for documenting the company’s failures on sexual misconduct cases and driver identification. But the audit is still open as the regulator checks whether the company, which was listed as having more than 32,000 drivers when the state audit began, is complying with its directions.
Uber, the audit document noted, did not check whether drivers have the right third-party property damage insurance or that it remained current while they drove. A spokeswoman said Uber checks drivers’ auto insurance at sign up, and that its trips are covered by NSW compulsory third-party injury insurance and Uber’s own contingent insurance policy.
Uber does not employ its drivers or own its fleet. Instead, drivers are classified as independent contractors and select their vehicles, whether owned, borrowed or rented. A separate sample of 31,828 drivers and their trip data showed 2189 were driving for Uber for at least 30 consecutive days while 458 of those drove 61 consecutive days — the entire tested period.Uber’s spokeswoman defended the company’s fatigue practices, saying it believed it was the only operator in the industry to have a feature that logs drivers off for eight hours after they have been online for 12 cumulative hours without a break of at least eight hours.
One driver initially told audit staff he did not maintain his vehicle and had no records but then changed his story, saying a mechanic in Bondi looked after it. Audit staff visited the mechanic who said he had not completed maintenance work on the vehicle but had inspected it and told the driver it had multiple problems that would cost more to fix than the car was worth.
But when Uber did identify an unsafe vehicle and removed it from one driver, the audit found it was not taken away from other drivers on their platform who might be using it for trips. “There is no process to check all driver profiles to ensure the vehicle is removed from the entire platform,” audit staff wrote.