St. Petersburg’s City Council members are welcoming new technology created by rideshare companies such as Uber and Lyft.
Uber is a crowd-sourced taxi service, where customers and drivers use a smartphone app to arrange rides. Once the driver has turned on the app, their private vehicle becomes commercial and is protected under Uber’s insurance.
On Feb. 13, Uber and taxi representatives attended a St. Petersburg City Council workshop to discuss revising the decades-old ordinance that regulates vehicles for hire to make room for the new rideshare companies. Uber representatives believe changing times call for new rules.
“We bought a lot of horses the day before the automobile was invented,” said Uber representative Cesar Fernandez.
St. Petersburg is certainly changing. Once known as “God’s waiting room,” the city has now evolved into a city of innovation and millennials. As the city continues to grow, transportation and parking becomes problematic. Rideshare companies are not in compliance with the current ordinance, and there are no current regulations for them. However, the company requires a background check through a private company and proof of license and registration.
The Chamber of Commerce supports the competition and enhanced transportation options.
Lawyer Seth Mills, who represents local taxi companies, thinks differently.
Mills said Uber has been operating illegally and the destructive competition, brought on by ridesharing, which is similar to carpooling, will potentially destroy the taxi industry.
“I thought destructive competition is when someone comes along and puts you out of business because they do it better,” said city council member Darden Rice.
However, Mills said the competition is unfair. Rideshare companies and taxis have different requirements with unequal treatment.
City council members agree that the competition brought on by Uber is a good thing, but unfair and unnecessary regulation on taxis should be eliminated.
“Technology is changing; we need to embrace it,” said city council member Karl Nurse.
St. Petersburg will be the only city with a rideshare ordinance in the state of Florida. Rice said the city should be a leader and bring these two industries together.
City council members agreed to come up with a resolution before it is discussed on a state level. The council plans to have a draft of the new ordinance done by the end of February.
