Area residents, taxi companies adapt to Uber

One year after arriving in State College, the popular and sometimes controversial ridesharing service Uber has raised competition and pushed the adoption of new technologies in the local taxi business.

Uber connects independent drivers and riders using mobile phones. Riders create their own accounts on a free app and put in their credit card information. Fares are charged to their accounts and no cash is paid to the driver.

Operating in Pennsylvania under a two-year provisional license, Uber has quickly spread throughout State College since last February. To compete, local taxi companies have incorporated new technologies into their operations.

AA Taxi Inc. was the first to adopt a free app, Gata Hub, with which passengers can make reservations, message the company and order a taxi. It began using it before Uber’s arrival since owner Patrick Evans recognized that Uber’s strength is its app.

“Uber has not affected my business because I was one step ahead of them,” Evans said in an email.

In addition, each AA taxi has installed a hard-wired tablet with a GPS, which Evans said has sped up the transportation of passengers.

Taxi company Handy Delivery started cloud-based dispatching in December and hopes to launch its app in the next few weeks.

“One thing I like about our system is that you don’t have to have an app,” said Andrew Carey, Handy Delivery’s dispatcher.

“If you call for a taxi on a cellphone, we send you a text when the taxi is on the way and another text when it arrives,” he said.

One of the challenges that dispatchers face is adapting to new technologies, which Carey described as extra work.

Part-time Uber driver David Alexander, 46, joined Uber a month and a half ago. An Altoona resident and a retired high school soccer coach, Alexander began driving for Uber as a way to earn extra cash and meet new people.

“I’m also a casino dealer. I deal with people all the time, which is good. I like it,” said Alexander, who is employed at Rocky Gap Casino in Cumberland, Md.

His main challenge has been intoxicated college students, he said, since he has found the most financially rewarding days to be Thursday through Saturday, when students often party.

“Usually my goal is to make $150 (per night),” said Alexander, who said he exceeded his expectations when he made $500 in two days during syllabus weekend at the start of the spring semester.

Alexander has used Uber in England and Italy and described his overseas experience as reliable, safe and simple.

“If I go to any big city, I’m using Uber,” he said.

Alexander said he decided to join Uber instead of a taxi company because of its simplicity. Requirements to become an Uber driver include background checks, updated car inspections and registrations and owning a 2006 or newer car.

Uber, based in San Francisco, recently settled a class-action lawsuit in California over misleading safety claims. The company had claimed that its background checks on drivers, which were run by a third-party service called Hirease, were “industry leading.” In addition to paying $28.5 million, the company will change the name of its “safe ride fee” to a “booking fee.”

In State College, however, the police department hasn’t had any complaints or problems regarding Uber, according to Master Police Officer David M. White.

Uber has also raised concern and controversy over its pricing policies. That’s because Uber’s rates increase — sometimes sharply — when there is a high demand for rides, which Uber calls a surge. Taxi fares, by comparison, remain fixed.

“I do have concerns about Uber and about transportation network companies in general concerning their labor practices and pricing schemes,” Jesse Barlow, a member of the State College Borough Council, said in an email.

Transportation network companies like Uber and Lyft are regulated by the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission, as are taxicabs.

“Home rule municipalities such as State College Borough are not allowed to put stricter regulations on TNCs than the Utility Commission does,” Barlow wrote.

Barbara Morar, 49, a State College resident, said she’s more likely to choose a taxi over Uber.

“I know exactly how much I’m going to pay, and it’s got a meter in it,” said Morar.

Attributing Uber’s popularity to its app and its cashless feature, Alexander said 95 percent of his clientele has been the younger generation.

This story was originally published March 7, 2016 at 1:09 PM with the headline "Area residents, taxi companies adapt to Uber."