Linton, right, tells the driver, Ridah Benamara, his Uber rides are illegal.
After saying earlier this week that it was operating illegally, D.C. Taxicab Commission Chairman Ron Linton targeted Uber, the company whose smartphone app hails users rides from luxury sedans, in a sting at the Mayflower Hotel this morning.
But for all Linton’s complaints that Uber was outside the District’s livery regulations by having limousines charge for time and mileage, it was an unlucky driver who got the brunt of today’s operation.
Shortly aft 9 a.m., a pair of DCTC enforcement vehicles pulled up to the hotel. Linton arrived a few minutes later in a Lincoln Towncar he reserved through Uber. Upon exiting, Linton and his officers surrounded the driver, who was clearly stunned to find himself in such a situation.
“We have no beef with the company,” Linton told DCist. “We test to see how they’re doing it. The driver has no District face card and he’s charging by mileage. He can charge by time.”
In Washington, Uber charges a base rate of $7, then adds $3.25 for each mile traveled plus 75 cents for each minute a car is hired. Hailed taxis cost $3.00 to get in and go one-sixth of a mile, then 25 cents for each additional sixth of a mile, along with a waiting fee of $15 per hour billed per-minute when a cab is stopped in traffic. Linton’s ride to the Mayflower was $21.
“We have to look at Uber,” Linton said.
But this morning, it was the driver, Ridah Benamara, who felt the brunt of Linton’s agenda. Benamara, who is based in Virginia, said he owns his Towncar and has been affiliated with Uber for about a month. He said he typically charges $35 an hour for direct-hire limousine services; Uber has been a nice add-on.
“I don’t get it,” he said as DCTC officials inspected his license and scribbled notes on their citation pads.
Benamara was cited for charging for mileage and distance without a D.C. taxi license and for not having proper proof of insurance. Both carry fines of $500. The DCTC officers also called a tow truck, for which Benamara will be charged an additional $75 to $100, as well as a daily impound fee of $35. Sharon McInnis, a DCTC licensing and enforcement officer at the sting, told Benamara he could retrieve his car after paying the fines and requesting a hearing, but not until the next business day. With the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday on Monday, Benamara will have to wait until at least Tuesday to get his livelihood back.
Uber was quick to react, sending over two of its employees to assist Benamara, but they were clearly angered by Linton’s operation.
“Every driver has an L tag or or H tag,” Rachel Holt, Uber’s general manager for Washington, said as Benamara’s Towncar was being hooked to a tow truck. “All our i’s are dotted.” She also said that Uber had Benamara’s insurance information on file.
After Linton first called Uber illegal, the company’s CEO, Travis Kalanick, told DCist he’d be “happy to talk to the chairman about his concerns.”
That Linton targeted an individual driver today rather than the company itself seems to be a move that could sow wariness among sedan drivers considering affiliating themselves with Uber. DCTC does plenty of enforcement, and out-of-state drivers are not allowed to pick up passengers in the District without a prior contract. Additionally, most citations probably do not feature the presence of the commission’s chairman.
Still, Uber seems to rate highly with drivers. Solomon Mike, a D.C.-based driver who operates both a taxi and a luxury sedan and happened to be at the Mayflower this morning, said he’s affiliated himself with Uber, too.
“It’s been a good addition,” he said.
