Ride-sharing service Uber has confirmed that it will be giving banned drivers in New York a chance to make an appeal. While this new development gives some drivers hope of reinstating their service with the company, this option comes with a lot of interesting requirements and restrictions.
Uber will launch this appeal option for New York City drivers only. Drivers who want to appeal their ban will be put under the scrutiny of a panel composed of five other Uber drivers. Drivers are only allowed to appeal deactivations.
Uber said that drivers who were rated "Bad" by commuters would not be given a chance to appeal such rating. The company added that drivers who were deactivated because of poor passenger rating could undergo a special training course which may result in their account getting reactivated again.
Uber can deactivate a driver for several reasons, according to its policy. The most common is when the driver's passenger rating drops below 4.6 out of a possible five score. Drivers can also be banned for more serious misconducts, like sexual assault. Some drivers can be deactivated for "excessively" canceling rides or not accepting enough rides for a given period.
Uber's new regulation was hailed as a "huge win" by the Independent Drivers Guild (IDG), the only rights group recognized by the ride-sharing service, according to BBC. It is important to note that IDG is not a union, and it cannot act as an outlet to bargain with Uber when it comes to demands for better pay or benefits for its members.
In an email sent to members of the group, IDG founder said, "After months of negotiations, we finally won you the right to a fair deactivation appeal with Uber management."
Uber and IDG will jointly pick drivers who will be part of the so-called "peer panel." The review panel will be facilitated by the American Arbitration Association.