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The Coastal
  • Development
    Building Up Jax - Jacksonville Construction and Development Updates Each Saturday

    Building Up Jax: Dick Mondell’s Burgers & Fries plans Jax Beach restaurant

    Building Up Jax - Jacksonville Construction and Development Updates Each Saturday

    Building Up Jax: MOSH releases new Northbank renderings

    Building Up Jax - Jacksonville Construction and Development Updates Each Saturday

    Building Up Jax: Whataburger adding third new Jax location

    Building Up Jax - Jacksonville Construction and Development Updates Each Saturday

    Building Up Jax: Whataburger now open in St. Johns, coming soon in Middleburg

    Building Up Jax - Jacksonville Construction and Development Updates Each Saturday

    Building Up Jax: East San Marco tenants revealed

    Building Up Jax - Jacksonville Construction and Development Updates Each Saturday

    Building Up Jax: Homespun Kitchen expanding to Riverside

    Building Up Jax - Jacksonville Construction and Development Updates Each Saturday

    Building Up Jax: Vagabond Coffee joining VyStar Tower; Dreamette to Springfield

    Building Up Jax - Jacksonville Construction and Development Updates Each Saturday

    Building Up Jax: Great Greek nears St. Johns opening; Hwy 55 Burgers coming to Westside

    Building Up Jax - Jacksonville Construction and Development Updates Each Saturday

    Building Up Jax: Purple Roots now open at Tinseltown

  • History
    • All
    • Jax Evolved
    Florida Times-Union building

    Story of a Building: The Florida Times-Union Building

    Edgewood Bakery

    Remembering Edgewood Bakery: Once a Murray Hill Staple, Now an Empty Building

    jacksonville university

    A Brief History of Jacksonville University

    history of Ed wAters College

    A Brief History of Edward Waters College

    Worman's bAKERY AND DELI

    Remembering Worman’s Bakery and Deli

    Before Normandy Mall, There Was the Loew’s Normandy Drive-In Theatre

    Before Normandy Mall, There Was the Loew’s Normandy Drive-In Theatre

    Green Turtle Restaurant in Jacksonville, fl

    Remembering Joe Adeeb’s Green Turtle Restaurant

    San Marco Theater, San Marco, Jacksonville, FL

    Story of a Building: San Marco Theatre

    Sun-Ray Cinema building Five Points Jacksonville FL

    Story of a Building: Sun-Ray Cinema Building

  • Jax Evolved
    VyStar at 100 West Bay Street, Jacksonville, FL

    JAX EVOLVED: VyStar Reinvigorates the Former Life of the South Building

    JAX EVOLVED: San Marco Preservation Society Now Occupies South Jacksonville City Hall

    JAX EVOLVED: San Marco Preservation Society Now Occupies South Jacksonville City Hall

    Old St. Luke's Hospital jacksonville fl

    JAX EVOLVED: Old St. Luke’s Hospital Building Now Houses Jacksonville Historical Society

    Paul Davis Restoration, formerly Chevrolet Parts Depot, Springfield, Jacksonville, FL

    JAX EVOLVED: Paul Davis Restoration Gives Life to Old Chevrolet Parts Depot

    Old St. Andrew's Church building, Jacksonville, FL

    JAX EVOLVED: Old St. Andrew’s Church Building

    Novel Coworking / Groover-Stewart Drug Company Building, 25 N. Market Street, Jacksonville, FL - Image copyright 2020 Google

    JAX EVOLVED: Groover-Stewart Drug Company Building Now Houses Novel Coworking

    Dyal-Upchurch Building, Jacksonville, FL

    JAX EVOLVED: Downtown Jacksonville Adaptive Reuse Collection

    The Barnett, Jacksonville, FL

    JAX EVOLVED: The Barnett’s Long Journey to Redevelopment

    JAX EVOLVED: Brewster Hospital to North Florida Land Trust, LaVilla, Jacksonville, FL

    JAX EVOLVED: From Brewster Hospital to North Florida Land Trust

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    • Culture
      • All
      • Art
      • Hidden Gems
      • Local Quirks
      • Music
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      Local Producer Alex Moye Releases New Album, “All I Need”

      Local Producer Alex Moye Releases New Album, “All I Need”

      Jacksonville Jazz Fest to Return This Fall

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      MURAL SPOTLIGHT: Riverside Park Place by Jason Tetlak

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      “Jax River Jams” Concert Series Coming to Riverfront Plaza in April

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    • Food + Drink
      • All
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      • Reviews
      Southern Italian Deli Market Jacksonville FL

      Cugino’s Sausage Launches The Southern Italian Deli & Market

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      Norikase Jacksonville

      BENTO Group to Debut Norikase Concept in Jacksonville

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Uber/Lyft vs. Jax Taxis: A Losing Battle

by The Coastal
January 2, 2016
in Featured, Why Jax
A Losing Battle, Jax Taxis vs. Uber and Lyft
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Currently in Jacksonville, anyone wishing to acquire a ride to or from any location has two options: they can either call a taxi company, or they can get on their phone and request a ride through either Uber or Lyft.

If Jacksonville’s taxi companies have their way, however, they may soon be the only remaining option.

Taxi companies have long been in conflict with services like Uber and Lyft. These services often offer more reliability, shorter wait times, and significantly cleaner cars. In Jacksonville, the difference is especially pronounced; the taxi offerings within the city are often nothing short of abysmal. Taxis have become, for many, a last resort on nights such as New Year’s Eve when Uber prices shoot through the roof. It should therefore come as little to no surprise that Jacksonville’s taxi companies wish to eliminate the stiff competition they face from these transportation app services.

The taxi companies do have reason to be upset: the city has laws on the books that require all drivers-for-hire to be screened and regulated by the city itself. The laws were originally created to accommodate UberBlack, Uber’s premium ride service that allows the reservation of higher-quality cars that are regulated by the city’s local transportation services. This was done to avoid the presence of UberX, the standard service that allows anyone approved through Uber’s safety regulations to offer up rides on their app, bypassing city regulations. Jacksonville’s city council, and taxi companies, are crying foul over UberX now being present within the city. They believe the lack of regulation could in theory put passengers in danger, despite having no data to back up the theory of Uber drivers (who face background checks performed by Uber) being any less safe than the average taxi driver.

However, while the law was supposedly meant to provide for consumer safety, in practice it seems to be more geared at placating local taxi companies hoping to squeeze out potentially superior competition. City officials insist that UberX could still work in Jacksonville, but the solutions they offer are rather shortsighted. They insist that the yearly fee of over $200 that UberX drivers would have to pay to have their vehicles and backgrounds inspected to meet city standards is completely reasonable, despite the fact that most Uber drivers are simply trying to make some extra money for themselves and thus paying a fee just to start providing rides would be counterintuitive. Similarly, they suggest the alternative of drivers forming their own local companies so as to participate in the UberBlack program instead.

It is easy to sympathize with the local taxi companies. We do want to support local businesses, and no one wants local workers to suffer at the hands of larger national companies. However, the simple fact is that our local taxi companies have failed the city for years with subpar standards of their own, and thus their (and the city’s) argument for enforcing standards among Uber drivers is falling flat.

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Nonetheless, the city is pushing to support the taxis. City councilmen are calling for stricter enforcement of the current laws, or even stricter laws that could see UberX drivers getting their cars impounded. If they succeed, it’s within the realm of possibility that Uber, and the similarly-operated Lyft, could opt to pull out of the city entirely, leaving us with only the broken local taxi system. It’s great that Jacksonville’s city officials wish to support local business, but it’s hard not to think that there are many local businesses much more worthy of the significant support the city is giving taxi companies.

What do YOU think about the Uber vs. taxi battle in Jacksonville? We want to hear your thoughts! Send your views to editor@coastaljax.com, or tweet @thecoastaljax using the hashtag #JaxRide; we’ll post some of our favorite thoughts later on from both sides of the debate.

Tags: city councillyfttaxiuberuberblackuberx
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The Coastal is a local magazine in Jacksonville, FL, founded in 2015 to bring you stories about the past, present, and future of the First Coast.

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