Chad Selweski covered state and regional politics for The Macomb Daily for nearly 30 years, earning numerous awards. He is a contributor to Deadline Detroit.
By Chad Selweski
I was about to put my socks and shoes on, and brew one more cup of coffee to alleviate my early-morning grogginess, when I poked a button on my smart phone app and was instantly informed that my driver would arrive within 15 minutes.
Am I some fat-cat with a limousine service at my beckon call? No, I’m a lowly citizen who was required to report for jury duty in less than 45 minutes.
Under an unprecedented pilot project initiated by the Macomb County Clerk’s Office, those summoned for jury duty receive a free trip from Uber, the ride-sharing company, to and from the county courthouse in downtown Mount Clemens. The free ride is only good for the first day of jury selection.
I waited about 12 minutes for my Uber car to arrive at my driveway last week after the company provided me with an online photo the driver, his first name, the type of vehicle he was driving and the license plate number.
This was my first experience with this high-tech alternative to a taxi service, but I quickly learned that Uber stands ready to transform public transit in Metro Detroit through an aggressive, image-building effort. The company seized the opportunity offered by Macomb Clerk Carmella Sabaugh, providing rides for jurors at no cost to the county.
Chad Selweski
Without the promotional cost-free ride, my 14-mile round trip, which lasted about 15 minutes in each direction, would have cost me about $19.
My driver was friendly and pleasant. His (personal) car was so clean that it generated some guilt on my part as I reflected on the state of my Ford’s interior. (By the way, I did not get selected to serve on a jury).
Mike White, Michigan general manager for Uber, said the jury-duty program, the first of its kind in the nation, likely will be expanded beyond its initial 60 days once the company takes a closer look at the outcome and compiles statistics. Uber paid the drivers who gave free rides.
“Right now, I’m really optimistic about extending it,” Smith said. “Overall … so far we’ve received really positive feedback. It just makes jury service less painful.”
But jury duty is only one of many unfamiliar or difficult destinations for short-distance travelers where Uber’s for-hire vehicles might take advantage of the Detroit area’s notoriously mediocre transit, particularly the bus service within the city and the taxi service in the outer suburbs.
The question: Can Uber, and a competing ride-sharing firm called Lyft, alter the small universe of publicly-used transportation in southeast Michigan?
The Macomb program coincides with Uber hitting a milestone 27 months after its Michigan debut, marking its 2 millionth ride, provided earlier this month. The company serves six metropolitan areas in the state – Detroit, Ann Arbor, Flint, Lansing, Kalamazoo and Grand Rapids – and it has widened its ridership area in Metro Detroit, from Lake St. Clair and the Detroit River west to Detroit Metro Airport and Washtenaw County and north into the far reaches of Macomb and Oakland counties.
Opposition to Uber
On a national scale, despite growing opposition from taxi companies and some elected officials, San Francisco-based Uber has now leap-frogged taxis as the most popular form of on-demand public transit in the country for business travelers. At the same time, Uber opposition by the political class flourishes across the globe, as the company has spread to nearly 60 countries.
Back in Michigan, Kelly Sobetski of Roseville, who took an Uber ride to Macomb County jury duty in Mount Clemens on a lark, said her June 30 experience eliminated her apprehensions and made her ready to pay for Uber service in the future.
“I really like that they offered this. It’s so much easier than trying to find a place to park downtown,” Sobetski said.
But Uber remains not so well-regarded by politicians and taxi association officials on the East and West Coasts, where the company first launched its U.S. efforts in 2011 at transforming public transportation. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio labels Uber an affront to the yellow-cab firms that dominate Manhattan transportation.
In California, where Uber has taken hold in major cities, elected officials and courts claim that the ride-hailing firm enjoys an unleveled playing field, avoiding regulations and government fees imposed on taxi drivers and limousine services, while discriminating against labor-intensive riders such as the handicapped. The company is intensely fighting those allegations.
In May, a tiny protest by the 700-member Metropolitan Detroit Cab Drivers Association in downtown Detroit similarly complained that Uber was stealing customers by setting rates that avoid government-mandated taxi fees.
In Lansing, two competing pieces of legislation in the state Capitol take aim at Uber. The company objects to restrictions on their ride-sharing service proposed in state Senate bills, but they’re ready to accept the standards proposed in the House bills, according to White.
The House regulations requiring a $5,000 annual state permit fee, plus background checks and substantial liability insurance for ride-sharing drivers, which Uber already provides, are acceptable to the company, White said.
Meanwhile, Uber’s public relations campaign has successfully partnered with Mothers Against Drunk Driving for a good reason – statistics show its peak ridership comes as the bars close and intoxicated patrons suddenly need a designated driver.
The company, counting on positive “word of mouth,” also hopes to take advantage of those without cars or driver licenses, as well as the convenience of curb-to-curb service with the passenger able to read a newspaper or magazine, or email and social media messages on their phone, during the trip.
I would suggest that, if Uber becomes firmly established, it may become the ride of choice during Michigan snowstorms or icy incidents, particularly in suburban areas.
Picture this: You’re preparing to go to work or drive to some other important destination in the early morning hours after a snowfall. Your driveway is not shoveled, and the local snow plow has left a foot-high pile of a slushy mess at your curb. Ahead of you is a lot of digging out, followed by a white-knuckle drive to your destination in stop-and-go traffic.
A quick poke on your smart phone app, despite a round-trip cost of $20 or $30, suddenly sounds especially comforting.
That may be the ultimate Uber advantage.