MOBILE, Ala. — Mobile Mayor Sandy Stimpson welcomed app-based transportation company Uber to the city Thursday, becoming the first Alabama municipality to allow the service to operate.
While other cities in the Yellowhammer State have largely dismissed the successful service out of hand, Mobile’s mayor says the city worked with all parties involved to make sure everyone’s concerns were addressed.
“We listened to our citizens and found there was overwhelming support for this type of business in our community,” Mayor Stimpson told Yellowhammer Thursday afternoon. “We then reached out to key stakeholder groups including our taxi cab operators. Because we took a proactive approach with Uber, we were able to fashion an agreement that both protects our citizens from harm and delivers a reliable, affordable service.”
Founded in 2009 in San Fransisco, the ridesharing program allows riders to summon a car through an app on their phone. Though it has come to be widely used in larger cities like Washington, D.C. and New York, some cities, including Birmingham, have bowed to the pressure from taxi cab unions to keep the service out.
One of the many excuses used by those against the service is that Uber drivers are often private citizens who provide the service on a part-time basis, questioning the safety of these semi-professional drivers.
Mayor Stimpson and other city leaders say they preempted those concerns by working to establish common-sense but non cost-prohibitive regulations on Uber drivers, including detailed vehicle inspections, background checks, and a $500 business permit with the city.
“There is a strong demand in the City of Mobile for more transportation options,” Mayor Stimpson said. “Competition in the marketplace benefits riders, drivers and cities. Not only do consumers have more choice and greater access to a safe and reliable ride at their fingertips, drivers have additional economic opportunities and a way to make money on a flexible schedule.”
Calls to allow Uber and other app-based ridesharing services in other Alabama cities have largely fallen on deaf ears. Proponents say allowing the service will help create more small business owners, decrease traffic, and keep drunk drivers off the road.
Mayor Stimpson took the first Uber ride in the state, demonstrating calling a driver with his iPhone after the announcement.
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— Elizabeth BeShears (@LizEBeesh) January 21, 2015
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