Uber has been back in town since the summer, and Oxford already has nearly 30 different taxi companies, but business has not been bad for either.
There are currently 30 different taxi companies in Oxford (represented by all of the cars) The Oxford Board of Alderman approved 16 more drivers for seven companies on Tuesday (represented by the yellow cars). (Graphic by: Cameron Brooks)
The Oxford Board of Aldermen approved 16 more drivers for seven companies on Tuesday, Oct. 4.
During weekdays, anywhere from five to 10 drivers wait for a customer near campus, but drivers maybe pick up customers from as far away as Memphis to meet football weekend needs.
Uber driver Sunny Patel said business is booming after the short time it’s had in Oxford so far.
Uber has been operating in Oxford alongside local taxi companies since July 1 when House Bill 1381 was signed into law. The bill superseded the city’s former bans on ride-share services and gave the state authority over businesses that use digital networks to connect drivers to customers. The Uber app previously came to Oxford in August 2014 after it had expanded to 22 college towns across the nation. However, it was shut down within a few months, and the city threatened to arrest drivers for violations.
Uber is now operating in four Mississippi cities, including Jackson, Gulfport-Biloxi, Hattiesburg and Oxford. The latter three all launched alongside each other on the July 1 expansion this year.
The average Uber driver earns $19.04 per hour as opposed to the $10.07 earned by traditional taxi, chauffeur or limo drivers, according to Uber’s website.
“Business has been great. It’s pretty busy on weekends. Thursday through Saturday are when there are the most customers,” Patel said.
With Uber’s success in Oxford comes the question of how it is affecting the traditional taxi companies.
Angel Taxi driver Dale Simpson said Uber has not impacted his business at all.
Peggy Manduja, who drives for Varsity Taxi, said there has only been a slight decrease of business on weekdays. Her number of customers has been a little lower than it used to be.
“It has been a little bit slower on nights when there are all the taxis out and there’s nobody really on the Square. It hasn’t affected me at all on the busy days,” said Manduja.
Although taxi drivers are not reporting huge losses, and Uber is legal now, Uber drivers are still not held to the same regulations as traditional taxi drivers.
“I just wish they had to follow the same rules as taxis do, because they are a pay for hire,” Manduja said. “We have to follow the city regulations, and they do not. We have to have certain insurance and cameras; we have to do all this stuff and they don’t have to do anything. Anyone can apply to go drive for Uber, and you really don’t know who they are.”
Taxi drivers have to be approved by the city and are required to have a background check. Uber must pay a licensure fee, but their driver requirement is that new drivers must be approved by a fellow Uber driver.
Taylor Starling, a junior nursing major, said while she has nothing against Uber, she has loyalty to certain drivers.
“I’ve been using the same taxis since I was a freshman here,” Starling said. “I do think that Uber’s a good idea though and, with Oxford growing, that they will get enough business.”
After leaving her credit card in a cab during her sophomore year, the taxi driver drove to her housing complex to return it.
Starling said she has established trust with these people.
“The driver messaged me the next morning that he had found my card. I don’t know if an Uber would do that,” Starling said.
Uber is different in that the app matches you up with whichever driver is in your area and available at the time, as opposed to calling a taxi with whom you are familiar.
Patel said he believes Uber will continue to gain more traction after it has been operating in Oxford for a longer time.
“We do expect it to grow as more drivers come and for the business to increase,” Patel said.
