via Uber
Uber and the Metropolitan Taxicab Commission have some compromising to do before ridesharing launches in St. Louis.
If Uber and St. Louis’ taxi authority, the Metropolitan Taxicab Commission (MTC), can find a compromise on rules for background checks and drug tests, St. Louis residents may be able to order an UberX on their smartphones by late summer.
But if they can’t compromise, St. Louis will remain the largest U.S. city without access to app-based ridesharing.
See also: UberX Will Launch Soon in St. Louis
Uber took its case to the MTC Tuesday, asking the board of commissioners to remove “unnecessary burdens,” namely fingerprint background checks and mandatory drug testing, that have prevented Uber’s launch here for more than a year.
MTC officials said they’re eager to bring ridesharing to St. Louis but pushed back hard on Shah’s claims that Uber should be exempt from rules designed to keep riders safe.
“There’s a big difference between needs and wants,” MTC Commissioner Kim Tucci said during the meeting. “You want a taxi. You want Uber. Safety is a need.”
The MTC requires taxi drivers to submit to drug testing, but Uber manager Sagar Shah says the tests are an ineffective and burdensome way to stop intoxicated drivers. Shah said Uber prefers a zero tolerance policy for drivers rather than expensive drug testing.
“Drug tests only capture a moment in time,” Shah told the commission. “It’s not necessarily an indication of future behavior.”
The company relies on feedback from riders to determine when drivers are impaired. At the end of every Uber trip, riders and drivers rate each other, and riders can give low scores to drivers who appear intoxicated.
“Every ride is, in effect, a drug test,” Shah said.
Jami Boley, operations manager for Harris Cab, scoffed at the idea of requiring passengers to monitor their own drivers, especially passengers who hail an Uber to avoid driving drunk.
“It’s not my responsibility to see if the driver I hired is under the influence,” Boley said. “I do not expect to monitor that driver all night long.”
Uber does agree to drug testing in two markets: Houston and New York. But Shah said Uber isn’t interested in replicating that in St. Louis or anywhere else because it slows the process for drivers, many of whom work only a few hours per week. Uber left San Antonio in April because of the city’s regulations, including drug testing, though media reports suggest that Uber may agree to return even with a drug testing requirement.
Drug tests aren’t the only sticking point in MTC and Uber’s negotiations. They’ll also have to agree on background checks, another MTC safety requirement.
Uber runs its own background checks on drivers—which Shah says are more thorough than the MTC’s fingerprint checks—by searching for vehicle records, county, state and federal court records and previous addresses. Uber also searches the sex offender registry and global terrorist watchlist.
But MTC lawyer Neil Bruntrager said it’s impossible for Uber’s background checks to be as effective as the MTC’s checks, which go through the Missouri State Highway Patrol and FBI, and would miss first-time DWI offenders who’ve had their records cleared.
“There is simply no way (Uber) can access the same records the MTC accesses,” Bruntrager said.
Want to weigh in on ridesharing’s future in St. Louis? The MTC will accept comments via mail through July 7.
