Pasco last city to consider allowing Uber

Uber is one step closer to having the run of the entire Tri-City area.

Pasco City Council members this week appeared to be on board with updating rules to include transportation network companies that use web-based platforms or smartphone applications to connect passengers with drivers.

Mayor Matt Watkins said it’s exciting that changes in technology are providing more options for different modes of travel. He said he drove a cab 20 years ago.

The service already is available in Kennewick, Richland, West Richland and the unincorporated areas of Benton and Franklin counties.

Pasco is the only local municipality left to make the necessary changes.

Until it does, visitors coming in to the Tri-Cities Airport cannot use the Uber app to be picked up.

Council members could vote on adopting the new regulations at their Jan. 17 meeting. Once done, there is a five-day waiting period before changes take effect.

The Pasco requirements of for-hire drivers — who must be 21 — will include paying a yearly $40 individual license fee, getting an annual test for tuberculosis, passing a criminal background check with at least seven years history and taking updated photographs each year.

Vehicles also have to pass an annual inspection and drivers must submit an affidavit of compliance with the city’s regulations.

Helen Snyder, owner of RAD Cab of Kennewick, pointed out to council members the difficulty in trying to define a cab company separate of a transportation network company.

RAD Cab uses an app that allows customers to link payments to their credit card or still pay in cash. About a half-dozen company drivers only accept calls through the app, and never solicit fares, she explained.

Snyder said her business must keep up with technology, but noted that the updated city regulations require a lot more of a taxicab company than an Internet-based company.

Deputy City Manager Stan Strebel said Pasco will continue to require taxi drivers to be fingerprinted because they are allowed to solicit or accept “street hails.”

In that type of a situation, passengers don’t necessarily know what they are getting into, unlike an app that shows a driver’s face and vehicle information.

Jonathan Hopkins, an Uber executive, told council members that along with these improvements comes opportunity.

Hundreds of residents from Pasco alone are likely to apply to be drivers, working an average of 12 hours a week. Drivers include retirees, people finishing school and those with seasonal work, like teachers who are free during summer months, Hopkins said.

“It will really hit its stride once all three communities are in line with reasonably similar regulations,” Hopkins told the council.

Safety is the San Francisco-based company’s No. 1 priority, and Uber will continue to do “robust background checks,” he added.

This story was originally published January 10, 2017 at 7:22 PM with the headline "Pasco last city to consider allowing Uber."