August 19, 2014

Uber Looks to Worcester for Potential Expansion

After recently putting job listings on craigslist.com looking for potential drivers for the Worcester area, it looks like international ride-sharing transportation company Uber is setting their sights on the Heart of the Commonwealth.

Uber currently has an office located in Boston but has been doing research and outreach to determine whether or not they could open up other locations in Massachusetts.

“I can say that we've seen an overwhelmingly positive response from both riders and drivers there,” said Taylor Bennett, a spokesperson for Uber. “Riders are excited about safer, more reliable transportation options and drivers want the opportunity to start their own business and make a living. The potential for expansion into Worcester is exciting."

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August 20, 2014

Coalition of Taxi Groups Forming to Fight Uber

A statewide coalition of taxi groups in Massachusetts is beginning to take shape, with a goal of stopping ride-sharing company Uber from expanding further into Massachusetts.

This brand new coalition – so new it doesn’t have a name yet – is looking for a statewide ban on Uber because the company, which uses a phone app and contracted drivers to mimic a taxi company, is not governed by many of the rules and regulations that traditional taxi companies are. Taxi companies say that this is not only putting traditional taxi services in a bind financially, but also putting customers in potentially risky situations.

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August 22, 2014

Worcester Red Cab Demands Uber Be Shut Down for Illegal Activity

Citing a wealth of illegal activities, neglecting of responsibilities, and exploiting of loopholes, Worcester Red Cab and other taxi groups throughout the state are demanding for Uber to be shut down and leave Massachusetts.

Maggie Donovan, the Vice President of Worcester Red Cab, says that companies like Uber are not only trying to destroy the traditional taxi and transportation infrastructure, but also putting anyone who gets into an Uber car into danger.

“This is not a transportation company this is an app company,” said Donovan. “Uber is a company that breaks every rule within the transportation system. I want them gone; this is a company that should not exist.”

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October 14, 2014

Better Business Bureau Gives Uber Failing Grade

The Better Business Bureau has given the car service Uber an F rating after it’s review late last week. The taxi like service Uber was started in 2012 and since has recieved over 100 complaints about pricing strategy and other issues leading to the bad review.

See BBB report card here.

“Some consumers claim that they were told the final cost of the transportation service the company provided (through Uber Technologies' phone app, the driver, and the consumer's receipt), only to be subsequently charged a substantially larger amount” said the BBB about one of the many complaints regarding the company.

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October 21, 2014

MA Taxi Owners and Operators Form Coalition to Fight Uber

Fed up with Uber and other transportation network companies openly breaking existing Massachusetts laws while offering ride for hire services, taxi owners and operators throughout Massachusetts have come together to form a coalition to fight against Uber.

The Massachusetts Regional Taxi Advisory Group (MRTA) has formed hoping to address the variety of issues raised by Uber and other similar companies, hoping that local law enforcement will enforce laws and hold these companies to the same standards that traditional taxi services are held to.

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October 21, 2014

Worcester Cab Companies Outraged Over Uber Coming to Town

Taxi companies throughout the city of Worcester have become outraged that ridesharing company Uber has officially made their way into Worcester.

While local competition may be a factor in the taxi companies’ angst toward Uber, Worcester Red Cab Vice President Maggie Donovan says that the outrage stems from something much deeper.

“With Worcester being such a college town, a need for safe transportation in the city is a must,” said Donovan. “Uber is a complete safety hazard for anyone getting into one of their cars because they don’t have to go through the rules and regulations that a traditional taxi company has to. Whether problems with insurance not covering accidents, drivers that are not licensed in the way that taxis are, and problems with the amount of background checks that they run, you don’t know who is driving you or whether you will be able to arrive safely.”

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October 31, 2014

Worcester Taxi Company Criticizes Uber For Price Gouging, Undercutting Competition

Worcester area taxi drivers and companies are joining the ever-growing efforts to regulate Uber and other ridesharing companies throughout the nation because their current pricing model undercuts local taxi drivers to lure in business just to price gouge the customers that they bring in.

While any company is going to be hesitant to competition, Worcester Red Cab is growing upset and impatient because they don’t consider Uber legitimate competition because of their continued not following of local and state regulations.

“We have no problem having competition when it is legitimate, but Uber is not on the same playing field,” said Maggie Donovan, Vice President of Worcester Red Cab. “This is a company that doesn’t play by the rules. They undercut the prices of local taxi companies but then when taxi services are more in demand – like on weekends – they price gouge, which negatively impacts the customer because in most cases, they surcharge your payment.”

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November 26, 2014

Special Report: Uber vs Taxi Experiences in Worcester

In a battle being played out across the country between Uber and local taxi companies, GoLocalWorcester sent two reporters out to report the positive and negatives of each company and to experience rides between similar locations. Each reporter broke down their experience into seven sections: Ordering, Pick-Up, Cleanliness, Driving, Cost, Service, and Overall Experience.

For local taxi companies, one reporter took a ride with Worcester Yellow Cab. The other reporter took Red Cab Worcester. Both reporters took a ride with Uber. From the original desintation, one reporter took Yellow Cab and other Uber. Heading back to original destination, one reporter took Red Cab, while the other took Uber. The original location was InHouse Coffee on Shrewsbury Street in Worcester. The destination was Holy Cross College. 

The average ride time was nearly ten minutes. The average cost of the four rides was $11.25.

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December 2, 2014

Boston City Council Rules on Uber

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.

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December 23, 2014

14 Who Made a Difference in 2014: Uber's Travis Kalanick 

Travis Kalanick, co-founder and CEO of Uber, has created a ride-sharing company that has had a profound effect in the city of Worcester in 2014.

Entering Worcester in late summer, Uber has become a very popular mode of transportation, especially amongst college students. As one Uber driver put it, “We make a living off of Holy Cross kids on the weekend. They love using Uber. We can spend Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights just going back and forth from that school.”

Although Uber surely markets its product as cheaper, faster and cleaner, not everyone is impressed. As GoLocal Worcester reported, local taxi cab companies were infuriated when Uber came into the city.

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January 5, 2015

MA Approves Regulations for Uber and Other Ride-Sharing Companies

On Saturday, Uber announced that Massachusetts has filed a regulatory framework that will allow Uber and other ridesharing companies to lawfully exist in the state. 

According to a released statement by Uber, "These regulations are an important step in establishing clear, uniform rules for ridesharing across the entire Commonwealth, providing a framework for rider and driver safety, and offering consumer choice and opportunity. Governor Deval Patrick and his Administration, particularly MassDOT officials, have displayed tremendous leadership in this regulatory process. We are proud that they have formally recognized ridesharing as a new and innovative transportation model in Massachusetts."

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February 10, 2015

Boston PD Arrest Uber Driver For Indecently Assaulting Female Passenger

According to the Boston Police Department, an Uber driver was arrested early Sunday morning for indecently assaulting a 30-year-old female from Boston. 

36-year-old AbAbderrahim Dakiri of Boston, was arrested at an East Boston police station without incident. He is charged with Indecent Assault & Battery. The assault is being actively investigated by the Boston Police Sexual Assault Unit.

The victim told Boston PD that she and three friends called for an Uber ride at the end of the night. The victim's friends were dropped off at one location, while she remained in the car to be dropped off at another location. According to the victim, the driver indecently touched her several times while they were alone. Upon exiting the car, the victim was helped by a citizen who called Boston Police.

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February 25, 2015

Nguyen: Uber As We Know It May Be Gone Forever

From a consumer standpoint the decision between Uber and taxi is simple – Uber it, every time, hands down.

Gone are the days where you have to call a cab company to get barked at by the dispatcher and wait around outside for a dirty old cab to come eighteen minutes later than promised to fumble around with your cash or credit card to pay some jacked up price to go four miles.

Uber is a ride-sharing service that allows a person to schedule a ride, with a driver affiliated with Uber, by a few taps on his or her smartphone. Because it is done on an app, the passenger has a number of luxuries that are not available with traditional cabs, including: knowing exactly where the driver is and how long it will take the driver to arrive; the ability to estimate fares before committing; and the ability to pay through the app. No awkward stare down when you don’t leave a tip – because there are no tips.

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April 29, 2015

Giorgio: Make Way for Uber

Last Friday, the Baker Administration released proposed regulations for ride sharing companies such as Uber. Uber is a company that works like a taxi company, but without the regulations. The new technology allows a customer to use an app on their smart phone to find a ride in the area. Currently, because the technology is so new there are no government regulations on this new industry.

Traditional cab companies, on the other hand are heavily regulated by both the state and local governments. On the state level cab companies come under the jurisdiction of the State Department of Public Utilities, much like utility companies. Cab companies are in essence a monopoly. Local jurisdiction varies. In Boston, for example they have a whole division set up to regulate cabbies. In Worcester, this is done by the Worcester Police Department License Division, which also oversees liqueur law violations.

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June 5, 2015

Taxis and Uber Punish Worcester’s Disabled with Lack of Wheelchair-Accessibility

The second largest city in New England provides the fewest number of wheelchair-accessible taxis for its residents.

With a population of roughly 185,000 people, Worcester falls far behind other cities in the region, even those with much smaller populations, when it comes to having wheelchair-accessible taxis at its disposal.

The City of Worcester even admits that 25% of the population is disabled.

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June 6, 2015

Uber Responds to GoLocalWorcester’s Story on Wheelchair-Accessibility

On Friday, GoLocalWorcester reported that there are only two wheelchair-accessible vehicles (WAVs) in the city of Worcester. The report pointed out that Worcester Red Cab was the only company in the city that owned a WAV and that other local taxi companies and ride-sharing service Uber was doing disabled people in Worcester a disservice by not providing the appropriate vehicles in their fleets.

On Friday morning, following the release of GoLocalWorcester's report "Taxis and Uber are Punishing Worcester's Disabled with Lack of Wheelchair Accessibility," a spokesperson contacted GoLocal to respond to the companies lack of WAVs and what Uber intends to do in the future regarding these vehicles in Worcester.

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August 6, 2015

Nguyen: What You Need to Know Before Signing Uber Petition

If you are a customer of Uber Boston, you have likely received an email from Uber asking you to sign a petition that challenges a bill that has been proposed in the House and the Senate. The stated purpose of the bill is to set up a framework to protect customer safety and market fairness in the ride-sharing / taxi industry.

Essentially, the bill proposes that the Department of Public Utilities have complete oversight of all aspects of ride-sharing companies including, but not limited to: driver, vehicle, and insurance qualifications; pricing; modes of delivering service; and requiring companies to pay annual “assessments” based on their profits.

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August 7, 2015

The Regulation of Uber in MA: What Would it Mean for Worcester?

It’s been nearly a year since Uber officially arrived in Worcester - and the ride-sharing company has certainly made an impact.

Upon last fall's announcement that Uber would be coming to Worcester, cab companies in the city were outraged.

A bill currently being pushed in the State Legislature may put an end to Uber in Worcester as we know it.

The bill, An Act Relative to Passenger Safety, would give the Department of Public Utilities complete oversight of ride-sharing companies, and would regulate the companies’ drivers, vehicle and insurance requirements and would restrict these companies from picking up certain locations (airports, transportation authorities).

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