Uber operates in Orleans but is voted down in Jeff Parish
4th May 2015 · 0 Comments
By Susan Buchanan
Contributing Writer
The New Orleans City Council paved the way for ride-booking services like UberX and ride-sharing endeavors like Lyft in early April, giving passengers more options. Jefferson Parish last week decided not to approve them for now, however. Orleans Parish is following the lead of other municipalities and states after California was the first nationally to recognize these Transportation Network Companies or TNCs in 2013. Cab owners don’t like competition from what they consider to be unlicensed taxis.
Monroe Coleman, president of Coleman Cab Co. in New Orleans, said rules governing taxis here were strengthened before the 2013 Super Bowl. “Today a cab going to the airport must take credit cards and have a security camera,” he said. Those rules won’t apply to UberX or similar services. Licensed cab drivers undergo drug tests, along with FBI-fingerprint and other-background checks before they’re hired and during employment. Initial background tests are much less stringent for UberX drivers, who are also to be tested and checked randomly on the job by the city’s taxi bureau, he said. But random tests and checks aren’t feasible since UberX cars aren’t well marked and can be tough to identify.
Coleman said taxi drivers must have a state chauffeur’s license and pass a city For Hire test, neither of which are required of ride-booking drivers. Ride-booking and -sharing vehicles don’t need the commercial license plates required of taxis. And Coleman said in the event of an accident, Uber cars won’t necessarily have insurance that pays, whereas licensed cabs in New Orleans are covered by the Louisiana Insurance Guaranty Association, which makes sure claims are addressed.
Weighing objections raised by cab companies, the Jefferson Parish Council Wednesday voted 5 to 2 against a ride-booking and -sharing ordinance.
Many Orleans riders welcome the new options, however. Westbank resident Marjorie Patel works in the Garden District and said she plans to use Uber. “I have trouble getting where I need to go in cabs,” she said last week. “They don’t want to take you across the river and many other places. And they sometimes overcharge, especially if it’s a group of people.” With Uber, the fare is booked before the trip starts. Patel and others complained about taxis ordered by phone arriving late or not at all, and thought Uber might be more reliable.
What does Uber say about its service? UberX launched in New Orleans on April 16 after higher-end UberBLACK and UberSUV started here last September, according to Tom Hayes, Uber’s general manager in Louisiana. UberX drivers must have four-door vehicles that are in good cosmetic and working condition and no more than seven model-years old. “Drivers go through a seven-stage, comprehensive background check before getting on Uber’s system,” Hayes said. “And for UberBLACK, drivers adhere to the city’s registration process for limousine-class vehicles and driver permits.”
UberX drivers need personal auto insurance that meets state standards, Hayes said. “During a trip, Uber provides $1 million of primary auto insurance,” he said. “That’s 20 times what’s required of taxi cabs.” Insurance coverage for UberX is two tiered, and is for the time from when a booking application is opened until a request is accepted, with a second span from the driver’s acceptance of a trip to the drop-off of his passenger. Insurance coverage in the first period is $50,000 for individual liability, $100,000 for incident liability and $25,000 for property damage. The second period is covered by the company’s $1 million in liability.
Separately, UberBLACK drivers must meet the city’s insurance requirements for limousines, Hayes said.
As for markings, Uber drivers are required to display the company’s “trade dress,” or Uber U, on a decal on their front windshield.
The city has set all minimum fares, along with trips to the airport, on UberX and similar services at the same rates as taxis. Otherwise, an UberX trip should cost less in most cases. “We compute that the average fare would be about 20 percent cheaper,” Hayes said. To line up a car, “you can book a ride using a regular email browser on a personal computer or laptop,” he said.
San Francisco-based Lyft hopes to expand to New Orleans, company spokeswoman Chelsea Wilson said last week, without giving a date. Lyft operates in more than 60 U.S. cities now. “Generally, a Lyft ride is about 30 percent cheaper than a traditional taxi ride,” she said. Lyft offers “peer-to-peer ride sharing,” connecting passengers to drivers with a car.
Sidecar, another San Francisco firm operating in a number of cities, doesn’t have plans for New Orleans service right now, spokeswomen Jenna Richard said last week.
Monroe Coleman said since UberBLACK limos started last fall, its drivers have been spotted at Louis Armstrong International Airport unlawfully picking up passengers who didn’t book their fares in advance. “My son Jason Coleman reported them to the city’s taxi bureau,” he said.
This article originally published in the May 4, 2015 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.
