MI Uber is limited

Currently there are only 6 places you can request an Uber - Ann Arbor, Battle Creek, Detroit, Flint, Grand Rapids and Lansing and surrounding areas.  These are major cities bustling with active fun loving college students and working class people.

Uber who?

In Northern Michigan, public transportation is limited. Some towns roll their sidewalks up on Sunday at 12:01 am and put them away until Monday at 8am. Until I moved to the nether regions of Michigan, I’d never heard of Uber. Sure would have been nice to have this service when I was in the Soo where the buses quit running early in the evening hours.

Uber’s on a roll.

Uber is a popular choice with college kids, business travelers and working people in the Lansing area. But, so are taxis and cabs. One rider explained that when he called for a cab, he was told it would be 2 hours before anyone could pick him up. He couldn’t wait that long, he had to be to work. He took to the Uber Rider App and I magically showed up 5 minutes later. Uber’s only been in the Lansing area for 4 ½ years, but it’s popularity is growing in leaps and bounds.

Uber’s future

So here’s where Michigan’s Senate enters the picture. This hearing will decide the fate of Uber. Will Uber be allowed to expand to the rest of Michigan? Or will it remain restricted?  Uber is growing in popularity. Rider growth is outstripping driver growth resulting in Uber offering bonuses and guaranteed hours to entice more drivers to signup, login and hit the road. Visitors familiar with the service outside of Michigan are always happy to see little cars running around on their smartphone. Buses and trains don’t always go in the direction the rider needs to go. When I’m Uber-ing, the taxi designated parking spots are almost always empty and to be honest, even the taxi and cabbie drivers I’ve met are happy to see us out there picking up the slack.

What’s your opinion? Should Uber stay? Or should it go?

Uber, Lyft & Juno

coming to a Michigan city near you!

Updated 01/06/17 @ 9:00am

On December 21st, 2016, Uber, Lyft and Juno's fate in Michigan was decided with a stroke of the pen. Governor Rick Snyder signed into law Public Act 348 of 2016 allowing rideshare companies to operate in all areas of the State of Michigan!

According to the Michigan Department of Transportation Email Newsletter "The Friday Update, Legislative enews and updates for MDOT Employees" the Legislative Body and Michigan Governor Rick Snyder were busy little elves preparing and signing the highly anticipated rideshare law. This little package of bills allows rideshare companies, i.e. Uber, Lyft and Juno, to expand across Michigan. It prevents local granny regulations and taxi preferred monopolies from putting up roadblocks to new technology growth. While this should make rideshare drivers cheer across the state, taxi and limo drivers of 8 passengers or less will also find something to cheer about. This bill will provide a more lenient, less costly environment for smaller transportation vehicles to work in. Public Act 348 of 2016 exempts Transportation Carrier Networks (TNC), limousine, and taxicab drivers from obtaining the more expensive chauffeur's license or commercial license plates in order to operate within the state boundaries. This should also make it easier on those hardworking folks who run Taxis, Limos, carpools, "Mom-taxis" "School car-pools" and the new technology transport businesses that use alternative payment choices such as bitcoin, arcade or the barter system.  IMHO, this a good thing. 

"Governor signs bus, taxi, limo, and TNC legislation into law
A package of five bills regulating for-hire passenger transportation was signed into law by Gov. Rick Snyder on Dec. 21. HB 4637, the primary bill in the package, requires the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA) to regulate eight-passenger or less vehicles used in commercial passenger for-hire service under the new Limousine, Taxicab, and Transportation Network Company (TNC) Act. Currently, all for-hire 15-passenger or less vehicles are regulated by MDOT under the Limousine Transportation Act, but HB 4637 repealed that law. The bill was assigned Public Act 345 of 2016." 

Updated 10/19/16 @11:45pm

On October 19th, 2016, the Michigan Senate held a hearing

to decide Uber’s fate in the outlying areas of the state's countryside.

MI Uber is limited