SAN FRANCISCO — Uber says that it will pay $28.5 million to settle two lawsuits that said the ride-hailing firm misled customers about its safety procedures and fees.
The company told a federal judge in San Francisco that it wants to settle the class-action lawsuits by paying about 25 million riders who made U.S. trips between Jan. 1, 2013, and Jan. 31, 2016.
The judge must still approve the deal.
“We are glad to put these cases behind us and we will continue to invest in new technology and great customer services so that we can help improve safety in the cities we serve,” the San Francisco-based company said in a statement Thursday.
The lawsuits attacked Uber for charging a fee of up to $2.30 per trip for what it called industry-leading background checks on would-be drivers. However, Uber didn’t do the kind of fingerprint checks required of taxi drivers.
Under the settlement, Uber also would stop using certain “safety-related” advertising language and would rename its “Safe Ride Fee” as a “Booking Fee.”
