If there is one hot topic in the city of Chicago, it has to be the issue between the local taxi industry and the ridesharing companies like Uber and Lyft that are slowly, but surely,  taking over the streets of the city. We here think that a little competition is healthy but it seems that some ridesharing services are not just bent on competing but also have the potential to annihilate the local taxi business. This, of course, has everyone up in arms and this includes the local government in the city. This begs the question, if Uber is so good, why do officials seem to be against it?

The Uber Laws

The thing to remember here is that Uber just came to Chicago last 2011 and quickly became rising rock star of the roads. This, of course, caused some panic among cab drivers. And with the taxi industry being an important part of the Chicago economy and landscape, the government had to step in. We here at Universal taxi suppose the government could just kick out the service or ban them from the city but they cannot do that unless the ridesharing services break the law.

Well are they breaking the law?

The thing with Uber is that their business model doesn’t exactly make them illegal but it doesn’t totally make them legit either. They do have some practices that fall in the shady, gray areas between what is legal and what is not. After all, there really is nothing against the law about hitching a ride from someone and paying them money.

The gray area though is proving to be troublesome for the ridesharing service and they have had some rough times in Chicago especially with their new UberX. This service is basically for amateur drivers who can go around the city and pick up passengers for money. Just recently, they were sued by a woman passenger who claimed to have been assaulted by an UberX driver. We say that it isn’t really the fault of the ridesharing service—at least not directly—but you can see where they would be in trouble. Granted, violence has long been a part of the taxi industry but what makes this troublesome is that UberX makes it much easier for amateur drivers to perv out their passengers. Uber falls outside of the regulations that govern local registered taxis and they have taken steps to ensure that such regulations are not enforced on them.

Another thing to add to the list of troubles for Uber is that the city has put a limit of 450 drivers for their services and the thing there is that number is to be shared with Lyft and another rideshare service that operates within the city. Also, the city has banned UberX drivers from going to the airports to pick up passengers so that is another constraint they have to deal with.

The Real Deal

At the moment, Uber hasn’t really broken any laws just yet but they are still on that shady gray area. However, for those that want the convenience of a rideshare but want to ride regulated vehicles, Universal Taxi has an app here that can help.