City Halts UberX's Attempt To Pick Up Passengers At O'Hare, Midway

By Chuck Sudo in News on May 7, 2014 4:50PM

The city placed the kibosh, for now, on ridesharing service UberX’s attempts to pick up customers at O’Hare and Midway Airports. It’s the latest battle in an ongoing war between ridesharing services and Chicago’s taxi companies over how the former should be regulated to operate in the city.

The tensions began Friday when Uber announced via email and text to its UberX drivers they could now pick up passengers at the two airports. This naturally didn’t sit well with the city’s cabbies that have to jump through several regulatory hoops in order to serve O’Hare and Midway, including paying $4 for a departure stamp every time they make a pickup at an airport.

The message from Uber to its UberX drivers noted the edict was “effective immediately” and inferred it was a change in city policy. But The United Taxidrivers Community Council, a group seeking to organize Chicago’s cabbies into a union, obtained a copy of the memo and forwarded it to the Chicago Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection. Peter Enger, who represents the council, said if the city allowed Uber to move forward with this “the state would be cheated out of their funds and it would impact four separate industries: Chicago taxis, suburban taxi, limousines and Airport Express vans.”

Business Affairs spokeswoman Mika Stambaugh confirmed to the Sun-Times the city told Uber in no uncertain terms were they to start UberX serving O’Hare and Midway. ” Any company offering that service is subject to enforcement, which includes tickets and vehicle impoundment. The city intends to strictly enforce this policy,” Stambaugh said.

Taxi companies and ridesharing services have battled for months over regulating companies like Uber's UberX services in the same manner as cabs. Currently the ridesharing services are largely unregulated, especially in comparison to taxis. Some larger companies have invested as much as $300,000 for a single taxi medallion and the taxi lobby says ridesharing services have drained business from them. An ordinance to regulate ridesharing companies was tabled by a parliamentary maneuver last week. Ald. Roderick Sawyer (6th) used the procedure because he believes the ordinance doesn’t go far enough to protect taxi companies. Another bill in the Illinois Legislature that would regulate ridesharing services, and goes further than the city ordinance, is also pending.