No penalties for Uber's efforts to evade regulations

Commissioner Dan Saltzman says company no longer using Greyball technology that foiled city enforcement before City Council approved such services

Portland has completed its investigation into Uber's use of a technology to evade city enforcement in the past and is not pursuing any penalties against the ride sharing company.

In a report released Thursday, the Portland Bureau of Transportation said Uber had used so-called Grayball software to evade regulation from December 2014 to April 2015. But the company stopped using such technologies to evade regulation after that.

In a statement released with the report, Transportation Commissioner Dan Salzman said, "Uber has complied with our subpoena and provided the requested information associated with the Greyball tool. "Through this subpoena process, we have a greater understanding of their activities in Portland, and the extent to which the Greyball tool was used here. Moving forward, we have ensured that no attempts to evade regulators or deny service to riders in violation of City code or law will be allowed in the future."

Saltzman also said the Portland Bureau of Transportation, which regulates ride sharing companies, will ask the City Council to increase it enforcement capacity and create penalties for the use of evasive technologies later this year.

There is no evidence that Lyft, the other major ride sharing company operating in Portland, used such technology to evade regulation, the report said.

News of Uber's use of Greyball was reported after the council approved it and other Transportation Network Companies to operate in Portland in 2017. The federal government is investigating whether any law ere broken.

"Transportation Network Companies provide many benefits to Portlanders," said Saltzman. "As regulators, it is our job to ensure these companies play by the rules, keep passengers safe, and act ethically."

You can read the city report at www.portlandoregon.gov/saltzman/article/638525.