Uber claims that its ride-share service UberX is faster, cheaper and more convenient than taxis. At first glance the benefits seem obvious. Riders can sign up for the mobil app and instantly request a ride. You can see how far away the closest driver on your phone. Enter your credit card info once and no cash is ever exchanged. The service has now launched in Chattanooga.
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Months of speculation was finally put to bed Thursday, as ride-sharing application Uber officially launched its uberX service in Chattanooga.
The San Fransisco-based company has flirted with Chattanooga since early summer, when advertisements hit social media and Craigslist saying the company was looking for Chattanooga drivers. But Uber officials continually declined to comment on Uber’s ultimate intentions in Chattanooga.
Hired Chattanooga Uber drivers were gathered downtown on Wednesday to go over protocols, confirm documentation and receive Uber-issued iPhones.
Even so, company officials declined to confirm Uber’s launch, which was scheduled for the next day.
Then Thursday morning, with exuberant overtones, Uber finally announced the launch via email.
“Chattanooga, your Uber is arriving now,” the email stated. “From exploring the Chattanooga Market, to a night out with friends on Broad Street, Uber’s here to be your ride.”
Thursday morning, Uber drivers appeared in Chattanooga on the company’s mobile app, which has riders add credit card information and peg local Uber drivers for a ride. No cash changes hands, and at the end of the ride, both driver and rider are given a chance to rate the other and a digital receipt is issued.
How Uber worksDownload the Uber app and enter credit card information. Open the Uber app, request a ride and wait for an Uber driver to arrive. The Uber app will charge your debit or credit card, and both driver and rider are given a chance to rate one other when the ride is over.Reactions to Uber’s arrival in ChattanoogaTim Duckett, owner of Millenium Taxi Service: “It really didn’t [surprise me]. They have a billion dollar cash flow to just operate. I just totally disagree with the approach.”Chris Anderson, district 7 city councilman: “What we want to do is write legislation and allow them to operate. I knew it was coming soon. I didn’t know today.”Lacie Stone, spokeswoman for Mayor Andy Berke: “We welcome this new company to Chattanooga and look forward to helping our council members ensure they have the information they need to make an informed decision about ride-sharing.”
Initially, Uber isn’t even charging riders. To promote the new service, Uber is offering five free rides to commuters through Nov. 27.
Just after 11 a.m. Thursday, around 10 Uber drivers were available minutes from downtown Chattanooga locations.
Phillip Wheeler, a retired Georgia Department of Corrections employee, was pegged for a fare at East 11th Street, and he showed up in minutes for his first ever Uber fare, driving his blue Ford Fiesta, made spotless for the Uber launch.
Wheeler said he had never heard of Uber until they began advertising service in Chattanooga. He signed up and went through the company’s months-long hiring process and waited. He thought driving for Uber would be a good way to get out of the house and make a little extra money in his retirement.
Wheeler’s photo, car make and VIN number showed up in the app when the ride request was patched through to him. He was sitting three miles away, at the McDonald’s on Third Street.
In the Uber application, a car emblem moved toward the pick-up location and contact for Wheeler showed up.
Uber’s Chattanooga drivers earn a guaranteed $15 an hour between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. Thursday, and drivers who remained online for six hours earned an extra $50 “as one of our founding partners,” Uber said to its new drivers in an email.
The company tagged specific hot spots in Chattanooga to help set up the new drivers for the most success. Red areas were the places expected to be busiest, followed by orange and yellow.
All of the city center was tagged red.
“We’ve already seen a lot of demand for Uber coming from Downtown,” the Uber email to new drivers said.
The Northshore and Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport were flagged orange zones, and Hamilton Place was tagged yellow.
Billy Guernier, general manager for regional expansion at Uber, said Thursday that Chattanooga’s Uber drivers were busier than the company expected on the launch day.
He said before the official launch email even went out, there were folks in Chattanooga pegging the app looking for a ride.
Guernier said Chattanooga’s “forward thinking” personality and reputation got the company’s attention.
“We’ve had our eyes on [Chattanooga] for a while,” he said.
Plus, Guernier said Uber someday would like to connect Uber cities. Uber operates in Memphis, Nashville, Knoxville and Atlanta already. He said of the other Uber services (uberX, uberTAXI, uberBLACK, UberSUV and UberLux), Chattanooga may someday get uberBLACK, but will likely remain an uberX-only city.
“We start by launching cities, but our goal ultimately is to connect all those cities,” he said.
Chattanooga is on the smaller size of cities Uber traditionally chooses for expansion.
Guernier compared Chattanooga to other medium- to small-sized Uber cities like Charlottesville, Va. and Columbia, S.C.
But those cities are home to the University of Virginia and the University of South Carolina, respectively, both large schools with over 20,000 on-campus students.
The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga has 10,781 on-campus students, by comparison.
Which makes Chattanooga, again, and interesting place for Uber, said Guernier. He said Chattanooga “is, in a lot of ways,” a sort of testing ground for medium-sized, non-university-centric cities, especially in the historically car-dependent South.
Guernier said he thinks over time, Chattanooga residents and visitors will learn to use uberX and loosen the love affair with driving and owning personal vehicles.
Contact staff writer Alex Green at agreen@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6480.