DCTC / uberX Update

By now you’ve come to know that Uber is fiercely committed to providing consumers with safe and efficient transportation options. Recently, we launched uberX, our low-cost option, combining the same great Uber quality and commercially licensed drivers you expect with prices cheaper than a taxi. Demand for uberX has been phenomenal, further proving the District’s appetite for affordable transportation alternatives.

Unfortunately, Mayor Gray’s appointees to the District of Columbia Taxi Commission (DCTC) delivered a huge blow to consumer choice earlier today by passing sedan regulations that grossly restrict competition and affordable consumer transportation options. These regulations outlaw the use of mid-sized, fuel efficient vehicles from uberX. During today’s hearing, Commission Chairman Ron Linton argued that allowing consumers to use Uber to arrange transportation using more affordable, more efficient vehicles like a Toyota Camry Hybrid would represent unfair competition to traditional taxi service. He calls it unfair competition; we call it cheaper and better rides for the people who live, work, and play in and around DC.

Regrettably, the DCTC did not listen to the Federal Trade Commission’s advice to avoid “restrictions on competition” when drafting the regulations. Instead, DCTC chose to pass rules that, in DC Councilmember Mary M. Cheh’s words, “discourage customer choice,” create “an anti-competitive atmosphere” and “do not serve the goal of protecting consumers.”

While we’re still figuring out how to operate within this regulatory environment, rest assured that we do not plan to take this lying down. We remain committed to doing everything we can to ensure that everyone in the District can enjoy affordable and efficient transportation options.

Rachel Holt and Zuhairah Washington
Regional GM – Uber, GM – Uber DC