Yellow Cab manager says Uber service would threaten cab companies, passenger safety

The manager of Yellow Cab, which operates about two-thirds of Baton Rouge’s 150 taxis, is opposed to allowing the high-tech ride-sharing service Uber into the local market because of what he says is the unfair competitive advantage the company has in other cities where it operates. As first reported Wednesday by Daily Report, Uber is evaluating the Baton Rouge market and could eventually begin offering service here. While that potential development was welcomed as good news by those who are frustrated by Baton Rouge’s lack of transit options, Yellow Cab’s Keith Wyckoff sees it as a potential threat—not only to his business but also to the safety of those who might use Uber. “They don’t abide by any sort of public protection,” Wyckoff says. “They paint a very rosy picture, but they have no regard for rules and regulations.” Uber has been criticized around the country by cab companies and now faces multiple lawsuits from the insurance industry for its insurance practices. At issue are questions about whether the company, which makes an app that connects passengers with vehicles for hire, should be regulated like the cab companies. The company has said in public statements that it complies with all laws and regulations “applicable to its business.” But Wyckoff says that statement is a game of semantics. “Uber describes itself a as facilitator of ridesharing,” he says. “But it’s a transportation company trying to hide behind technology.” If the company does bring its services to Baton Rouge, Wyckoff says Yellow Cab has mobile technology in place to begin offering its own ridesharing services. “We’ve been preparing for this for a long time,” he says. —Stephanie Riegel