City of Burlington and Uber reach operating deal
BURLINGTON, Vt. -- The city and the Uber ride-hailing service have signed an agreement to allow Uber to temporarily operate in the city and at the airport, the mayor's office announced Friday.
Under the interim agreement, which goes into effect Monday, Uber will have a zero-tolerance policy on drug and alcohol use for all drivers and will not allow anyone convicted of driving under the influence or some other crimes in the past 10 years to drive for it, the city said. Uber, which connects riders to drivers through its cellphone apps, is required to do national and state criminal and background checks for all drivers, including sex offender registry checks under the interim deal.
The move comes after an Uber driver was charged with sexually assaulting an incapacitated woman in February.
Mayor Miro Weinberger's administration plans to work with a city council committee to adopt permanent revisions to the city's vehicles-for-hire ordinance, the mayor's office said.
The city and Raiser LLC, the company doing business as Uber, agreed that Uber will post the city's taxi administration contact information in all vehicles so if passengers have complaints they can register them with the city, city officials said. Uber also will have an ongoing customer feedback and complaint system that the city may access if it needs more information to investigate a complaint.