Uber drivers busted in Columbia

The city of Columbia says four citations were given to Uber drivers over the weekend for not having a proper license.

Ginny Chadwick, who represents the 1st Ward in Columbia, said the city warned Uber of the consequences of not following the city laws.

Now they are starting to get ticketed.

She said as of now, Uber drivers are not background checked in Columbia and don’t have the proper insurance to be driving the taxi-like cars.

She said one of the things Uber is doing illegally by operating in Columbia is their drivers don’t have business insurance.

“Uber insurance doesn’t necessarily cover the Uber drivers are using their personal insurance and a personal insurance doesn’t cover them as a business,” said Chadwick.

She then explained the lack of insurance isn’t the only conflict between the city and Uber.

“There’s also a conflict with whether they have the correct licensing and have done a background check.”

Taxi drivers in Columbia are required to have both proper licensing and a background check.

Chadwick said this should be the same for Uber drivers.

She said since the drivers do not have a business license, the company is essentially operating illegally in Columbia.

“They could come in and apply for a business license and in that process we do have a background check and make sure they have adequate insurance.”

Uber contacted ABC 17 after a tweet sent out to the city manager about a possible interview regarding the tickets.

Uber never contacted ABC 17 again after inquiring for a statement.

The Columbia Police Department was not able to show ABC 17 the citations.