National News
Houston's background check for cabbies allows ex-cons behind the wheel
April 13, 2015 posted by Steve Brownstein
The smartphone-based ride-sharing service Uber has been in the news lately, and the news hasn't been good.
An Uber driver was charged for sexually abusing a passenger he took to his home. Duncan Burton was arrested April 1 in the alleged January attack.
The incident has been front and center in Austin, where a debate is brewing at the legislature over how to regulate the new, smartphone-driven companies like Uber and background their drivers.
City officials say the assault is proof that Uber's background check is not as thorough as the one required by Houston regulators.
While Uber's background check process may not be perfect, our report last year showed the city of Houston's background check leaves much to be desired.
It's not that city officials didn't know about the criminal backgrounds of cabbies driving city streets. It's that they do know -- and let them drive anyway.
Hundreds of Houston cabbies are driving despite prior criminal convictions including drunk driving, driving without a license, drug dealing, and domestic violence, Ted Oberg Investigates found in May.
The city also keeps that information hidden from the public. The records detailing the criminal backgrounds of those applying for cabbie licenses have never been seen outside the back rooms of city government. The secret records were only given to ABC-13 because of a city bureaucrat's mistake. We've made another request today and we're hoping the city will decide to be more transparent.
