The dispute between Uber and the Atlanta airports finally ended when City Council settled on and agreement to benefit all parties.
City Council has decided in favor of Transportation Network Companies (TNC) such as Uber and Lyft, picking up passengers from the curbs of Atlanta airports. TNCs will have to pay an annual charge up to $10,000 to the Hartsfield-Jackson International Atlanta Airport, but Uber still sees this decision as a positive economic investment.
“While there are some outstanding logistical concerns [designating a pick up area and appropriate trade dress], we look forward to working with the airport on the details of implementation to ensure a smooth experience for both riders and driver-partners.” said Uber Atlanta General Manager, Luke Marklin.
The agreement between the Transport Network Companies and the Atlanta airport was set to be settled by July 1 but was postponed, because of a security measure proposed by Hartsfield. Airport officials suggested fingerprinting Uber drivers as part of the hiring process.
However, the Former Attorney General Eric Holder and the Former Secret Service Director Mark Sullivan both conveyed their disapproval of this method.
In his letter to the Mayor Reed , Holder pointed out the discriminatory effects of incomplete information given by fingerprinting.
“With nearly 50 percent of African-American men and 44 percent of Latino men arrested by age 23 nationwide, the practice of denying work based on law enforcement records with incomplete and inaccurate information disproportionately disadvantages people who have been arrested,” the letter said.
Holder said, “it [fingerprinting] was not designed to be used to determine whether or not someone is eligible for a work opportunity”.
Sullivan expressed the same concern with the fingerprint data being incomplete. He said the fingerprint data does not tell whether or not the individual was convicted for the crime, only that they were arrested for it.
“Uber’s driver prescreening already account[s] for the incomplete information in the FBI and even state fingerprint databases by checking record directly at the county court house.” Sullivan said.“They [Uber] also include a driving history check–which will flag driving violations that are critical to the work of driving passengers, which often don’t appear on criminal records at all.”
After strict evaluation of Uber’s prescreening regulations, the City Council agreed to not make fingerprinting a requirement to pick up and drop off passengers at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. Instead drivers are required to go through pre-screenings that meet the requirements of the Georgia state law, which Uber has already been enforcing.
The proposal include other regulations that Uber must follow like, designating an assembly area, where Uber drivers should wait for ride requests. Riders will also charged a $3.85 fee for airport pickup. Lastly, the proposal requires a trade dress or company marker that the general manager of the airport agrees upon, so that they can be distinguished from the crowd.
With a new agreement Uber has also developed new security parameters. Joe Sullivan, Uber Chief security Officer wrote that the new Uber selfie feature is a “Real-Time ID Check.” Periodically the Uber driver is asked to take a selfie on the uber app, which is then matched with the profile picture. If the picture does not matched with the picture on file the account will be suspended and Uber will look into the issue.
“This prevents fraud and protects drivers’ accounts from being compromised. It also protects riders by building another layer of accountability into the app to ensure the right person is behind the wheel.”
With this agreement along with security improvements, Manager Luke Marklin certainly believes Uber has become or dependable to their passengers at Hartsfield-Jackson International Atlanta Airport.
“Getting a reliable ride at the tap of a button from the world’s busiest airport just got even more reliable,” he said.
Fun facts
- Uber’s technology allows airport travelers to enter in the specific information of their terminal and exit door, ensuring quick and efficient curbside pick-up.
- Uber is now the most commonly expensed service or item for business travelers worldwide.
- Uber now operates with more than 70 countries and more than 400 cities.
