Uber gets the green light

By Terry Murry on Thursday, October 6th, 2022 in Columbia Basin News More Top Stories

PENDLETON – Uber is in Pendleton for as long as it wants to be. The city council unanimously approved removing a sunset clause on an ordinance that allowed the ride share service to operate through Round-Up.

Councilman Jake Cambier said the council received written and verbal testimony that spoke highly of the new service.

“(It was) about how effective Uber has been and how this has forced Elite (Taxi) to become more competitive and not be a monopoly,” Cambier said. “It was pretty much, from my point of view, a no-brainer.”

Elite Taxi had request that Uber’s sunset clause be extended another six months for the taxi company to further study the issue. The council chose not to take that step.

“Uber alone, just during Round-Up, had 1,730 rides that they provided and as you know Round-Up is a busy, busy, busy time,” Cambier said. “There’s absolutely no way Elite could have kept up with that kind of demand.”