Uber is working to mend its relationship with regulators as pressure increases for the company to enhance its business practices.
Uber on Wednesday acquired the required permit to put its self-driving vehicles back on California streets, acknowledging the state’s rules after a battle with regulators in December and refusal to apply for the $150 permit.
The permit enables Uber back into its home state and the test their self-driving cars, where 26 other companies such as Alphabet Inc, Tesla Ford Motor are rivaling for a piece of the autonomous car market and have state permits.
Also on Wednesday, Uber stated it was banning the use of its “Greyball” technology, aimed at local regulators, ending a program that had been controversial in helping Uber evade officials in cities where the service has been prohibited.
The ride-hailing company had for years utilized Greyball, which successfully changes the app view for particular riders. The technology uses information from the Uber app and other ways to detect and circumvent officials who intended to ticket or capture drivers in cities that stood against Uber’s operations. Uber verified the presence of Greyball last week.
Uber is “expressly banning its use to target action by local regulators going forward,” wrote Uber’s chief security officer, Joe Sullivan, in a blog post.
Sullivan stated Uber had started a revaluation of the program, and “it will take some time to ensure this prohibition is entirely enforced.”
Uber’s efforts to fix its association with regulators come middle of a string of missteps that have caused consumer backlash and raised investor concern. A previous Uber employee last month released a blog post explaining a workplace where sexual harassment was usual and went unpunished. The blog post urged an internal investigation.
After that, Bloomberg released a video that revealed Kalanick rebuke a Uber driver who had criticized about cuts to rates paid to drivers, leading Kalanick make a public apology.
Given the continued developments in Uber, we are confident that Uber will continue to look forward to the concerns that have been raised and act promptly.
