New York, USA – October 23, 2015: DSLR picture of a man using the Uber taxi App on his iPhone in Time Square in New York City. Uber develops, markets and operates the Uber mobile app, which allows consumers with smartphones to submit a trip request which is then routed to Uber drivers who use their own cars.
Here’s what’s happening in the battle to bring ride-sharing companies Uber and Lyft back to the city of Corpus Christi. Council member Chad Magill put a controversial ride-sharing ordinance back on the council’s agenda for reconsideration on March 29. In case that doesn’t work, a group of Uber and Lyft supporters have filed for a public vote on the issue.
Both ride-sharing companies removed their smart phone-based app platforms from use in Corpus Christi after the city council approved an ordinance requiring ride-share drivers to pay additional fees and submit to fingerprint-based background checks.
From the city’s prospective, the ordinance, which is based on a similar one in Houston, allows the companies to operate legally and keeps citizens safe.
From the TNC side of the equation, the ordinance discourages drivers from signing up, making it impossible to meet demand. The companies also do background checks and call the city's requirements "unnecessary and duplicative.".
A third perspective comes from TNC drivers and those used to using Uber and Lyft, mostly tech-savvy young people like those in the city for Spring Break. With the touch of a finger to smart phone, inebriated drivers become riders, taking drunk drivers off the road. They don’t need money, as payment can be made through the phone, which also tracks their location during the entire trip.
Uber supporter Michael McCauley filed a statement of intent at the city secretary’s office March 15 to hold a November referendum. Once five registered voters have offered support of the referendum, that, too, will be on the council’s March 29 agenda.
The ordinance in question was to have gone into effect March 14. Uber shut down its operation in Corpus Christi two hours before the midnight deadline on March 13. Lyft soon followed suit. The city council, meanwhile, did not publish the ordinance, effectively putting it on hold.
McCauley and a Facebook page called “I support Uber in Corpus Christi” requests that anyone interested in bringing the two ride-share companies back to the city send in their comments or come to the meeting March 29.
As for Magill, he sent an email to the city secretary asking that the council suspend the ordinance 60 to 90 days while they work out details that would help bring the companies back. The vote to approve the ordinance was 7-1, with Mark Scott as the only dissenting vote.
