Boston City Council Rules on Uber
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Tuesday, December 02, 2014
Patrick Sargent, GoLocal Worcester Contributor
On Monday afternoon, Boston's Committee on City, Neighborhood Services and Veterans Affairs held a hearing to review Boston's current transportation regulations application to Uber and Transporation Network Companies and their effect on consumers and existing businesses in the city.
After hours of deliberation, the Boston City Council decided they would look into the need for fees for Uber and Lyft drivers, as well as background checks. Boston will also continue to work on updating the regulations in place and have required data from Uber and Lyft to show the number of drivers they have in the city.
The Massachusetts Regional Taxi Advisory Group (MRTA), a coalition of regional taxi owners/operators, livery owner/operators, consumers, industry vendors and stakeholders, testified at the hearing.
Last week, GoLocal Worcester ran a special report on the differences between Uber and local taxi companies.
According to reports, members of the Boston Taxi Drivers Association (BTDA) held a rally against Uber, Lyft, and other ride-sharing companies outside of City Hall before the hearing was held.
“The Boston City Council hearing is a timely opportunity to shed new light upon Uber’s business strategy, which intentionally violates Boston’s ride for hire ordinances, hoping its popularity can influence officials from enforcing the law,” said MRTA spokesman Stephen Regan. “It is time TNC’s are held accountable to the same laws and regulations as taxis and liveries, and the public is protected from drivers who are operating illegally, lack appropriate background screening, and whose vehicles are not properly insured.”
MRTA presented a panel of individuals with expertise in each of these areas. According to an MRTA press release, "MRTA members are not opposed to competition or the use of new technologies to enhance customer service, but believes that the industry must have a level playing field."
Related Slideshow: UBER vs. Taxi Experience in Worcester
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1. Ordering
Taxis:For both reporters, ordering a taxi in Worcester was a headache. Using the New Worcester Yellow Cab App, one reporter ordered a cab at 10:48AM. At 11:12AM, Cab #41 was assigned, for a total order wait time of 24 minutes. And that was only for a cab to be assigned, it does not include the time it took for the cab to arrive.
Red Cab does not have an app. It has a mobile site with a telephone number. The first call was 22 rings before the call failed. The second call was 16 rings before anyone answered.
Uber: Using the Uber app, ordering was easy. For both reporters, it took less than a minute to order.
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2. Pick-Up
Taxis: For the Worcester Yellow Cab reporter, at 11:15AM, Cab #41 drove past the reporter and parked two blocks away. Apparently realizing his mistake, the cab driver picked the reporter up at 11:19AM, on the opposite side of Shrewsbury Street (31 Minutes from the time the reporter ordered the cab).
The Red Cab took eight minutes to arrive to location.
Uber: On average, the reporters only had to wait six minutes for a Uber car to arrive. When Uber arrived, they picked the reporters up right at the curb.
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3. Cleanliness
Taxis: Both taxis had dirty mats, and their upholstery was worn out. However, both vehicles were at least ten years old.
Uber: Although clean, the inside of the Uber vehicles were both pretty worn. One Uber vehicle was a new Nissan Altima. The other Uber vehicle was an older Toyota Camry.
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4. Driving
As shown in the videos, all four rides were safe and slow. The only problem was Yellow Cab’s decision to take a longer route to Holy Cross. All drivers were friendly and talkative and they all had a good estimate of fares from point A to point B.
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5. Cost
As mentioned, each driver had a good idea of what it would cost for a ride from Shrewsbury Street to Holy Cross and back. However, the cabs were nearly twice as much as Uber. The total cost of the cabs was $28, while Uber only cost the reporters a combined $17.
In one instance, the Uber driver knew ahead of time that construction was being done on an I-290 on-ramp near Holy Cross. As the Uber driver put it, “if they weren’t doing that work, this would’ve been even cheaper.”
See video here:
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6. Service
All drivers from both Uber and local Worcester taxi companies were very professional and friendly. Upon arrival, each driver asked said "Hello," and asked the reporters how their day was going. All four drivers made sure destinations were exact and upon reaching those destinations wished the reporters a "Happy Thanksgiving."
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7. Overall Experience
Although all four drivers were friendly and professional, the experience with Uber drivers stood out the most.
Uber was cheaper, faster, cleaner and provided fare cost up front.
The Uber app was much easier to use than Worcester Yellow Cab's app and the Uber drivers showed up much quicker than local Worcester taxis.
GoLocal Worcester Recommends: UBER
See video here:
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