Rideshare advocates (right) and taxi industry defenders (left) chant opposing slogans in front of City Council Chambers Thursday morning. Photo by Iris Dimmick.
Rideshare advocates (right) and taxi industry defenders (left) chant opposing slogans in front of City Council chambers in December 2014. Photo by Iris Dimmick.

Editor’s note: Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff sent an open letter to Mayor Ivy Taylor and all 10 City Council members on Monday. The letter comes just days after the rideshare service, Uber, has announced plans to leave San Antonio if an ordinance, which critics call a “barrier to business” and is supported by the traditional taxi industry, is not repealed or modified to be more rideshare friendly. Uber’s main competitor, Lyft, will likely do the same. Read more on the Rivard Report here.

Dear Mayor Taylor,

Thank you for meeting with me this morning regarding Uber and Lyft. I appreciate the fact that you are willing to consider reaching a compromise.

As you know, I previously supported welcoming Uber and Lyft to San Antonio and envisioned an ordinance that is similar to Austin or Dallas where they currently operate with no issue. Unfortunately, it appears we have enacted an ordinance that is quite different from other Texas cities and one that Uber and Lyft cannot operate under.

Last week I met with Henry Carr, General Manager of Uber San Antonio, and I will relay to him your concern that they have not stated clearly what their position is on an ordinance.

I have three principal concerns about Uber and Lyft terminating service in our community. First and foremost, I am concerned about the high number of DWI cases Bexar County faces and the fact that many of these incidents might not occur if our citizens had access to an easier and inexpensive transportation alternative, such as Uber and Lyft. With 8,519 DWI charges in Bexar County in 2014; all public officials should prioritize reducing the number of DWIs in Bexar County for both safety and fiscal reasons.

Second, I am concerned about the 400,000 citizens in unincorporated Bexar County and the thousands of citizens in the other 26 suburban cities. These are my constituents, and they deserve the transportation option and economic opportunities that Uber and Lyft provide.

Third, we both have made significant investments in attracting Millennials and young professionals to our City and County. Since transportation alternatives, such as Uber and Lyft, are a major issue for them, it would be viewed as a negative mark on our City to not have these services available. I join Graham Weston, the developers of the urban core, and the many other business leaders that believe this transportation option is key to attracting young citizens to our City.

I strongly encourage the City of San Antonio to work with Uber and Lyft to develop an ordinance that is both safe and fair. Austin and Dallas provide models to emulate in the interim period, giving time for the City to evaluate final regulations that reflect the evolving nature of this technology-based transportation option. Let’s work together to find an option that allows Uber and Lyft to operate in San Antonio and Bexar County.

Sincerely,

Nelson W. Wolff

*Featured/top image: Rideshare advocates (right) and taxi industry defenders (left) chant opposing slogans in front of City Council Chambers before City Council approved the rideshare ordinance in December 2014. Photo by Iris Dimmick.

Related Stories:

Uber to Leave San Antonio, Lyft on the Fence

USAA Offers Rideshare Insurance in Colorado 

Commentary: ‘Rideshare’ Needs Rules

Commentary: Does Rideshare Regulation Save Lives?

San Antonio Imposes Strict Rideshare Rules

Graham Weston: A City on the Rise Needs Rideshare

Nelson W. Wolff is Bexar County Judge.

12 replies on “Judge Wolff to Mayor Taylor: Let’s Take a Second Look at Rideshare”

  3. The only part of the letter that matter to me
    “Last week I met with Henry Carr, General Manager of Uber San Antonio, and I will relay to him your concern that they have not stated clearly what their position is on an ordinance.”

    Uber has time and time again thumbed there noses at the law. They have lied about the background check, They have lied about the insurance coverage.

    They are being sued by the drivers http://uberlawsuit.com/
    http://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2014/06/26/uber-hit-with-class-action-lawsuit/JFlTJLMuBoXuEmMU3elTAI/story.html

    They are being sued for fraud in California http://thenextweb.com/insider/2014/12/10/uber-sued-los-angeles-san-francisco-misleading-customers/

    They are being sued for rape
    http://money.cnn.com/2015/01/30/technology/uber-india-delhi-rape-lawsuit/

    They have been sued by spain , thailand
    http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2014/12/uber-sued-by-sf-and-la-shut-down-in-spain-and-thailand/
    Plus many many more

    Please Mr Wolff show me where ubar has EVER followed any law in any city or country.

    You and mike villarreal continue to back a company who continue to give the big FU to every city it does business in. I am not anti uber I am anti companies not following the laws set forth by the lawmakers. You look like a fool by continuing to defend them, please spend an hour and read some of the articles I have posted above. They are just the tip of what uber is doing.

    1. I remember reading about this when it happened:

      “The mother of Simon Chavez, a 22-year-old Santa Barbara City College student killed last January in a hit-and-run accident on Highway 101, is suing the cab driver she says was paid to take her son home from a bar, but then allegedly ditched him in a deliriously drunken state more than a mile from his house.”

      The point is, with 5 minutes and Google, I could look up an equal number of lawsuits against cab companies.

      I do want Uber and Lyft to follow our city ordinances. But first those ordinances have to be pragmatic and fair. I also encourage our taxi companies to match the improvements in technology, convenience, and cost that these programs bring. If they did, I’d return as a customer. (The last two times I’ve pre-booked a taxi ride to the airport by calling central dispatch, the cab was a no-show.)

  4. Not sure what the regulatory mechanisms are, but here in Seattle I’ve actually had a cab respond to a request for Uber. There is a way for these two business models to co-exist and even work to support each other. The question is not “how do we preserve the status quo?” The question is “what do we do now?” The answer is not either/or.

    1. Here’s what I’ve found: If you go up to Austin for less divisive local initiatives, you’ll be disappointed. The failed Prop 1 road-and-rail bond was a political disaster. I like Austin, but it certainly has its own issues and challenges, just like any growing city.

  8. The city of SA has cabs inspected, fines drivers and companies for non-compliance, they have the burden of all this and yet Uber wants no regulations on their drivers. There is even a taxi court in San Antonio. Why should one transportation mode be regulated and the other not? You are giving up your consumer protections slowly and surely, by being distracted by the bright and shiny objects.

    Non-intervention in both would be fair, dangerous but fair, but regulating one and not the other spells out a subsidy. Any problems created by these new companies would be socialized and the profits privatized. All for the entitlement of a quick ride with folks scrounging on the side for cash by an economy that’s racing toward the bottom with things like this.

    Uber is not a sharing economy. That’s a pretty way of saying, say worker, not earning enough? take this side job, appeal to the bourgeois, bear all the costs, use our app and we will take from your pocket. Read up on the cost to society.

    https://www.jacobinmag.com/2014/01/sharing-and-caring/

    http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2015/01/marco-rubio-thinks-uber-great-argument-deregulation

    http://www.motherjones.com/documents/1364485-al-franken-letter-to-uber

    http://www.thenation.com/article/192545/socialize-uber

    http://www.thenation.com/article/196233/uber-and-taxi-industrys-last-stand

    http://www.thenation.com/article/196241/what-sharing-economy-takes

    http://www.taxi-library.org/regulation.htm

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