People can summon drivers from ride services like Uber through smartphone apps.
Christina Belasco / OPB
There is currently only one taxi company doing business in Pendleton. And ride-hailing companies like Uber aren’t allowed to operate. Some Pendleton residents want to change that. So they’re asking the city council to amend the rules.
Dale Primmer is a Pendleton city councilor. He told OPB’s “Think Out Loud” that the taxi company currently offers services 22 hours a day, per the city’s ordinance.
“So you have folks that use the taxi service to get to doctor appointments or to grocery stores or to various things like that,” he said. “And if Uber comes in, draws enough business out of the cab company that they go, you know, go out of business, what you’re left with is a handful of Ubers that might not be able to meet the basic needs of those most vulnerable.”
Primmer is hopeful that a working group that includes the city and advocates for Uber and the taxi company will reach a compromise.
Listen to the conversation: