Uber Facing Outcry From DC Taxi Cab Association

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Uber is one of those start-ups that many of us love. It works great in the major cities that they are already in. In fact our Editor in Chief, uses Uber in New York City without fail.

If you’re not familiar with Uber it is a car service that allows you to order up a car for where you need to go via an iPhone or Android app. There is a set rate of $7.00 for the initial trip and $3.25 per mile. The meter is tracked on your smartphone and the customer and Uber know exactly what is charged at the time of the trip.

More after the break
Uber is based in San Francisco and faced heat from the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency and the California Public Utilities Commission soon after launch. Uber and their CEO Travis Kalanick quickly addressed the problems they faced in California and have been operating happily ever since.

Uber launched their service in Washington DC in December. Uber opened up a DC office with manager Rachel Holt and hope to continue offering services there. DC is of course not a state, and pretty much governs itself.

DC’s Taxicab Commission Chairman Ron Linton said that “Uber appears to be flouting volumes of city taxi and limousine regulations.”  Linton made these comments to the Washington Post shortly after a meeting Wednesday night where cab drivers expressed concerns over Uber’s services.

Uber operates in a gray area between taxicab and limousine. They don’t hire drivers directly nor do they own any vehicles themselves. Uber contracts with local limousine and car services to perform the runs for them.  According to Kalanick Uber only operates with companies who already have all the licensing in place to operate in their respective cities.

Kalanick insists that Uber met with taxicab association officials prior to their launch in December although Linton has no record of such talks and dismissed that allegation to the Washington Post. Kalanick told the Post:

“We would not have launched in D.C. if we were not confident and comfortable that we were doing right by the regulations and by our customers,”

Uber hopes that DC is one of their longterm markets.

“We’re still operating in San Francisco and doing quite well out here,” said Kalanick told the Washington Post , “We have an office in D.C. We’re working with local businesses. We want to show them we’re operating within the regulations.”

source: WaPo

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3 Comments

  1. 1

    Same concept, new model. If the taxi operators aren’t happy about it they should work to update their business model instead of complaining.

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