Please postpone your vote on the new ridesharing legislation
An open letter to the Seattle City Council
[Sent via email to all nine members of the Seattle City Council the night of February 13th, 2014]
I know that calling ground transportation in Seattle a complicated issue is like calling War and Peace a book about Russian aristocrats, and that there are no solutions that are going to make everyone happy. Because Uber and Lyft are working so well for so many people right now, though, giving them the ability to continue to operate in the Seattle market in a way that isn’t in direct conflict with their business models truly is in the best interests of all Seattleites. That’s why I respectfully ask that you postpone the adoption of new ridesharing regulations—even on a temporary basis—until new legislation can be developed that has the buy-in not only of the taxi and for-hire industries, but the ridesharing industry as well.
This is the first email I’ve ever written to any of you in my capacity as a private citizen, but I wanted to take a moment to reach out before you vote the ridesharing legislation out of committee tomorrow morning. I missed most of this issue as it played out a couple of weeks ago because I was off the grid, but I just learned about the timing of the committee vote earlier today, so I wanted to be sure to weigh in before that happens.
I completely understand and agree with the need to regulate companies like Uber and Lyft—I’m surprised they’ve managed to do as well as they have while essentially operating illegally in most of the markets in which they’ve established themselves, but the argument against arbitrarily capping the number of vehicles that are allowed to operate in Seattle stems from that same fact.
Our non-SOV transportation system in Seattle is in dire need of help, as you know better than most. Even without the draconian Metro cuts that are one very likely version of our regional transportation network’s future, Seattleites are starving for better ways to get around town without having to drive themselves—and with the Metro cuts it’ll only be worse.
Companies that provide cheap, reliable, and easily accessible alternatives to cabs are growing like wildfire in Seattle right now in order to meet that demand—demand that isn’t currently being met by taxis or for-hire vehicles. Seattle is car2go’s biggest and fastest-growing market for the same reason that this is such an attractive market for Uber and Lyft—there’s a huge unmet demand here for affordable single-trip transportation options, and these companies are helping to fill it with no public funds required whatsoever.
By capping the number of ridesharing vehicles that are allowed to operate in Seattle, you will be effectively shutting the industry out of our market, and in the process not only cutting off at the knees one of the bright spots in our non-SOV transportation network—and again, one that’s operating without any public funding whatsoever—but also doing serious damage to Seattle’s well-earned reputation as one of the most innovative cities on the planet.
It’s worth noting that I wasn’t asked to write this, and I’m not copying talking points from anyone—I truly believe that Uber and Lyft won’t be able to operate in Seattle under the conditions that this legislation would impose, simply because arbitrarily creating a set maximum amount of revenue that they can generate in our market will cause them to invest their resources in other cities where they can achieve better economies of scale with the same investment on their part.
I know you ran for City Council to make the city a better place for all Seattleites—please don’t miss this opportunity to keep us moving in the right direction where alternative transportation options are concerned.
Your constituent,
Sol Villarreal
