, the affidavit said..

According to the affidavit, the driver said that Ryan told him in a "chilling voice" that "everything is OK. Just keep driving."

Ryan stuck his hand into the driver's shorts and fondled him, the affidavit said..

After dropping off Ryan at his destination, the driver said he flagged down a police officer and told him what happened.

Investigators said they learned Ryan's identity from information he provided when he booked the Uber ride, the affidavit said.

I
 

I'm from the government and I'm here to help
Joined
Sep 21, 2004
Messages
33,542
Tokens
Ugggghh

http://www.ksat.com/news/uber-driver-feared-for-his-life-as-passenger-fondled-him-affidavit-says

Driver fondled
Police on Monday arrested Ryan on a charge of unlawful restraint.

The driver told investigators that he picked up Ryan after a party Friday in Alamo Heights and was taking him to a home in Olmos Park when things took an unusual turn, the affidavit said.

Ryan suddenly held a cold metal object to the driver's neck, grabbed him by his upper body and held him against his seat, the affidavit said..

According to the affidavit, the driver said that Ryan told him in a "chilling voice" that "everything is OK. Just keep driving."

Ryan stuck his hand into the driver's shorts and fondled him, the affidavit said..

After dropping off Ryan at his destination, the driver said he flagged down a police officer and told him what happened.

Investigators said they learned Ryan's identity from information he provided when he booked the Uber ride, the affidavit said.

I
brucefan approves
 

Member
Joined
Sep 21, 2004
Messages
34,888
Tokens
http://www.seattletimes.com/busines...-a-thankless-job-and-the-applicants-flood-in/
echnology
Log In Subscribe
Uber offers a thankless job, and the applicants flood In

Originally published July 16, 2017 at 6:53 pm
Despite a series of scandals that have rocked Uber to its core this year, competition for the chief executive position, recently vacated by Travis Kalanick, is intense. (RYAN YOUNG/NYT)
Despite a series of scandals that have rocked Uber to its core this year, competition for the chief executive position, recently vacated by Travis Kalanick, is intense. (RYAN YOUNG/NYT)
Despite a series of scandals that have rocked Uber to its core this year, competition for the chief executive position is robust. Quite a few people executives see an opportunity to shepherd the company through the most trying time in its eight-year history.

By MIKE ISAAC
The New York Times
SAN FRANCISCO — Wanted: a seasoned executive to take the top position at a troubled technology startup. Must be willing to fix a broken culture, deal with an aggressive predecessor, battle a risky lawsuit and prepare the company for an initial public offering. Self-starters preferred.

This is essentially the pitch that Uber is making to potential chief executive candidates after Travis Kalanick, the ride-hailing company’s co-founder, was ousted from the top spot last month. By some accounts, the job appears to be a thankless one at a company whose reputation is in the toilet. So who would want it?

Quite a few people, as it turns out.


Despite a series of scandals that have rocked Uber to its core this year, competition for the chief executive position is robust, according to people familiar with the search who asked to remain anonymous because the process is confidential. The company has received a flood of interest since Kalanick vacated his seat in June, and Uber’s board has interviewed multiple candidates.

For those applicants, the calculus is easy. Despite Uber’s problems, executives see an opportunity to shepherd the company — which operates in more than 80 countries and pulls in billions of dollars each quarter — through the most trying time in its eight-year history.

“This is a fantastic opportunity for someone who’s wired for problem solving and wants to make their mark by turning around the image of the company,” said Jason Hanold, managing partner at Hanold Associates, a boutique executive-search firm. “Yes, they’re inheriting Uber’s entire toxic culture. But they’re also getting thousands of employees who are hungry to change it.”

The chance of having an impact is high. Apart from the opportunity to steer a turnaround, any chief executive would be walking into a company that has already reached enormous scale. As a result, changes made by a new chief would affect millions of people globally, not to mention Uber’s workforce of more than 15,000 employees and hundreds of thousands of contract drivers.

The eventual chief executive would also have the opportunity to take Uber public. The company, which began in 2009, is now the highest-valued private company in the world, with a valuation of around $70 billion. And while Uber is unprofitable, its revenue has been growing. That would make an initial public offering a huge event on Wall Street, as well as for Silicon Valley investors who have billions of dollars wagered on Uber’s success.

For now, Uber’s executive search committee, which includes five members of its board, has kept the lid tight on the list of candidates. After a torrent of leaks before Kalanick’s departure, two of the people familiar with the search said there has been a renewed effort to keep quiet.

Among those up for consideration have been Susan Wojcicki, who leads YouTube. Others include Adam Bain, Twitter’s former chief operating officer; David Cush, a former chief executive at Virgin America; Marissa Mayers, the former Yahoo chief executive; and Thomas Staggs, a former chief operating officer at Disney, according to three other people familiar with the search. It was unclear what level of interest, if any, these executives had expressed in the Uber job.

Others, like the former Google sales executive Nikesh Arora, have been quietly advancing themselves for the position, according to two of the people.

Bain, Cush, Mayer, Staggs and Arora did not immediately respond to requests for comment. A YouTube spokesman declined to comment about Wojcicki.

Some candidates have expressed concern over how Uber’s board operates, especially because Kalanick retains a seat. Kalanick, who remains a significant Uber shareholder, has been active in the search for his replacement, according to two of the people familiar with the candidates, although the candidates have been assured that they would have autonomy as chief executive.

Uber has other considerations in choosing a new leader. The company has faced intense criticism for its lack of diversity and has only recently begun to address the matter. Last year, Arianna Huffington, the media entrepreneur who runs the health and wellness business Thrive Global, joined Uber’s board, and in the past few months the company has recruited female and minority executives.


For the eventual winning candidate, there will be plenty of difficulties. Negative perception of Uber tripled, to 27 percent of respondents, in a survey conducted in May by cg42, a management consulting firm. The company has had a more difficult time hiring technical talent in light of its negative image.

Uber also faces a lawsuit filed by Waymo, the self-driving car company spun out of Google, over claims of stolen trade secrets. And Uber is in the midst of reforming its fractured culture after a former employee spoke publicly about sexual harassment at the company.

While the job will make Uber’s next chief executive wealthy, it will not necessarily make him or her filthy rich: With the company’s valuation already so high, any stock doled out to a new chief would most likely have to experience an enormous rise in value after a public offering for the returns to be considerable.

Yet the positives of the job still outweigh the negatives for hopeful applicants.

“Even with all the problems that companies like Uber have, there will always be top candidates who want to go there,” Hanold said. “These people are problem solvers: The hairier a scenario is, the more they’re attracted to trying to fix it.”
 

Rx God
Joined
Nov 1, 2002
Messages
39,226
Tokens
Everything I can find about driving for Suggests they about $4-8/ hour. Here in CT regular taxi drivers make minimum wage, $10.10/hour, but at least aren't using their own car. Seems like a really crappy job to me
. When I need a taxi I call a buddy of mine that runs a totally ill eagle taxi service. No livery plates, no signage on the car, I'M sure not properly insured to be a taxi, no business license, no public passenger endorsement , none of that BS for him . He's been operating a few years. The guy is a trip, he gladly accepts deposit bottles as tips and will take care of your pets if you go on vacation, name your own price !

He charges $1 a mile with a $5 minimum
The regular legal taxi company works out to around $3/mile.

You might think he must drive some real junk car, nope he just bought a brand new Chevy Equinox, nice car ! Before that a late model Malibu, which is what the legal company typically uses, he will gladly drive you to airports in NYC, Boston , Providence, etc. He has no chance of getting a fare back from Boston to CT, either.

I can't figure out how this business model makes money ! I always tip him well and send him a lot of referrals !
 

Rx God
Joined
Nov 1, 2002
Messages
39,226
Tokens
I really can't figure this out
The fares start in coastal SE Ct, it is about 128 miles to Logan airport in Boston, you could do that in 2 hours if leaving at midnight, more like 3 + during the day

Figure at minimum 4 hours, more like 6 realistically
So you get $130 and hopefully a nice tip, say $170. Probably burns $25+ in gas, so you might say you made $145 in cash for 6 hours or almost $25/ hour, but that doesn't account for wear and tear on your ride

No way would I do that unless it was a favor for a close friend.
 

Forum statistics

Threads
1,119,832
Messages
13,573,830
Members
100,876
Latest member
kiemt5385
The RX is the sports betting industry's leading information portal for bonuses, picks, and sportsbook reviews. Find the best deals offered by a sportsbook in your state and browse our free picks section.FacebookTwitterInstagramContact Usforum@therx.com