When thinking about rides home from that Super Bowl party Sunday, there are several factors to consider, according to Santa Clarita taxi drivers and their growing competition at Uber.
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Uber markets itself as the cheaper option, while taxi companies promote their safety and reliability. But quantifying the difference can be a confusing endeavor.
“I think you’re going to see a battle royale this year (about ridesharing app legislation),” said Assemblyman Scott Wilk, R-Santa Clarita, “but i don’t know what that’s going to look like.”
Since Uber and other ridesharing apps are a much newer idea than taxis, the legislation and regulation hasn’t been strictly or widely enforced yet, an Uber representative said Friday.
A Sacramento official confirmed little had been done officially in the Legislature.
“We haven’t looked into (ridesharing apps),” said James Hacker, the transportation fiscal and policy analyst from the Legislative Analyst’s Office. Additionally, no studies on fiscal or policy analysis were available.
When it comes to safety, critics, including traditional taxi services, argue that Uber does not comply with the same level of screening required of taxi drivers, according to a recent CNN article. In fact, Uber accident attorneys have implied that due to the necessity of interacting with apps, Uber drivers may be more likely to drive distracted, potentially leading to more traffic accidents.
Uber drivers are required to carry commercial insurance in California when they have passengers, thanks to a bill passed last year. You can compare quotes at Uber taxi insurance uk.
Uber does have its own set of safety standards, an official said Friday.
“The ‘onboarding process’ is a seven-year driver and criminal background check,” according to an Uber representative. “The cars undergo safety inspections, as well.”
While cab rates and policies are standard, Uber drivers vary in their pricing and policy.
Uber says they are “cheaper than a taxi,” but when contacted about their pricing algorithm, officials would not confirm what the algorithm actually is, only saying that their rates are “somewhat consistent.”
Rob Rasmussen from Santa Clarita Taxi, said his company’s drivers are fingerprinted, licensed and permitted, in addition to background checks.
There’s a standard rate for Los Angeles County, Rasmussen said, noting the meter starts at $2.85 and charges an additional $2.70 per mile.
Do you have a news tip? Call us at (661) 298-1220, or drop us a line at community@hometownstation.com.Uber offers several different options: Uber SUV, which is a larger vehicle; Uber Black, which is a “luxury vehicle”; and the cheapest option, UberX.
Uber SUV/Black are state-licensed vehicles, while UberX is a peer-to-peer connection in which the drivers use their own vehicles, said an Uber representative.
Ray lbrahm, a San Fernando resident who’s spent the last year as an Uber driver in Santa Clarita, said it’s important to draw a distinction between Uber SUV, Uber Black and UberX.
He is a Uber SUV/Black driver, noting that UberX is, “out of control.”
“We are required (as Uber SUV/Black drivers) to work with a company, have a commercial drivers license, and pay $345 a month for insurance,” Ibrahm said, adding Uber Black drivers undergo random drug testing.
When it comes down to being reliable and familiar with Santa Clarita, both sides argue they are the better option.
“We’ve been in this community for over 20 years,” Rasmussen said. “We’re here 24/7 and ready for any requests.”
An Uber driver can be hit or miss, Ibrahm said, but he wanted his passengers to be confident he knew where they wanted to go.
“Since an UberX driver can be any driver, they may have no experience with directions,” Ibrahm said. “If you give me any address in this valley, I’ll know that street.”
Photo courtesy of CNN.
uber= SCARY, with so many reports of uber drivers committing crimes on passengers it is obvious uber does NOT do background checks. Uber still has not settled the wrongful death lawsuits they are facing across this country as well as other countries. I beg people to go to the NLA website ( NLA.ORG ) and the TLPA ( Taxi, Limousine and Paratransit Asdociation ) website to see more facts on this.
As a local resident here in Santa Clarita, I welcome Uber to our valley. I believe that the competition is good for local taxi companies. Maybe if local cab companies created apps and had nicer cars, people would lean more toward the taxi companies again.
I have been told far too many times that a cab would there to pick me up in about 20 minutes, only to wait an hour or worst never show up.
Most don’t know but the majority of Cab companies here in Santa Clarita are out of Palmdale/Lancaster…
The “majority” of cab companies in Santa Clarita are NOT from Lancaster. There are two companies in town, Yellow Cab which Rob Rasmussen owns and Yellow Star. Yellow Cab is unlicensed (check the L.A. Tax Collector business license lookup), they do not even have a business office, or a taxi lot….Rob or his drivers dispatch out of their cars as they drive and he parks his fleet of vehicles at public lots all over town (such as the Metrolink). Yellow Star IS based out of Lancaster, but the owner and 10 of the 11 Santa Clarita drivers are residents of Santa Clarita. They are also the EXCLUSIVE cab company of Six Flags Magic Mountain. HOWEVER, because of a variety of factors, their service sucks. Customers have to wait too long for a cab and sometimes are never picked up at all. Enter Uber…….they come right away and they price is incredible (about half the rate of a taxi). I was a customer of Uber and I am now a driver. My vehicle and my background were checked thoroughly. I have also driven for and been in s supervisory position with BOTH Yellow Cab AND Yellow Star. Yes, there will be a few bad apples that sneak in as drivers……they will manage to sneak in as cab drivers and as Uber drivers……just a perverts manage to become teachers…..it’s bound to happen. That being said, Uber is the wave of the future. Catch the wave.