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Allow transportation choice

Imagine if Pennsylvania restricted high-speed Internet access to Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, and left the commonwealth's other 65 counties with dial-up service that worked fine in 1996 but can't compete with today's technology. It sounds absurd - but something similar is happening in the transportation industry.

About 100 cabbies gathered at Snyder Ave and Columbus Blvd this morning to organize a protest parade of cabs around Philadelphia.  The cabbies are protesting a couple of new regulations: that all cabs must have a GPS system and no cab can have more than 250,000 miles on the odometer. (Clem Murray/Inquirer)  EDITOR'S NOTE:  Taxi11-a  4/10/2006  81768  Today was supposed to be a 12-hour taxi strike to protest a couple of new regulations: that all cabs must have a GPS system and no cab can have more than 250,000 miles on the odometer. About 100 cabbies gathered at Snyder Ave and Columbus Blvd this morning to organize a protest parade of cabs around Philadelphia. There didn't appear to be much support for the strike aspect of day1 of 6
About 100 cabbies gathered at Snyder Ave and Columbus Blvd this morning to organize a protest parade of cabs around Philadelphia. The cabbies are protesting a couple of new regulations: that all cabs must have a GPS system and no cab can have more than 250,000 miles on the odometer. (Clem Murray/Inquirer) EDITOR'S NOTE: Taxi11-a 4/10/2006 81768 Today was supposed to be a 12-hour taxi strike to protest a couple of new regulations: that all cabs must have a GPS system and no cab can have more than 250,000 miles on the odometer. About 100 cabbies gathered at Snyder Ave and Columbus Blvd this morning to organize a protest parade of cabs around Philadelphia. There didn't appear to be much support for the strike aspect of day1 of 6Read moreInq Murray

Imagine if Pennsylvania restricted high-speed Internet access to Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, and left the commonwealth's other 65 counties with dial-up service that worked fine in 1996 but can't compete with today's technology. It sounds absurd - but something similar is happening in the transportation industry.

Pennsylvania does not allow the car service Uber to operate outside of its two largest metropolitan areas. Millions of Pennsylvanians are barred from accessing a safer, lower-cost, and more consumer-friendly way to travel.

The Public Utility Commission (PUC) - the state agency tasked with regulating taxi and sedan services like Uber - has yet to grant the company a license to operate outside the immediate Philadelphia and Pittsburgh areas, even though it has freely licensed hundreds of other cab and limo companies using outdated technology.

Uber can't offer service to the majority of Pennsylvanians without the PUC's permission, and the commission has dragged its feet in approving Uber's license - perhaps influenced by aggressive scare campaigns being run against the startup by desperate cab companies.

No matter how one compares Uber with conventional cab service, it's an upgrade on the status quo - period.

UberX, the company's low-cost service that competes directly with standard cabs, requires its drivers to carry $1 million per incident in liability insurance - more than 28 times what Pennsylvania requires cab drivers to carry. This means that passengers will have significantly greater access to reimbursement for medical bills and lost wages if they are injured in an Uber vehicle than in a conventional cab. Uber also subjects its drivers to rigorous background checks - which cab companies may or may not perform on their employees.

Uber's interface also allows for an easier, cleaner, and safer experience than the status quo.

Catching a traditional taxi involves either standing roadside in the elements and waiting, or calling a dispatcher and attempting to describe your location - which, when you're away from home, is easier said than done. Many cabs do not take credit cards, and many of the ones that do rely on archaic manual card readers that can delay transactions. Uber's smartphone-based app immediately pinpoints a customer's location, gives him or her the location of the nearest car, and electronically bills the customer's card, eliminating the need to take out one's wallet or make a cash transaction in a stranger's vehicle.

Moreover, Uber generally offers a more comfortable and enjoyable ride than taxi service. Call a local cab company, and you're liable to be cruising the roads in a decaying Crown Victoria and sitting on cracking "pleather" with cigarette burn marks from the Clinton administration. UberX offers a newer fleet of sedans and SUVs for a lower price than cab service, and the slightly more expensive Uber Black Car chauffeurs the customer in a luxury sedan with complimentary bottled water.

Yet most importantly, Uber is an improvement on cab service because it's been more effective at keeping impaired drivers off the road. DUI arrests - particularly among people under 30 - have dropped significantly in Philadelphia since Uber began operating in the city two years ago. Whether it's the ease of locating and ordering a car, the automatic payment system, or the lower price for a better product, Uber is keeping potential drunken drivers off the roads in ways that cab companies haven't been able to - a benefit to all of society.

Like the makers of VCRs and camera film before them, cab companies simply haven't been able to compete with their rival's newer, better product. But keeping Uber confined to Philadelphia and Pittsburgh would be the worst decision the PUC could make. Pennsylvania's smaller cities, college towns, boroughs, and rural areas deserve the same access to modern technology as the big cities do, and the state has no business standing in the way of progress.