Super Pumped: The Battle for Uber

by Mike Isaac

Uber made it as easy as possible for drivers to sign up. The company used a background check system that moved new recruits through the system quickly. Taxi and livery services used fingerprint testing, which offers a thorough history of a driver’s past, but often took weeks to complete. Uber used an outside firm, Hirease, which boasted an average turnaround time of “less than 36 hours.” Hirease did not require fingerprint tests. Waiting weeks for a background check was intolerable for Uber. A week was a year; a month was eternity. After perfecting the quick background check process, Uber’s political machine went to work. In states where fingerprint-based background checks were legally required, Uber hired lobbyists to get laws rewritten that mandated drivers undergo the traditional checks.

Fingerprints checks for taxis