“We don't want to see Uber in Westmoreland County. Tell them to stay in Pittsburgh,” said Lou Falbo, owner of Veteran's Cab Co. in Latrobe.
The San Francisco-based ride-sharing company, which has been operating in the Pittsburgh area, started service at 5 p.m. Thursday throughout much of Western Pennsylvania. In addition to Westmoreland, Uber announced it is moving into Washington, Greene, Fayette, Indiana, Armstrong and Butler counties.
“It's definitely a detriment to our business and it's an unfair playing field,” Falbo said of Uber's business model of having drivers use their own cars to pick up riders.
But Westmoreland County transit officials hailed the arrival of the service as something to augment the public transportation system of local and commuter buses. They also expect it to fill a gap left when most taxi service was halted about two years ago in the central part of the county, including the Greensburg and Jeannette areas.
“I don't see Uber as competition. I just see it as an alternative transportation option in the county. It's a great thing, actually,” said Alan Blahovec, executive director of the Westmoreland County Transit Authority.
Jason Rigone, director of the county's planning department, said Uber will benefit residents.
“Having additional options to public transportation can only be viewed as a positive for the residents of Westmoreland County, especially for the younger demographic who want to access these types of services,” Rigone said.
Traditional cab service has been limited throughout the county, where only Veteran's and Byer's Taxi Service in Vandergrift operate. Manor Valley Taxi in Irwin has a very limited cab service, according to a dispatcher.
Greensburg Yellow Cab provided service in the Greensburg area until a few years ago when National Express Transit Co. purchased the company. National Express discontinued taxi service to focus on operating the transit authority's shared-ride and paratransit programs.
For the first two years of the authority's paratransit service, it contracted the county's three taxi companies to provide the rides. A consolidation of service last year under National Express resulted in Byer's and Veteran's being shut out of the system.
Julie Martin, owner of Byer's Taxi, which operates mostly in northern Westmoreland, wasn't sure what the Uber competition will mean.
“I don't know how much of a problem it will be for me,” Martin said.
As part of its statewide growth plan, Uber also has started service in DuBois, Gettysburg, greater Williamsport, Johnstown and Altoona, among other places.
“With this expansion, we're now covering 93 percent of Pennsylvania,” Jennifer Krusis, Uber's general manager for Pennsylvania expansion, said in a statement.
Uber officials said there are encouraging signs about the company's future in Pennsylvania. The company recently reached an agreement with Philadelphia Parking Authority to continue its services there, and the newly passed state budget contains language that lets Uber operate in that city through Sept. 30.
Spokesman Craig Ewer said Uber officials want lawmakers to pass “permanent, statewide ride-sharing legislation as soon as possible.”
The state Public Utility Commission granted Uber and its competitor Lyft two-year experimental certificates for statewide operation in early 2015.
©2016 Tribune-Review (Greensburg, Pa.) Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
