Students are back, and with the influx of people needing rides to and from the Corner, business is picking up for local cab drivers after a slow season. But some cabbies are wary of a new kid in town that claims to be a safer, cheaper, easier alternative to taxis. Uber, an app-based ride-sharing service that’s gained traction in more than 200 cities around the world, arrived in Charlottesville a couple weeks ago, and while some are delighted over the competition that could help bring the cost of transportation down, not everyone is pleased.
“Uber is, in essence, digital hitchhiking,” said Charlottesville Yellow Cab and Anytime Taxi owner Mark Brown, highlighting the common concern that the drive-share setup doesn’t offer enough oversight or safety measures. “You can drive without ever having face-to-face contact with anybody from Uber. At Charlottesville Yellow Cab, we see our drivers in person a minimum of once per week.”
It’s true that becoming an Uber customer is easy. Just download the Uber app and request a ride; a map pops up, displaying all the cars on the road at the time. The nearest driver is alerted, and the rider receives a message with the driver’s vehicle type, name, phone number, photo, and estimated arrival time. Users of the app enter their credit card information upon registration, which negates the need for cash or card-swiping in the car, and new riders automatically receive $10 credits to their accounts. According to each company’s fares posted on their websites, a ride from the Downtown Mall to Fashion Square Mall, roughly a 10-minute drive, would cost riders about $11 with Uber, and $15 with Yellow Cab.
City Taxi driver John Amato, who’s been shuttling UVA students and locals around for years, echoed Brown’s concerns, and said he worries that city officials won’t have any power to regulate the drivers. He described the taxi world as a “sink or swim industry,” and said being a cabbie requires more skill than just hopping behind the wheel.
“With Uber, they’re bringing in untrained drivers that haven’t been doing it for a while,” he said. “It would be like putting me behind the controls of a 747 and someone saying ‘O.K., why don’t you fly these people to L.A.?’”
Uber and Lyft, a similar app-based ride-sharing service, recently reached an agreement with Virginia officials after a June cease and desist order and months of escalating tension. According to The Washington Post, last month the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles granted the app-based companies’ requests to operate in the Commonwealth, and state officials are developing legislation to address concerns related to the companies’ impact on taxi drivers.
A group of Virginia taxi companies who want to ban Uber filed a lawsuit in Fairfax County earlier this summer, claiming the company doesn’t play by the rules. Uber and Lyft are facing lawsuits in many other states including Georgia, Massachusetts, and California, and cabbies across the country are accusing the ride-sharing services of price gouging and not properly vetting and regulating drivers.
But Uber is quick to defend its hiring practices as more rigorous than many standard cab companies’. According to Uber spokesperson Taylor Bennett, drivers are required to be 21 years old, drive a vehicle newer than 2004 that’s in excellent condition, and have personal insurance.
“On top of that, there’s a stringent background screening process,” Bennett said. “The criteria range from sexual offense, violent crimes, courthouse records, social security, and driving records looking back seven years. Most cab companies will only go back three or four years.”
As for local regulations, Bennett said most laws written around taxi services are outdated.
“When we explore new markets, we work with city and state officials to determine what those regulations look like,” he said. “But a lot of those ordinances just don’t apply to us. We’re a technology business.”
For one local Uber driver, the job has been a quick, easy way to bring in some extra cash a few days a week—especially in these first couple weeks, when drivers are scarce and the company offers a $25 per hour incentive on top of the 80 percent of each fare.
“I made nearly $500 last weekend,” said the driver, a full-time hospital employee who wanted to remain anonymous. “I’ve been getting a lot of grad students, parents, and visitors, but more undergraduates as it gets later. I didn’t go to UVA, so it’s given me some insight into the students.”
The driver of a 2005 Honda Accord, she said she was a little concerned in the beginning about passengers trying to pile more than four people in her car, or students bringing open containers of alcohol on game day. But so far it’s been smooth sailing, and she said she hasn’t yet felt unsafe or uncomfortable.
She noted that she’s one of only a handful of Uber drivers in Charlottesville thus far, and when she attended a recent Uber interest meeting, most of the attendees already know the industry.
“They were all transitioning from being taxicab drivers,” she said. “I’ve used Uber as a rider in Chicago, and what attracted me to it is that it’s different from a taxicab. It’s more personable, safe, and enjoyable.”