Uber admits taking its drivers for a ride

Uber chronically underpaid its New York City drivers for years and now owes them tens of millions of dollars, the company conceded on Tuesday.

The ride-hailing company admitted that it mistakenly was taking its fee before accounting for the 2.5 percent black car fee and taxes, which was costing drivers each trip.

For example, if a driver had a $15 fare, Uber was taking $3.75 when it really should have been taking only $3.33.

The San Francisco company, headed by Travis Kalanick, vowed to get the extra money back to its drivers as soon as possible — with interest. It said it will put it into drivers’ bank accounts in the next couple of weeks.

“We are committed to paying every driver every penny they are owed — plus interest — as quickly as possible,” said Rachel Holt, the company’s regional general manager for the US and Canada.

“We are working hard to regain driver trust, and that means being transparent, sticking to our word, and making the Uber experience better from end to end,” she continued.

But some said the company is still doing the math wrong and thus shortchanging drivers once again.

“In typical Uber doublespeak, the company informed drivers this past Friday that it would no longer be de- ducting the cost of the tax and the surcharge from their pay,” said Bhairavi Desai, executive director of the New York Taxi Workers Alliance.

“Meanwhile,” Desai added, “in calculating the back pay it owes to drivers, Uber is using the difference in the commission it wrongly took from drivers, rather than reimbursing drivers the full tax and surcharge amounts they are owed back — a difference of nearly 10 percent.”