'Uber for kids' car service runs afoul of California laws
Shuddle, an on demand driver service that lets strangers drive your kids around, billing itself as the "Uber for kids", is in trouble with California regulators. The company received a cease and desist letter from the California Public Utilities Commission last November after regulators noticed that Shuddle had yet to register with TrustLine, the state agency that fingerprints and runs background checks on adults working in child care. USA Today reports that so far, Shuddle has yet to comply with the CPUC's demand, opening the company to further regulatory action that could include its halting operations via court order. "Safety is our top priority," CPUC director of news and information Terrie Prosper told USA Today.
Shuddle has responded to the allegations by citing its own internal hiring processes, one that CEO Nick Allen touts as a faster alternative for state regulation, which can take a few weeks to fully process. Because if there's one thing you want to do when certifying your workers to care for children, it's rush the background check. The company does performs its own checks, interviewing applicants and running their driver's licenses and SSNs through a national database.
Shuddle CEO Nick Allen told USA Today that his company's hiring practice "exceeds current requirements, including TrustLine, which is outdated, approves applicants to the registry prior to background check completion, and is limited to the state of California." In fact, only five percent of applicants actually get contracted as drivers. "We are not opposed to legislation around the transporting of minors," Allen continued. "Everyone here is coming from the same place."
