Uber won't wait on regulator permission before offering new rideshare options CEO Travis Kalanick told the U.S. Conference of Mayors on Monday according to a report from the Sacramento Business Journal. Kalanick told the conference in a conversation with Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson that Uber's previous willingness to wait for government regulators to create rules around new rideshare features no longer existed. Kalanick's reasoning was that Lyft and other rideshare companies ignored regulator warnings, so there was no reason for Uber to lose profits by not following suit.
"If other companies are able to operate and there’s no enforcement of the regulations or laws, than we’re going to take that as tacit approval," Kalanick said.
Considering the almost non-stop trouble Uber gets in for every new feature or new market, it might be reasonable to wonder just when this new impatience began. Still, throwing down the gauntlet this way is a bold move for Kalanick and Uber. After all, it's one thing to play the aggrieved underdog oppressed by "Big Taxi" and another to just flat out tell a room full of mayors that you won't let any laws keep you from promoting your service. It's especially amusing when the whole point of the talk was about how cities can be more welcoming to tech companies.
The latest bone of contention is over Uber's new carpooling service, Uberpool, along with the versions of the same feature getting tested by Lyft and others. Prosecutors in several cities are sending warnings that the service is illegal. That's on top of all the other legally questionable activities the company's are engaged in, such as not doing enough for background checks.
Uber and its compatriots have plenty of allies in government, witness the enthusiasm of Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe when he helped reverse a (completely ignored by Uber and Lyft) ban in the state. But with or without support from regulators and lawmakers, Uber clearly will forge ahead regardless.
