The backlash to the unregulated ride sharing and online car service Uber is spreading around the world.  India, Spain, Thailand, and even Uber’s own home city of San Francisco are all taking action to stop it from dispatching drivers.

The most serious case is in India, where the Home ministry is advising all states to ban unregistered web-based taxi firms.  This comes after an Uber driver was arrested for allegedly raping a passenger in Delhi.  A 26-year-old woman had used the Uber smartphone app to book a taxi home last Friday night, but said she was instead taken to a secluded area and assaulted.

“Following the incident of a heinous crime, the government of Delhi has banned Uber to provide any transport related service in Delhi,” went the statement from the Home ministry. 

But Uber was reportedly still accepting bookings over the Internet.  It’s not clear how India might enforce the ban, since Uber does its business via app and its drivers are not marked.

A judge in Spain ordered Uber to halt operations, after protests from taxi associations, which pay for their licenses and are subject to local safety and other regulations.  Thailand’s military government also pulled the plug on all Internet ride services.

Uber technically does not employ its drivers, calling them “independent contractors” instead.  Those contractors don’t have the necessary permits or insurance, and bear all of the risk of fines and arrest – all while Uber’s American owners sip champagne from their San Francisco penthouses.  The company is said to be worth US$40 Billion.  SMDH.

Earlier, judges in The Netherlands banned the UberPop ride-sharing service, which was launched as a pilot project in Amsterdam between July and September and subsequently extended to The Hague and Rotterdam.

In America, Portland, Oregon is taking Uber to Federal court to stop it, after it began operating in the Pacific Northwest “Rose City” without bothering to ask permission.

“Governments must ensure the safety of everyone, while making sure that companies are responsibly serving their customers and our residents,” Mayor Charlie Hales wrote in a newspaper editorial, in which he said the city would not be “stampeded” by Uber.  “It’s not sufficient merely for us to welcome new technology, new companies and new economies.”

Prosecutors in Los Angeles and in San Francisco are filing a suit against Uber, alleging false and misleading statements to consumers about background checks on its drivers.  Last New Year’s Eve, an Uber driver struck and killed 6-year old Sofia Liu in a crosswalk in San Francisco.  On Tuesday, prosecutors filed vehicular manslaughter charges against the driver.