Uber, the ride-hailing service known for its aggressive expansion tactics, is trying something new in Portland: an apology.
The company on Monday posted the text of a letter it also sent to the Portland City Council acknowledging "missteps" since Uber began operating in Portland in December 2014.
Uber didn't identify those missteps, but city officials have a list of grievances that dates back to the company's arrival.
The 2014 launch itself came without approval from Portland officials, at a time when the city code strictly regulated taxi companies. Less than two weeks later, Uber agreed to suspend operations for a few months while the city drafted new rules for a sanctioned launch.
More than two years later, the city would learn from a New York Times reporter that Uber had used software it called "Greyball" to identify and avoid regulators trying to catch Uber drivers while the service was operating illegally. The Portland City Council invoked a rare legislative subpoena to investigate whether Uber had continued to use the software in violation of the new rules. It found no evidence of subsequent efforts to evade enforcement.
Most recently, the city fined Uber $3.5 million after the company failed to disclose an October 2016 security breach that affected more than 1,000 drivers in Oregon and tens of millions of accounts worldwide. The company didn't disclose the breach until more than a year later. Uber has disputed the fine, which is still pending after a hearing last month was postponed.
Alejandro Chouza, Uber's general manager for the Pacific Northwest, said in Monday's letter that the company "conducted operations in a way that failed to live up to the Portland way of collaboration and transparency. For that we apologize."
Chouza said the company would conduct itself "with integrity, humility, and a passion for improving the community."
"You have our firm commitment that we will work to make things right, and be as collaborative as possible to keep this emerging global city moving forward," he said.
Chouza took over late last year as Uber's manager in the Pacific Northwest. He previously served as Uber's general manager in Northwest Mexico.
-- Elliot Njus
enjus@oregonian.com
503-294-5034
@enjus