Uber driver suspended after caught giving ride outside app

Eric Risberg / AP

Following a Nevada Transportation Authority finding that an Uber driver had transported a passenger without using the Uber application, the ride-hailing company took swift action Tuesday afternoon, banning the driver from its platform, according to an Uber spokeswoman.

The authority issued its first fine to a ride-hailing driver at a hearing late Tuesday after the driver had offered to give an undercover NTA agent an under-the-table ride from the Strip to downtown Friday afternoon, said authority Chairman Andrew MacKay, who was not present at the hearing but was familiar with the case. The transportation authority regularly dispatches plain-clothed officers to monitor transportation carriers. Because the driver’s car was impounded, the NTA was required to conduct a hearing within two business days.

The NTA issued a $2,500 fine, and driver could face additional penalties at an Oct. 21 hearing, according to Senior Deputy Attorney General David Newton.

The incident occurred in front of Planet Hollywood when the driver pulled up to the investigator and asked whether she needed a ride, MacKay said. When the investigator said she did not have the Uber application, he told her he could take her without using the application. According to MacKay, the driver said: “I can do it for $20.”

"There are provisions that you can’t do that,” MacKay said.

At issue was whether the Uber driver violated the law by picking up a passenger based on a street-hail, the way a taxicab might. Unless authorized by the state, drivers cannot be paid to pick up passengers from street-hails. In order to do so, drivers must be operating under the purview of a permitted carrier. Picking up street-hails is also a violation of the agreement that Uber requires its drivers to accept.

Before Tuesday’s hearing, Uber had suspended the driver.

"Uber deserves credit,” MacKay said. "When they became aware of (the incident), they immediately took action."

Given the high number of Uber rides the driver had completed, Kayla Whaling, an Uber spokeswoman, said she believes he should have known that street-hails were not permitted. “After today’s hearing, he has been deactivated and will not be allowed back on the platform."