Uber sets up US$3 million defense fund for drivers affected by immigration ban

It might not be enough to placate Uber’s critics but it’s at least a good place to start. The ride-sharing company is said to be creating a US$3 million defense fund to help cover the legal, translation, and immigration fees its drivers might need following U.S. President Donald Trump’s travel and immigration ban. Uber CEO and founder Travis Kalanick calls the ban “wrong and unjust” in a new note he shared on his Facebook and Uber’s newsroom. According to the post, Kalanick says they are reaching out to their employees who have been affected by the measures and they hope to help these people. Kalanick has said he plans to bring the measures to Trump’s attention during this Friday’s meeting of the White House economic advisory group, which he is part of.

Uber received tons of flak after it continued service at JFK during a one-hour taxi service strike that protested Trump’s immigration ban on January 28. Users have been deleting their accounts in protest of this. Uber has apologized for the “confusion” and said they turned off surge pricing or the JFK rides at the time because they wanted to let people know that it was possible to get to JFK “at normal prices, especially last night [ which was the night of the protest]”. 

Sourcce: TechCrunch