Touted for years as the
company that would disrupt the taxi industry, Uber is now going old school and
experimenting with a telephone dispatch system that allows those without
smartphones to call in to order an Uber ride.
If that sounds familiar, it
should; it’s how taxi’s have operated for more than a century.
The new program is being
tested as a pilot program with the Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority in
Florida and launches on July 18. The program is part of a project to offer
subsidized Uber rides to those typically reliant on the bus-based public
transit system, according to Christopher Cochran, senior planner at the PSTA.
Under the new plan, “transit
disadvantaged” residents can phone in a request for an Uber ride and be granted
a taxpayer-subsidized trip anywhere within the service area during daytime
hours. The program covers both travel the dispatcher deems “urgent and life
sustaining” as well as minor things, such as grocery shopping or routine
medical visits.
What’s interesting is the
possibilities the move opens up for cities to complement their existing public
transportation options for “transit disadvantaged” individuals. The move would
see Uber vying for new clientele not just in tech-savvy smartphone users, but
as an additional option for municipal and state governments and a real
alternative for the non-tech savvy to the traditional route of calling — or
hailing — a taxi.
This post was originally published here: Proving
We’ve Come Full Circle, Uber Is Now A Taxi Company
