With UberX start-up, St. Paul owns metro…
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With UberX start-up, St. Paul owns metro ride-sharing for now
David Hetland, right, gets in the Cadillac driven by Jack Hemelgarn in Minneapolis, Minn., on Wednesday, October 24, 2012. Hetland ordered the cab through the new service 'Uber'. (Pioneer Press: Ben Garvin)
By Julio Ojeda-Zapata | jojeda@pioneerpress.com | Pioneer Press
PUBLISHED: September 4, 2013 at 11:01 pm | UPDATED: November 5, 2015 at 9:59 am
The ride-sharing revolution has begun in the Twin Cities, but Minneapolis residents aren't invited. Only St. Paulites are.
This month saw the launch of two taxi-style services, UberX and Lyft, that eschew standard taxi drivers for average folks using their own vehicles in a ride-sharing capacity. Such "peer-to-peer" transportation services, with smartphone apps for summoning vehicles, are all the rage in cities like San Francisco and New York.
But when UberX this week and Lyft last week began service in the Twin Cities, they pointedly did so only within St. Paul city borders while steering clear of a certain larger metropolis to the west.
When asked about this, UberX and Lyft made much of their adoration for the smaller of the Twin Cities, praising its cosmopolitan qualities and its tech-savvy citizens.
But the main reason UberX and Lyft are staying out of Minneapolis: They are services non grata there, at least in their current form. The city of Minneapolis would require each to be licensed as a traditional taxi service, something neither is willing to do as they insist they are anything but.
UberX is a sibling of an Uber luxury-limo service that has operated throughout the Twin Cities for about a year. Uber has not run into licensing snafus since limos — such as the swanky Lincoln Town Cars it often uses — are subject to state licensing rules the San Francisco service has so far followed.
But Minneapolis' taxi-licensing requirements, such as rules that such vehicles employ traditional meters, run counter to the digital-age culture of smartphone-powered transportation services for a new breed of app-savvy driver and rider.
Uber isn't having it.
The service is about transportation-industry innovation, said James Ondrey, Uber's Twin Cities general manager.
"We think that is a great thing," Ondrey said. As for Minneapolis, "we have to figure out a plan of action. My focus is on St. Paul."
Likewise, Lyft has said Minneapolis' licensing requirements are a poor fit, with forms that are all but impossible to fill out since they often ask the wrong questions.
Lyft is not a taxi company, it insists.
Grant Wilson, who runs the city of Minneapolis' department of licenses and consumer services, begs to differ.
"I believe someone like Lyft or UberX, who call themselves a ride-share service, are really ground transportation or a taxi-cab service," Wilson emphasized. "They're providing stranger-to-stranger transportation for compensation.
"I clearly see UberX and Lyft operating as a taxi-cab company," he said. "Our ordinances strictly prohibit doing so without a license."
Wilson isn't clear why this is a problem for UberX and Lyft. After all. Minneapolis does not restrict how many companies can apply for such licensing, as other cities do.
"This isn't a barrier" for UberX or Lyft, he said.
Wilson said he has met several times with Lyft officials and has been in touch with Uber's legal counsel. Meetings-of-minds have yet to occur, he noted.
Meanwhile, Wilson said he's recommended to the Minneapolis City Council that city ordinances covering taxi-like activity be scrutinized and possibly revised to reflect changes in how transport is being offered to the public.
St. Paul officials are being more lenient with Lyft-like services for now but said they are watching such activity closely and, at least in the case of city council member Dave Thune, with concern and skepticism.
UberX and Lyft can take riders only in St. Paul, but these trips can end just about anywhere in the Twin Cities. UberX said it can travel anywhere in the metro while Lyft said it can operate within a 60-mile radius.
UberX this week also is debuting in Indianapolis and Phoenix, and is offering free-ride promotions in each city. In the Twin Cities, this means five free rides of no more than $20 each, originating in St. Paul, within the month of September.
Uber, which offers SUVs as well as limos in the Twin Cities, operates in more than 40 cities around the world, including nearly two dozen in the United States. UberX operates in about a dozen cities. Lyft operates in 10 cities.
Julio Ojeda-Zapata
Julio's Pioneer Press duties include writing, often about tech, and helping manage the paper's website and social media. He also uses virtual-reality cameras and other tech tools to commit journalism. In his spare time, Julio writes for the TidBITS Apple-news site, where he is a contributing editor. See his blog at ojezap.com.
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