Public Utility Commission fines Uber $50 million for defying regulators’ authority – Watchdog.org

Uber began operating in the Pittsburgh area in February 2014, without first getting permission from the state’s regulators. Though both Uber and Lyft, a competing ride-sharing service, later received a two-year operational permit from the state PUC, the commission’s Board of Investigation and Enforcement is seeking to collect a penalty for the period of time when Uber was operating without a license.

\”Uber meets the definition of a common carrier and was required to have authority from the Commission to provide transportation,\” wrote judges Mary Long and Jeffrey Watson in Tuesday’s decision.

Operating without a government-issued permission slip means Uber was \”placing the public at risk,\” the two judges concluded.

They decided that Uber had been in violation of state regulations from February 11, 2014, through August 20, 2014, and imposed a $49.8 million fine.