Uber Will Now Offer Taxi Service

If you can’t beat them, join them. The car service that for months has battled with
the DC Taxi Commission now will also provide taxis to subscribers.

Uber is calling it an “experiment,” but the app-accessed chaffered-car service says
that as of today it will offer an option to choose a DC cab in addition to its usual
sedans and SUVS. As with the other cars, the fare, including tip, will go on the user’s
credit card. The taxi rate will be the same as is shown on the meter, plus a $2 dispatch
fee and a 20 percent tip.

“Thanks to the pro-innovation, pro-consumer legislation passed last month by the DC
Council, we know that Uber is here to stay, which is why we are rolling out new transportation
options like UberTaxi,” the company sent in an e-mail to subscribers. “Supply will
be limited at first. Many taxis don’t fit Uber standards, so we are curating our supply
pretty carefully.”

For now, the service is available only for pickups in the city itself. Eventually
it will include Maryland and Virginia, according to the company.

The e-mail states that the option is in the experimental phase, and “we will continue
to improve on UberTaxi as more people use it.”

Carol Ross Joynt