Good news, fans of Fast Eddie’s Bon Air! If you get too sloshed in Alton to drive yourself home to St. Louis, you can now order a ride home from UberX, the prevailing rideshare app.
However, you won’t be able to UberX your way *to* Alton, or anywhere else, for that matter, as long as your starting point is in the Lou.
St. Louis is still the largest U.S. city without ridesharing, but isn’t stopping Illinois from rolling out UberX in the Metro East. On his last day in office, former Illinois Governor Pat Quinn signed a bill approving regulations for ridesharing statewide. UberX launched in the Metro East on Friday, and Illinois senator Bill Haine and his wife Ann took the inaugural first UberX ride in Alton, his hometown.
See also: All Hail the War on Taxis?: St. Louis' Cab Services Need Competition, Not Chaos
“I think [Illinois’ law] is a good example of how a proper regulatory framework can really help bring innovation to new communities, and smaller communities, too,” says Uber manager Sagar Shah. “I think this is something that’s a great need for cities like Edwardsville and Belleville and Alton, which are growing towns and don’t necessarily have great transportation currently.”
via Uber
Edwardsville mayor Hal Patton and SIUE student body president Madeline McCune ordering an UberX.
The transportation tech company is ready to launch UberX here, Shah adds, once St. Louis provides a similar regulatory framework.
But there’s no sign of that happening anytime soon. The Metropolitan Taxicab Commission, the taxi authority for St. Louis city and county, says it still has concerns with Uber’s driver background checks and insurance policies. Only Uber’s premium sedan service, Uber Black, has the green light.
“As soon as we can reach something we think is agreeable with both parties and puts us in compliance with state law, we’ll get them up and running,” MTC executive director Ron Klein tells the St. Louis Business Journal.
UberX connects non-professional drivers driving their own cars with customers looking for rides. A ride from Belleville to Fairview Heights, for example, costs about $13, according to Uber’s blog. From Southern Illinois University Edwardsville to Collinsville is about $20.
And a ride from Collinsville to downtown St. Louis will cost you about $30.
But once an UberX driver drops a passenger off in St. Louis, he or she will have to turn around and return to the east side before picking up another passenger.
“You can get an UberX into Missouri, however you could not be picked up by an UberX driver in Missouri,” Shah explains. “The technology wouldn’t work for him or her to pick up on the Missouri side.”
