Portland Taxi Companies Prepare to Battle Against Uber

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Friday, November 07, 2014

Nicholas Handy, GoLocal24 Contributor

Taxi companies throughout Portland are preparing for a potential battle with ridesharing company Uber, as the company continues to set its sights on moving into the city.

Uber is a ride-sharing service that matches people who need a ride, with others who are willing to take them where they want to go.  People who want a lift use an app to hail a vehicle-for-hire. Drivers use their own cars, and the app, to find paying passengers.  Both passengers and drivers use the app to transact payments. The San Francisco-based company operates in 126 cities in the United States and 45 countries across the globe.

Uber has been controversial in the cities where it operates, upsetting regulators and taxi drivers.  

Most think it’s only a matter of time before Uber makes a move on the Portland market. Earlier this year, Uber set up service in Vancouver Wash, and they’ve been recruiting heavily for Portland drivers on Craigslist. 

Anticipating a battle, taxi cab companies are going on the defense.

“We are hearing a lot of people complain about the way Uber does their services; this is a company that discriminates against customers and undercuts traditional taxi services by offering reduced rates while not following any of the regulations that a traditional taxi company must follow,” said Kedir Wako, the general manager of Union Cab PDX. “There is no legality to this company. And if a customer has any sort of complaint, there is no office or number that you an address your concerns to.”

It is currently illegal for Uber to operate in Portland, but the occasional Uber car does make it to or near the city because they operate in other cities that are close by. While it is not currently known if or when Uber will be allowed in Portland, taxi companies are preparing to fight against it, both to get ridesharing companies regulated and to offer similar services that will render Uber no different than any other taxi service in the city. 

Using Uber as a Model

Using Uber as a model, many taxi companies in Portland are beginning to develop apps or work with companies that already have an app in order to bring themselves into the digital era, bringing them closer to Uber and other companies who made their mark by being app-driven. 

Ridesharing app Curb (formerly Taxi Magic) has been working with Portland area taxi companies in order to provide them with an app-based service that will help keep them competitive with other ridesharing companies, if they ever do make their way to Portland. On their website, Curb already lists Broadway Cab and Radio Cab Company of Portland as official partners, with more companies hoping to join in the future. 

“We are going to make sure that we can compete with Uber; we are already working with Curb to push our company onto a new platform,” said Wako. “We have seen what the public wants of us in terms of providing them with a mobile service so we are now working to provide that service.”

The Fight Against Uber in Vancouver

In nearby Vancouver, the battle against Uber has escalated beyond the taxi companies, as the city struggles with how to regulate ridesharing.  

Uber set up shop there earlier this year, taking advantage of a loophole in city code. Because enforcing taxi regulations in the city is an administrative issue rather than an enforcement issue, it remains unclear as to exactly who would be tasked with overseeing Uber ridesharing.

Currently, the city council is exploring their options, which include deregulating the taxi industry, clarifying laws that regulate Uber, or kicking the company out of the city for good.

Lower Prices = Increased Demand

While there has been much negative attention paid to price gouging customers and undercutting established taxi companies, Uber insists that its business model is working to the benefit of both drivers and passengers alike. 

While the company admits that they do raise prices during busier parts of the day, they claim that their app reflects all costs at the time of purchase. Additionally, Uber has made rates cheaper for customers overall – which means Uber drivers are being paid less – but the company says that the lower rates mean higher demand for services, meaning that drivers have the potential to make more money than ever. 

“What we've seen in cities across the country is that lower prices means higher demand, resulting in greater earnings for our partners” said Taylor Bennett, a spokesperson for Uber. “This higher rider demand will help drivers stay busier during the normal hours they're online, and to spend more time on the road earning fares and less time waiting for requests, therefore earning as much money or more in the same amount of time.”

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