Uber ride sharing service now legal in KC (Kansas City, Denver: fit in, 2014)

[xenokc]

Uber and Lyft are having legal issues in a lot of cities. Uber has come to agreement with KC with help of KC Mayor...

James: Uber is now legal in Kansas City - Kansas City Business Journal

Tsai also said that Uber's ride-sharing service has been so successful in Kansas City so far that it is bringing in another general manager, Andy Hung [from Chicago], to manage the company's operations in the city.

Edit: What other cities do they operate in entirely legally? Some major airports are also rejecting them.

[northbound74]

Interesting.
I heard a lady on TED Talks the other day proclaim that car sharing was THE big thing in the future of automobiles.
I can see how to an extent, especially among people in larger cities. Cars are becoming outrageously priced (I refuse to pay 300+ a month for a freakin' Fiesta for 7 years. sheesh! 150 tops.), gas is obscene (but of course we think we get used to it), repairs can sometimes cost as much as a halfway decent used car...
It's good that KC has it. I'd totally use such a service if my current life circumstances allowed it.

[xenokc]

Internet killed most record stores, then most video stores, starting to kill some bookstores and some big box retailers. The cab/taxi industry might be hurt next if they can't adapt. Heavy union cities will probably stick to the 'so last century' biz model a bit longer.

[kcmo]

I almost wonder if this would do more harm than good in a city like KC which actually needs reasons to justify transit due to excess parking and no traffic. I have not really put a lot of thought into it. But if the few people that could use transit always have access to a car (shared or not) and can easily drive and park anywhere.... I don't know. Guess time will tell. Cabs is all KC has and one of the better cab systems for a city of its size. I would hate to see that industry mostly go away do to not enough support from locals. It would hurt convention and tourism efforts.

Change is going to happen. It just seems like KC may be getting ahead of itself a little on this one. This would help DC, Boston, SF etc. KC? Not so sure.

[xenokc]

Taxi service is a personal service that you pay more more (as is Uber, at least with posted suggested rates), bus and upcoming streetcar in KC will always be cheaper. I don't see them as same class of service - one is door to door for a price, the other is mass cheaper service for a general area and on a schedule that may not work. My brother in NYC complains to his transit fearing outer burrough friends about unnecessarily taking a taxi for everything in the city, even a few blocks instead of walking - you'll always have that mindset that prefers personal 'transit'.

Uber/Lyft may harm taxi services, but I don't see how it could harm mass transit.

Good to see KC making an effort to adapt to a progressive idea (Google Fiber too), even if it harms other services still thinking about the old way of doing things.

[kcmo]

Because you can walk down stairs and grab a car and be at a plaza grocery or anywhere in urban kc in minutes and easily find parking etc. Why would people make a 45 minute journey on a slow streetcar or bus when they can just drive and KC's streets are empty, no matter what time of day.

I guess I'm saying get the density and infill up there enough to justify these types of urban amenities first or you may be doing more harm than good by finding reasons to preserve parking lots and having less people using transit. I just don't think this should be a priority for KC. There is a reason zipcar is not even there yet (comprehensively). Just a thought. It's good that KC is going after stuff like this, but it's just like KC's bike share which is still very small and not very used compared to most large metros. The density is not there yet to really make it work like it does in other cities. Now I do think the city should still expand bike share. Just making a point.

I get why people living in urban KC would want it though. (in a more selfish way).

[xenokc]

KC is getting conveniences of other services that are much more comprehensive in larger markets, doesn't matter if likely would be used more in other cities. Ditto with Google Fiber. I have gigabit service dirt cheap, doesn't matter to me if other cities would have more success with it. Ditto with Cisco using downtown as Internet of Things lab. It is opportunity and exploring a different way of doing things.

BTW, KC does have zipcar, yes only one location but ditto with STL. Downtown KC has 12 bikeshare stations that are getting decent use - I often see nearly empty stations with riders around downtown - STL doesn't have it yet. Yes, it would be nice if KC economy were at Denver level to constantly add more stations but it isn't. At least KC has many conveniences for its size and attempting to do what it can with what it has - and of course lots of mishaps too, which you do a good job of informing us on even though you haven't lived here for 5 years.

KC already has decent cab service so Uber wouldn't impact mass transit plans any more than existing cab service potentially could. Uber is more likely to impact existing cab service, not a completely different kind of service. If anything, better mass transit will reduce cab and Uber type services in some situations.

[CrownVic95]

Originally Posted by xenokc

Internet killed most record stores, then most video stores, starting to kill some bookstores and some big box retailers. The cab/taxi industry might be hurt next if they can't adapt. Heavy union cities will probably stick to the 'so last century' biz model a bit longer.

And the automobile killed most mass transit in metro KC more than half a century ago, for good reason. Uber is an idea with some rational appeal.

[xenokc]

Autos killed streetcar type service in most Midwest cities and partly destroyed the city cores but that's another topic. Mass transit and personal transit (cab/uber type services) both have their place for different situations.

Uber just uses a different biz model with different approach. It will impact traditional cab service (that KC already has), not existing transit plans.

[kcmo]

What does high speed internet have to do with this topic? Cities like Denver already have robust transit use and car sharing won't hurt cities where parking is limited etc. I just don't see the benefit in KC. It will just put more people in personal cars when the city is trying so hard to get people out of them.

CrownVic supports Uber. I rest my case