Uber was banned in New Delhi in December after a woman passenger accused one of its drivers of rape. The company resumed its services in January after applying for a radio taxi licence, which it still awaits.
The latest accusation surfaced on social media on Sunday when the woman's brother, Ankush Pathania, posted a picture of Uber's response to the complaint and urged the company to take swift action. A police complaint was registered late on Monday.
"My sister will now share her part of the story with the police," Pathania said. "We want the driver to be punished."
Pathania's sister, a 21-year-old professional dancer, told Reuters by telephone the Uber driver kissed her hand after dropping her in Gurgaon city, near New Delhi, on Saturday night. She ran away when the driver tried to kiss her on the mouth.
Indian law generally prohibits the identification of victims of sex crimes. The law is intended to protect victims' privacy and keep them from the media glare in a country where the social stigma associated with such crimes can be devastating.
Authorities in New Delhi have maintained that Uber is banned in the capital and is operating without permission. However, India's federal transport ministry said in April such companies should be better regulated but not banned.
Uber offers taxi services using its mobile application. In recent weeks, it has launched new safety features including stricter background screening of its drivers and an in-app SOS button that connects to the police.
Police official Amit Kumar said both the woman and the Uber driver will be questioned. Uber's general manager for Delhi, Gagan Bhatia, said the company was willing to share the necessary information with authorities.
"Uber has a zero-tolerance policy towards inappropriate behaviour," Bhatia said in a statement.
https://uk.news.yahoo.com/indian-woman-accuses-uber-driver-sexual-harassment-073510627.html#A8eyCn9
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TORONTO (Reuters) - Taxi drivers packed a courtroom in Canada's largest city on Monday as Toronto stated its case for the Uber ride-sharing service to be regulated like the traditional cab companies with which it competes.
Toronto is seeking an injunction to halt Uber's operations unless the San Francisco-based company and all its drivers are licensed.
Uber is fighting for legal status worldwide, one jurisdiction at a time, as authorities weigh the legality of its phone-based app, and Uber drivers argue they should be treated as employees, not independent contractors.
Outside city hall, taxi drivers parked three-deep and beeped their horns, while others moved in a slow procession through downtown, clogging much of the business district. The protesters fear the threat that Uber represents to their livelihood.
Akhbar Banijamaat, who left Iran in the 1980s with his family and has driven taxis in Toronto for 17 years, said the upstart company should abide by the law.
"Some people support Uber, the mayor supports Uber," Banijamaat said. "I don't mind Uber, I think it's a beautiful idea, to whoever did it, very nice. But do it legal."
Despite Toronto's legal bid to regulate Uber, the city's mayor, John Tory, says he accepts ride-hailing apps as part of the contemporary landscape.
On Monday he said he hoped the parties could reach a negotiated settlement ahead of the judge's ruling.
"Both (Uber and the taxi industry) are going to have to adapt themselves to the reality of a fair and fairly-regulated industry that focuses on serving the public better as opposed to suiting themselves," Tory told Reuters.
The Toronto taxi-driving protesters focused their ire on UberX, a budget option in which drivers use their personal vehicles, as a threat to public safety. Uber's other service uses licensed drivers.
Uber, which is valued at $40 billion, says it simply provides technology allowing drivers and passengers to find each other and should not be treated as a broker. It said the taxi protest was counter-productive.
"Rather than blocking roads and preventing people from getting where they need to be, we're focused on meeting the needs of Toronto's riders and drivers, who are all too often left out of the debate," said Uber Canada spokeswoman Susie
Heath, adding that Uber wants to help "create a sensible regulatory framework for ridesharing."
The hearing continues. The case is court file no. CV-14-516288.
https://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/uber-targeted-canadas-largest-city-195257626.html
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A TAXI driver in Bolton has been stripped of his licence after allegedly punching a passenger who fell and broke his leg in a fare dispute.
Bolton Council deemed the private hire driver to no longer be a "fit and proper" person at a licensing committee meeting.
The incident which led to the licence revocation took place in Belmont Road, Sharples, on March 8 at about 2am.
The council ruled that the driver did assault the customer — despite police having never brought charges.
An argument over a fare had broken out between the driver and three passengers, which led to two of them getting out of the car.
One man was still in the vehicle, however, when the taxi drove away.
A member of the licensing committee said the passenger jumped out of the car while it was still moving, which is when the driver is accused of alighting from the vehicle and attacking him.
Police said a 49-year-old man was arrested in connection with the incident but was released without charge.
A report from the licensing committee said: "In coming to its decision the committee was mindful of its duty to protect the public and the complaint of misconduct related to a serious assault by a private hire driver on a customer while acting as a taxi driver.
"Following consideration of all the evidence the committee found that on the balance of probabilities the driver did assault the customer causing him to fall and suffer serious injury to his leg.
"Drivers are placed in a position of trust and have a duty to conduct themselves in a professional manner at all times and the driver concerned should not have retaliated with violence when a dispute over a fare had ensued."
A police spokesman said: "An assault took place at 2am on Sunday, March 8 in Belmont Road, Sharples where the passenger was punched in the face and fell over and broke his leg.
"A 49-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of a section 20 assault but was later released without charge."
The committee did not accept the driver’s explanation that he was acting in self defence and found that even if the customer had provoked the driver, he should not have acted in a violent manner.
A committee source said: "Our main consideration is the safety of the people of Bolton using taxis.
"We consider whether we would want somebody to get into that vehicle with the driver and run the risk of having problems."
http://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/news/crime/13218260._/
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Stand-off between bus and taxi blocks bridge in Glasgow as motorists face stormy conditions on Scotland's roads
SOME bridges are closed due to high winds and major routes have been hit by flooding as June arrives in Scotland with weather more akin to the winter.
Chaos on the Squinty Bridge in Glasgow this morning as drivers struggle to know new road layout
MOTORISTS across Scotland were facing weather conditions more akin to mid winter than the beginning of summer today.
High winds, heavy rain and surface water made for difficult driving conditions in various oparts of the country.
The A90 Forth road bridge was closed to high-sided vehicles, while the A1 - A6093 Haddington to Thistly Cross saw lane closures caused by surface water.
Surface water was also a problem in the south, on the A74 (M) and the M74 on-ramp at Hamilton, junction six.
http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/stand-off-between-bus-taxi-blocks-5806170
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Uber, the taxi-ordering app, can use more sophisticated technology to track people than the police, according to Britain’s top officer.
Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe, the Metropolitan police commissioner, said the company could use technology to locate people in real time, which the police are forbidden from doing.
Uber monitors a user’s position via a mobile phone app and then finds the nearest taxi to pick them up. “But when people ring the police, we haven’t got a clue where that phone is,” Sir Bernard told
http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/news/uk/crime/article4457661.ece
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