Uber, it seems, is constantly in a battle with someone here in the Greater Boston Area. First: it was the City of Cambridge. Then the taxicab industry picked up their pitchforks. And now Uber is slinging mud with rival rideshare company Lyft. The popular alternative form of transportation has been waiting on support from City Hall, and they’ve received verbal confirmation of such from Mayor Marty Walsh.
Mayor Walsh appeared on Bloomberg Surveillance on Tuesday to discuss Boston’s expanding income disparity, cost of housing, the Market Basket protests, economic reform and enticing investments in the city’s blue-collar workforce. But in the closing 20-seconds of the roughly 6-minute interview, host Tom Keene asked Mayor Walsh if he supports Uber.
Asked Keene, “Do you support Uber? Is Uber good technology and good innovation for a city like Boston?”
Mayor Walsh responded with favorable remarks towards Uber, though, he noted that it’s not really about picking sides – Uber vs. Taxis, Uber vs. Lyft, etc.; it’s more about providing adequate forms of transportation for Bostonians and city-goers alike.
“Uber is a very popular mode of transportation,” responded Mayor Walsh. We are looking at reforming our transportation system because we have Uber, taxicabs, and others. Uber is efficient and people liked it, so i support it.”
To date, Mayor Walsh has yet to take a hard stance on Uber, saying there’s plenty of room in Boston for Uber, taxis and a bevy of other innovative rideshares.
“We cannot turn a blind eye to public safety concerns around unregulated modes of transportation, but we also cannot condemn a popular, effective service that takes responsible steps to ensure the safety of their users,” stated Mayor Walsh previously. “There is a balance.”
Now, it’s important to consider that he’s not advocating Uber over taxis, or saying one service is simply better, or that he’s affording one resources in lieu of the other. But he is saying that perhaps the taxi companies can cool their jets, the Uber brass can talk regulations with the City of Boston, and we can all get along.
He did note that city officials are working on updating local transportation laws to accommodate next-generation services like Uber, but stay tuned to BostInno for the latest information from that front.
