IT’S NOT HARD to find stories about Kundin Nadew—the man city officials call Portland’s most persistent “rogue” cabbie.

Since his city permit was revoked in 2012 following a drunk driving arrest, the city says Nadew has made a habit of illicit incursions into Portland from Beaverton, where he’s legally allowed to drive a cab. He’s been fined more than $25,000 for taking illegal fares within Portland city limits over the last three years.

The city’s cab drivers know Nadew’s dark mini van, with its makeshift taxi light and conspicuous lack of a proper taxi plate, and sometimes will film him tooling around Portland streets. In a video shot earlier this month, Nadew wags his finger out the van’s driver’s side window as he foully berates a Green Cab trainee filming him.

“Fuck you, mother pussy!” he yells in broken English. “You mother pussy cab!” Then he drives off.

It’s not behavior any employer would relish, but Nadew recently got a fresh shot at legitimacy in Portland’s private for-hire transportation world. The city won’t let him legally drive a cab, so Nadew got a job with Uber.

Ever since Portland officials began mulling over rules to allow the “transportation network companies” (TNCs) Uber and Lyft to operate legally here early this year, angry cab companies have stressed one point above others. They want TNCs to be subject to the same background checks cab drivers go through—not the proprietary checks Portland okayed in April.

Uber and Lyft, meanwhile, say their checks are rigorous.

And while Portland hasn’t seen any of the mayhem from TNC drivers that has cropped up elsewhere—including incidents involving people with spotty legal records—the fact Nadew was hired by Uber points to a glaring inequity in the two processes: Even the city’s best-known lawless cabbie can get an Uber gig.

“He’s sort of the poster child for illegal operators,” says Frank Dufay, who oversees taxi and TNC regulation for the city. “We revoked his license years ago, and he still continues to operate.”

To be fair, Nadew didn’t last long at Uber. Spokeswoman Laura Zapata confirmed to the Mercury that Nadew had been a driver in Portland, but said he “has been deactivated and no longer has access to the platform.” She wouldn’t provide details of his employment.

Uber has a code of conduct that stipulates drivers should exhibit “no aggressive behavior,” but it wasn’t a violation that got Nadew let go. PBOT says it recieved complaints he was driving for the company, and demanded he be fired. If there was no complaint, he might be driving for Uber today.

“This driver is going to hurt someone with his driving, his anger, and/or his words,” says Wynde Dyer, the Green Cab driver (and Uber foe) to whom Nadew was directing his “mother pussy” comments. “If Uber used the city screening and permitting process like proper professional cab drivers, this guy would not be on their platform.”

In Dyer’s telling, she saw Nadew driving erratically on Interstate 5 in the early hours of June 6, and had a trainee who was riding with her start taking pictures and shooting video of his vehicle. When Nadew saw he was being filmed, he unleashed a tirade that cabbies say has become his trademark (another video sent to the Mercury featured Nadew muttering to a filming cab driver “I’ll fuck your face, man”).

Nadew says this is all wrong. He insists he only drives into Portland so he can drop off people he’s picked up in Beaverton, which is legal. (According to city documents, he’s claimed in the past that sometimes people will jump into his cab “against his will” once he’s in Portland.) Nadew also accuses cabbies of swearing at him.

“Portland taxi drivers, they think I pick up from Portland,” he tells the Mercury. “When I come, they mad at me.”

Beyond the question of whether Uber’s hiring shady drivers, Nadew’s scenario raises questions about the city’s ability to enforce its transportation laws. PBOT has said it has staff that’s checking for compliance, but in cases of repeated lawlessness where no permit is at stake, the agency admits it has fewer options.

“It becomes a police matter,” says Dufay, who’s been pressing cops to crack down on Nadew and other illegal cabs. “[PBOT] can send him angry postcards.”

I'm a news reporter for the Mercury. I've spent a lot of the last decade in journalism — covering tragedy and chicanery in the hills of southwest Missouri, politics in Washington, D.C., and other matters...

13 replies on “Back on Burnside”

  1. “Portland hasn’t seen any of the mayhem from TNC drivers that has cropped up elsewhere—including incidents involving people with spotty legal records—” it’s only been two months. It’s likely many other drivers slipped through Uber’s weak background check. We won’t find out until they get arrested for reckless driving or assault or worse.

  2. I have photographs of him picking up in Portland which has been sent to the city. As a matter of fact he has physicallu threatened me not once but twice while photographing his illegal activity. The statement has been sent to the city with the photographs.

  5. This is a prime example of the egregious low standard requirements of Uber industry background checks, vs the exemplary high standard requirements of legitimate Taxi industry background checks.

  6. I hope you were being sarcastic Micah. My experience with cabbies vs. uber and lyft (in Portland and elsewhere) has been the exact opposite in terms of driving ability, general attitude and creep factor. And my wife has had much worse experience than me when taking solo trips. This case aside, background checks can’t always tell the whole story, and at least the TNC’s have an efficient feedback system that they seem to take seriously in their evaluation of drivers and whether or not they remain in the network.

    Ok, bring on the “but what happens when you get assaulted” argument. Well, guess what, this can, has and will happen with cabbies too.

  7. I hereby declare Kundin Nadew to be Uber’s Employee of the Year!

    Thank you, Cali Supreme Court, for ruling that Uber drivers are employees!

    Oregon’s law could easily be interpreted to reach the same conclusion.

  8. No, JTR, I was not being sarcastic, I was being very sincere, and I sincerely am very sorry that you and your wife have had unpleasant experiences with Portland Taxis. Yes, you are correct, background checks can’t always tell the whole story. However, the egregiously low standards within Uber’s background checks dramatically raise the rate in which unprofessional and hazardous instances can occur at an exponential rate over legitimate Taxi companies which require thorough FBI background checks, skills tests, and extensive training. As far as your statement that “TNC’s have an efficient feedback system that they seem to take seriously in their evaluation of drivers and whether or not they remain in the network.” Unfortunately that statement couldn’t be further from the truth. Uber (which is the TNC on topic here) has an extremely inefficient feedback system, a virtually all computerized rating system which determines firing/termination of their drivers (and banning of Uber passengers) with no option to contact local supervisors, because they don’t exist, and only with the option to contact Uber via email, while Taxi companies are required to have 24/7 dispatch phone lines available to the public, as well as to the drivers, with local supervisors on duty. Further, Uber claims to have no attachment to its drivers whatsoever, beyond providing them with an app. Uber claims that their drivers are not employees, but independent contractors, (which is illegal of course because Uber terminates employment of their drivers while they claim they have no driver employees). Uber circumvents any and all responsibilities under thier platform for any and all grievances and hostile instances of assault, molestation, and rape, that have and will occur under their extremely flawed, unethical, and illegal business model. Unfortunately any grievances, assault, molestation, and rape crimes, can happen under a legitimate legal Taxi platform as well, however the likelihood of these tragic occurrences taking place with legitimate Taxi companies is also exponentially lower due to Taxi companies’ mandatory thorough FBI background checks, skills tests, and extensive training. Taxi companies are required to carry commercial insurance with their vehicles 24 hours a day 365 days a year during operation. Uber drivers are not required to carry commercial insurance, if you and or your wife are passengers in an Uber car, and in the unfortunate circumstance of a collision that causes bodily harm, or worse, Uber takes no responsibility for such incidents, leaving you, the passengers in an Uber car responsible for your own medical costs after the Uber driver is depleted with non-commercial insurance (which he or she may or may not have to begin with under a completely unregulated platform), and further, should you or your wife become severely injured and handicapped as a result of a collision in an Uber car, you will not be able to travel by way of Uber because Uber is ADA non-compliant, where Taxi companies in Portland are required by the City of Portland to dedicate 20 percent of their fleets to ADA compliance.

    As these issues are extremely important for the safety and betterment of everyone living and traveling in the City of Portland, I sincerely hope you will take the time to read the link below, and watch the brief video contained within the main page.

    http://www.tfapdx.org/faqs.php

    Good luck to you and your wife, and all the best,

    —Micah Hamer

  12. Sorry – just saw his reply. I’m not paid by uber, just like to have the option of reliable, efficient transportation when it is needed most (at peak times particularly) and don’t believe in the government playing protectionist roles where they aren’t needed and stifling new technology unnecessarily . Overall, nobody is saying that the quickly evolving TNC industry is flawless (just like the cab industry isn’t!) and doesn’t have its growing pains. But, misinformation and sensationalized claims don’t help further the argument.

    In short, TNC companies aren’t for everyone (particularly those who are paranoid of social interactions / rides across town with anyone who hasn’t gone through a “thorough FBI background check). If they aren’t for you, we still have and always will have regular old cabs, so you are in luck. TNC’s have revolutionized transportation options in areas like LA and Denver (have many friends in LA and family in Denver.) where it was next to if not literally impossible to get a for hire ride anywhere but downtown. In Portland, they have added usability to the PDX for hire transportation landscape especially in peak times. Uber is not without its flaws from a management standpoint, but neither are the Portland cab companies.

    Before painting the cab industry as saints and an industry that is actively supporting the livelihood of its drivers, take a look at the following study done by the city a few years ago (the executive summary is a quick read) http://www.portlandoregon.gov/transportati…

    A few thoughts:
    “However, the egregiously low standards within Uber’s background checks dramatically raise the rate in which unprofessional and hazardous instances can occur at an exponential rate over legitimate Taxi companies which require thorough FBI background checks, skills tests, and extensive training.”

    I personally don’t feel that they are “egregiously low” and I am fine with them. Please give me a source for your “dramatically raise the rate” claim. If “skills tests and extensive training” are given, they must be a complete joke. I have literally feared for my life in taxis in this town. Two months ago a guy literally blew through a busy 4 way stop and didn’t even stop jabbering on his cell phone long enough to realize what he had done. Have also had several red lights completely run.

    Also, just curious as to what your feelings are about letting service providers such as plumbers, carpenters, etc. into your house / apartment. Do you require to see an FBI background check before hand? What about pizza delivery drivers?

    Re: Uber feedback system – true it isn’t perfect, but I believe it is better than having no feedback system like traditional cabs effectively do. How many people are going to take the time to actually report a cab driver unless they do something particularly egregious. I like that tnc drivers are reviewed after each trip.

    Re: independent contractor status – this is an area that is being worked through in the courts, and I agree that if drivers are deemed to be employees, they should be treated as such. But, it isn’t any surprise that uber and others are taking the stance that they are contractors (a viable argument in many respects that has been upheld by several courts, btw). Furthermore, this is JUST LIKE the majority (if not all?) of the pdx cab companies who treat their drivers as contractors (per the city study linked to above). Where is your uproar over that?

    “flawed, unethical and illegal business model” – That is your opinion and that is fine, but the illegal aspect is a bit of a premature exaggeration. This is a brand new industry that has brought up new questions as it relates to areas of insurance, employee status, etc. These things are being worked through as we speak and it will be interesting to see where they shake out.

    “exponentially lower” occurrences of “rape, molestation, etc.”. – I disagree with this. Time will tell, but Uber’s public database – type background checks, feedback system, and the fact that the app itself tracks who is in the car, where they are, and who the driver is, provides a further deterrence to would be assaulters using uber as a platform to commit crimes. It simply doesn’t make all that much sense. Sure there will be instances, just as there are with cabbies and a multitude of other professions.

    “if you and or your wife are passengers in an Uber car, and in the unfortunate circumstance of a collision that causes bodily harm”

    Completely false. Uber and lyft carry a $1 mm umbrella policy from the time the driver accepts a ride to the time the passenger exits the vehicle. Not sure where you are getting you sensationalized misinformation on this one. Yes there have been some grey areas that have been created surrounding whether a driver with no passenger in the car (when the umbrella policy doesn’t apply) would be covered under a non-commercial policy, and this is also in the process of being better addressed by the insurance industry. This is evidenced by there now being several options of commercial-like insurance that are available to tnc drivers (although the rollout is not yet in all states, it is a developing area that is expected to continue to grow). You can learn a lot more about this by googling it.

    ADA compliance – it is a known fact that the city of portland’s cabs have done a terrible job at this, and do not / have not met the 20% compliance. There have been a few recent articles written about the unacceptable wait times experienced by disabled users of the pdx cab system. Hopefully the TNC companies will help free up some more capacity at the cab companies for this type of service. Also, while it doesn’t appear to be perfect, tnc’s are required to partner with others to provide ada options in Portland.

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