UBER HQ

UBER TECHNOLOGIES, INC.

1455 MARKET STREET
SAN FRANCISCO, CA
94103

Dear Mayor Parker,

Thank you for the opportunity to address your concerns regarding Ubers
efforts to ensure driver partners operating in the City of Houston are
licensed in compliance with the citys Transportation Network Company
(TNC) ordinance.
Since the ordinance took effect, we have worked closely with driver
partners to ensure they understand their responsibility to obtain a valid
TNC license, and how to go about doing so.
We developed a detailed approach to informing driver partners about the
licensing process and have dedicated thousands of hours of Uber staff
time to ensuring every driver partner operating in the City of Houston is
fully compliant with the citys rules. We host office hours on multiple days
each week to walk driver partners through the various steps of obtaining a
city license one-on-one, and special information sessions to reach the
largest number of driver partners possible.
We take our role in educating and encouraging driver partners to obtain a
license very seriously, and there are consequences for driver partners
who fail to do so. Uber has been working diligently to identify any driver
partners who are operating within Houston city limits without a valid TNC
license. If we find that a driver partner has accepted ride requests in
Houston without a license from the city, we immediately revoke his or her
ability to access the Uber platform.
In recent weeks, we ramped up our efforts by conducting a manual audit
of driver partners on the platform and allocating additional time and
resources to enforcement. We also held a series of in-person information
sessions for driver partners to reiterate the citys licensing requirements
as well as the consequences for non-compliance.
We receive many driver partner applications each week and so our
compliance efforts are ongoing. We will continue to identify and deactivate
driver partners who attempt to operate in Houston without a TNC license.
This process has evolved from multiple checks per week to daily
verification that driver partners without city licenses are not attempting to
pick up riders in Houston.
This increased enforcement and education is working to incentivize driver
partners interested in operating within the City of Houston to obtain a TNC
license. City officials at the Administration and Regulatory Affairs (ARA)
Department informed us yesterday that more than 500 TNC licenses were
issued over the last couple of weeks "many of them to driver partners
whose Uber account access was previously revoked due to not having

completed the citys licensing process. Based on the latest information

weve received from the city, the number of licensed TNC driver partners
is greater than the total number of active TNC driver partners that were
operating in the Greater Houston area immediately before the ordinance
took effect.
Uber remains fully committed to complying with the City of Houstons
ordinance. Per your request, we have attached a detailed list of our efforts
to ensure driver partners are operating with Houstons required TNC
license.
In the spirit of greater transparency and in an effort to improve our
relationship, we would welcome the opportunity to host representatives
from the ARA during our office hours and to have them accompany TNC
driver partners as they take the requisite steps to become licensed.
Uber and all of our driver partners are in full compliance with the citys
insurance requirements and a current copy of our Certificate of Insurance
is on file with the city. Per the city ordinance, Ubers insurance policy is
also available online at blog.uber.com/certificatesofinsurance. In addition,
every uberX driver partner has proof of insurance within the waybill of the
partners Uber application, including a link to the Certificate of Insurance.
You will find a copy attached with this letter.
From robust insurance provisions that far exceed state minimums to
thorough background checks that screen driver partners backgrounds
against local, state and federal criminal records, Uber is committed to
connecting riders to safe rides.
Thousands of Houstonians and visitors to this great city open the Uber
app every day, either to get a ride, or make a living. We expect to facilitate
millions of rides in the Houston area this year, meeting a demand for
transportation options that was previously unmet. We hear regularly from
partners who are proud to help take drunk drivers off the roads and serve
neighborhoods that have been neglected for years, all while using Uber to
help put food on the table for their families.
For these reasons, and countless more, we hope to continue working with
you to improve transportation options and help expand economic
opportunities throughout this great city.
Sincerely,

Chris Nakutis
General Manager
Uber Technologies, Inc.

Summary of Ubers Compliance Efforts

After passing Ubers background check process, driver partners are informed they
must obtain a TNC license from the City of Houston if they intend to pick up riders
within Houstons city limits.

In addition to providing the citys application and information related to the

fingerprinting requirements, Uber staff created an information packet to help partners
understand how to complete the licensing process.

Multiple times throughout each week, we remind eligible driver partners that they
cannot operate in Houston city limits without a TNC license. Channels used: email,
text, phone calls, in-person information sessions.

We have sent thousands of texts and emails to partners communicating the need for
a TNC license as well as reminding them about the TNC license.

If we identify a driver partner who has failed to obtain a TNC license from the city, we
send a note to inform that partner that his or her account has been deactivated due to
non-compliance with City of Houston regulations.

More than 2,000 driver partners have been removed from the platform for failing to
obtain a city license.

We have dedicated thousands of employee hours walking through all of the TNC
licensing process details with partners during our weekly office hours and special
information sessions.

When a driver partner completes the citys licensing process, we verify that against a
list provided by the city and ask for a picture of the TNC license to be uploaded to his
or her Uber partner dashboard.

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