Agreement authorizes mobile ridesharing company

Students who need to get across Los Angeles in a hurry will be able to use a smartphone application to hire a car, after a private ridesharing company and the California Public Utilities Commission entered an agreement last week to continue offering the service in California.

Before the agreement, Uber Technologies, a company that allows passengers to use a smartphone application to request a private car for on-demand transportation, operated without licenses that taxi and limousine companies need to serve in California. State officials said they felt the company was not being held to the same legal standards as taxi drivers and other transportation services, said Drew Baldwin, a graduate student at the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs who specializes in mobile ridesharing companies in California.

The state issued public fines on the company of $20,000 as a result of the controversy, according to the New York Times.

After recent negotiations, however, the commission suspended the fine and Uber may now operate legally as long as it adheres to basic safety regulations in the state, such as conducting criminal background checks and requiring proof of insurance for hired drivers, according to a press release from the Commission. The agreement legally permits Uber to expand its ridesharing program, which will now allow the company to hire individuals who do not have taxi or limousine licenses. Essentially, ordinary citizens can be hired to give rides.

Drivers affiliated with Uber’s ridesharing program will have to follow the basic safety requirements mandated by the Commission.

“All of this is in the interest of public safety,” Baldwin said. “It is not surprising that California operates on the spirit of regulation to ensure safety.”

Uber features different types of vehicles for passengers to ride in, including luxury cars and hybrids. Passengers and drivers can also share real-time data about their location to be quickly connected with one another using a smartphone. They do not need a prior reservation for the ride, which marks a difference from similar services like Zipcar.

“It sounds like a wave for the future,” said Jonathan Zhang, a third-year mathematics and economics student. “I think it is a great thing to incorporate technology to improve service and convenience.”

Zhang said he would give the service a try because of its convenience, the options it offers and the alternative to taking a taxi.

Baldwin said Uber is still finding its niche in the public, including with college students. As a result, the services Uber provides do not seem to fully accommodate the needs of students, he said.

Uber’s services are more expensive than the rates of other conventional transportation options like standard taxis.

In Los Angeles, Uber charges a base fee of $8 and $3.50 per mile afterward when using the option of a sedan, according to their website. The standard rate for taxis in this area has an initial charge of $2.85 and is $2.70 per mile plus tip, according to Taxi Fare Finder, a website which provides information about taxi fares .

“Getting to my destination quickly and easily is important,” said David Urdaneta, a third-year electrical engineering student who lives off-campus. “But the prices must be (more) reasonable for me if I wanted to give the service a try.”

The California Public Utilities Commission can still terminate the agreement if Uber does not follow the basic safety requirements, according to the New York Times.

Representatives from Uber could not be reached for comment.

Email Nguyen at dnguyen@media.ucla.edu.