Pennsylvania fines Uber $11 million

The Public Utility Commission, which also regulates buses and taxis, voted 3-2 for a penalty that was considerably lower than the $50 million fine recommended by a pair of administrative law judges in November.

Commissioners who voted for it justified the lower amount because they said the ride-hailing company has modified its practices to comply with state rules and has not generated many consumer complaints while operating under emergency and experimental authority.

“It must be recognized that Uber has deliberately engaged in the most unprecedented series of willful violations of commission orders and regulations in the history of this agency,” they said in proposing the smaller fine.

Other cases with large fines, said commissioner Pamela Witmer, “involved incidents of serious bodily injury, fatalities, significant property damage and/or patterns of unsafe business practices that jeopardized public safety.”

The two judges wrote in November that Uber had argued it was providing needed alternatives, it used a broker license held by a subsidiary and there was no proof that harm occurred.