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HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WHNT) - Have you ever heard of ? You may think, 'what ever happened to a good ole taxi cab,' but you college age kids may be rather familiar with the rideshare service touted as convenient and cashless.

With Uber app you can request, ride, then pay via mobile device with such features as fare splitting among riders. Just about anyone can sign up to become an Uber driver. And herein lies the issue at hand in light of the latest negative Uber publicity -- and in a college town, no less.

Last week, Tuscaloosa Police arrested 21-year-old Uber driver Brandon Oliver. Oliver was charged with possession of nearly a quarter pound of marijuana and was found to have an opened bottle of vodka in his vehicle. The driver for hire was also cited for not having the proper business and chauffeuring licenses as well as not having insurance.

According to police chief Steven Anderson, the arrest came just a month after Uber expanded operations to Tuscaloosa and a week after his department issued a statement saying, "all drivers and companies that are involved in a taxi service or ride sharing program" must have a proper licensing, a background check, and vehicle inspection.

According to a press release, an undercover Tuscaloosa Police Officer requested a ride from Oliver using the Uber mobile app and smelled pot in the driver's car.

Oliver's other passenger was also charged with marijuana possession. Undercover police also issued warning citations to 6 other Uber drivers.

So, do you know who is driving your kids around?

Robbie Werth, President of the Taxicab, Limousine & Paratransit Association says it's a valid question.

Werth issued a statement Wednesday saying, “Every city that allows Uber to operate should look at the news out of Alabama today, where Tuscaloosa police found an Uber driver with a quarter of a pound of marijuana in his car and an open vodka bottle. Police said the driver had a suspended license and was cited for operating a vehicle for hire without proper insurance. This is what Uber’s $1 safety fee is going toward? How many more such drivers are out there? That’s hard to tell, because Uber tells city officials nothing about its drivers or background checks. Uber’s safety checks and lack of insurance saves Uber millions while the company’s corporate greed puts cities at risk.”

The folks at are dedicated to exposing the facts about so-called ridesharing services like Uber, and .

'Who's Driving You?' holds the position that amateur ridesharing drivers are not properly insured or qualified and that the services' collective price schedules are unfair.

They are not the only ones sounding off on driver service safety and ethics concerns. Take a look at some of these users sounding off on social media:

"There are enormous problems with their background checks and their insurance as evidenced by what happened in Tuscaloosa just this past week," says John Boit, Spokesman for the Taxicab, Limousine & Paratransit Association.

And parents, Boit says if your student is an Uber driver for extra cash, you need to know about it. He says personal auto insurance policies generally stipulate a livery exclusion, voiding the coverage if the coverage if the insured drives for hire.

"That student's parents could unknowingly be on the line for tens of thousands, possibly hundreds of thousands of dollars or more, when things go wrong," Boit explains.

Aside from safety, there's also an issue of consumer ethics with these ridesharing services. Boit says bottom line, these companies are for profit and out for your dollar.

"Uber loves to say they're this fluffy little startup company; they're not," warns Boit. "They are a multinational corporation backed by 1-and-a-half billion dollars of Wall Street money - it doesn't get more corporate than that."

As far as continued crack downs, the Tuscaloosa Police Department said it will keep doing undercover operations until the drivers comply with city taxi service requirements.

"We have been very lenient in the recent weeks making sure that everyone was aware of the requirements," police say per the department's news release. "In future operations officers will not be issuing warning citations and will be issuing criminal city citations to drivers who do not comply with city regulations."

Even though ridesharing hasn't made its way to Huntsville yet, have you every used the service out of town? Was it a pleasant experience or a nightmare? Comment on this story and share your experience with us.