HOUSTON – Channel 2 Investigates discovered that Uber allows drivers to go online and pick up rides prior to obtaining appropriate City of Houston licensing.
An undercover experiment demonstrated drivers are not blocked from operating within the city limits of Houston prior to meeting requirements set up in a 2014 ordinance.
[READ: Debate over background checks]
The TNC license includes getting a fire extinguisher and Uber window sticker, completing a physical and drug test, completing a warrant check and then taking all this information to a city-operated licensing center to get a permit.
The city allows drivers to operate for 30 days on a temporary license after completing the first phase of the process while they complete the final step: an FBI fingerprint background check.
Currently, Uber is threatening to discontinue service to Houston unless the city removes the fingerprint background check from the licensing process.
According to Uber, the company allows partners to go online after passing a background check through the commercial service CheckR since areas in the greater Houston metropolitan area do not require additional screening.
[Undercover video: Producer attempts to become an Uber partner]
As a result, after a potential driver passes Uber’s screening process, their app is turned on and activated, allowing them to go online inside the city of Houston regardless of whether or not they’ve completed the city’s TNC licensing process.
“We don't have a way to know in advance if the person is going to pick up in the city until they've actually done it, and that's the point at which if we can compare against the city's list we can remove them from the platform,” said Sarfraz Maredia.
“Why not require that you see the TNC from the driver before you allow them to drive?” asked KPRC Investigative reporter Joel Eisenbaum.
“Because our service area is broader than just the city of Houston,” said Maredia, who added that there is a two- to six-week delay on when the company gets the data from the city on who has been licensed and who has not.
Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner refuted the allegation that there was a delay in exchanging data.
“I don't buy that. I mean, Uber is always trying to blame someone else for things that they want to do themselves,” said Turner.
The TNC licensing is regulated by the city’s Adminstration and Regulatory Affairs division which has issued over 4,000 citations for unlicensed activity since the ordinance was passed in 2014.
After it was discovered an Uber driver accused of raping a woman in 2015 did not have a TNC license, the company did an audit of their drivers and ramped up enforcement for unlicensed drivers as well as education about the TNC requirements.
A grand jury failed to indict that driver for the alleged rape.
As part of the undercover experiment, Channel 2 Investigates went to Houston’s Uber office.
An employee did provide detailed information about signing up for the TNC and gave specific instructions about not driving inside the city limits.
Watch the video at the top of the page to see what happened when a Channel 2 producer became an Uber partner but did not get any city licensing.