DENVER (Reuters) - A driver with the ride-sharing service Uber was arrested on Friday for suspicion of first-degree murder after Denver police said he fatally shot a passenger in his vehicle.

Michael Andre Hancock, 29, was being held without bond in the Denver County jail pending the formal filing of charges, according to jail records. It was unclear if he had legal representation.

According to a Denver Police probable cause affidavit, on Friday morning a man later identified as Hancock told a motorist on the side of a highway that he had just shot a rider who tried to attack him.

Police found a sedan stopped perpendicular to traffic on a ramp and a man with gunshot wounds lying on the floor board of the front passenger seat, the affidavit said.

The Denver Medical Examiner’s Office identified the dead man as Hyun Kim, 45.

Police said they removed a semi-automatic pistol from Hancock’s waistband, and later recovered 10 spent 40-caliber cartridges on the shoulder of the highway. Hancock was arrested, but police did not provide further details.

Uber said in a statement that it was “deeply troubled” by the arrest of Hancock, a contract driver with the company for nearly three years.

“Our thoughts are with the families of those involved. The driver’s access to the app has been removed, and we will continue working closely with police,” Uber said.

San Francisco-based Uber Technologies Inc has faced criticism over its vetting of drivers.

Last November, the Colorado Public Utilities Commission fined Uber $8.9 million for allowing 57 people to drive for it although they lacked valid driver’s licenses or had committed other offenses that should have disqualified them.

https://reut.rs/2ss88yc
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TURKEY BAN UBERK

  President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan signaled on Friday that Turkey will join several other European countries that have banned the ride-hailing service, saying that "the Uber controversy is over."

"This Uber business that came about, it's over. There's no such thing anymore," Erdoğan said at an iftar program in Yenikapı for the Turkish Association of Private Buses.

"We have a taxi system," he said, adding that a personal taxi system would not be allowed to destroy the business of Turkish taxi drivers.

"We will be the ones to make the decision [on Uber]," the president said.

Turkey is not the only place where Uber's push for a global expansion while giving short shrift to local rules about workers rights and taxi licenses created disputes. Uber has been banned or forced to leave the markets in Bulgaria, Denmark and Hungary. It has limited service in France, Italy, Germany, Japan, and Taiwan.

A German regional court in Frankfurt ruled in September 2014 that Uber drivers must have commercial licenses to operate in Germany, leading the company to pull out of operations in several German cities. It now operates only a limited set of services in Berlin and Munich.

A French court fined Uber 800,000 euros ($957,000) in June 2016 for running an illegal taxi service with amateur drivers and slapped smaller fines on two executives in the first such criminal case against it in Europe. Uber's licensed private hire services remain popular in Paris.

Uber has also lost its license in London, although it is still operating there pending appeal, while its self-driving car program in the United States suffered a major blow with a deadly accident.

Meanwhile, Uber's operations in Turkey have sparked growing controversy, with taxi drivers protesting against what they say is unfair competition and illegal business practices by the ridesharing service.

Uber drivers in Istanbul had already been hit with 18.92 million lira ($4.20 million) in fines by Turkish police in the first five months of this year.

The 17,400 official yellow taxis in Istanbul are a pillar of the city's often patchy transport system, but critics say that poor quality service and overcharging have given Uber an opportunity.

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Comment: It appears Plate values have risen by nearly 7% in two days since this ban was announced 

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SANDWELL

MORE than 40 taxi drivers in Sandwell have had licenses either revoked or refused renewal for a variety of offences in the last 12 months – including one who used a coffee cup lid for a petrol cap.

In addition some 60 drivers had their licences suspended with immediate effect in the same period, a report before the borough’s licensing committee has revealed.

In total, members of the committee dealt with 125 licensing cases during 2017-18 , including one driver who used a coffee cup lid to to replace his lost petrol cap.

That driver’s license was suspended for six months and his taxi was immediately taken off the road.

Council officers used their powers to suspend three drivers with immediate effect on the grounds of public safety due to having committed or being investigated for criminal offences of a serious nature.

They also suspended 20  drivers whose Disclosure and Barring Service certificates – criminal history checks – had expired.

In addition, 37 drivers had their license suspended for medical reasons.

Councillor Bob Piper, chairman of the Licensing Committee, in a forward to a report to be discussed by councillors on June 1, said: “The committee has considered 125 individual matters relating to the grant or review of Private Hire and Hackney Carriage Licensing throughout the year covering a wide variety of issues.

“The committee works with the Taxi Licensing Office to ensure that all laws, conditions and obligations in respect of regulation and public safety are complied with.”

He added:  “In order to maintain the integrity of the service, it is essential that members of the public can feel confident and safe when using Private Hire Vehicles and Hackney Carriages in Sandwell.

“I am confident that the decisions made by the committee make travelling in a hackney carriage or private hire vehicle a safe and comfortable experience with competent drivers who fulfil the council’s essential requirements.”

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 BIRMINGHAM

 A coroner has called for drug testing to be carried out on licensed taxi drivers after six people died in a city centre horror crash.

Louise Hunt, coroner for Birmingham and Solihull, voiced her concerns at an inquest into the Belgrave Middleway tragedy, on Tuesday.

Birmingham Coroners Court heard how Audi driver Kasir Jehangir lost control of the vehicle as he was trying to negotiate a bend between Lee Bank Middleway and Belgrave Middleway, before crashing into an oncoming taxi.

Taxi driver Imtiaz Mohammed, 33, was killed alongside passengers Lucy Davis , 43, and her partner Lee Jenkins, 42, after the Audi S3 crashed into them.

Three of the occupants inside the Audi S3, driver Kasir Jehangir, 25, Mohammed Fahsha, 30, and Tauqeer Hussain, 26, died at the scene.

The occupants of the Audi had all smoked cannabis at some time prior to their deaths, the inquest heard.
Lucy Davis, 43, and Lee Jenkins, 42. Family photo.

A toxicology report was also carried out on taxi driver, Imtiaz Mohammed’s body. A small amount of cocaine was in his system, which the toxicologist believed was consumed within 12 hours previous to the crash.

Coroner Louise Hunt said the drugs found in Imtiaz Mohammed's system were not to blame.

However, Mrs Hunt told the inquest she will now write to Sandwell Borough Council, where taxi driver Imtiaz Mohammed was licensed to, as well as Birmingham City Council recommending regular checks on licensed taxi drivers.

She said: “I am concerned about Mr Mohammed’s toxicology and I will write to Birmingham City Council to see what monitoring can be done on taxi drivers in the future."

Mrs Hunt said no blame was attributed whatsoever to Mr Mohammed for the crash but said she had to write to the authorities because of the drugs found in his system.

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