Uber will be suspending its ride-sharing services in Portland for three months while the city works on updating its rules regulating the local taxi industry.
The announcement comes just two weeks after Uber started its operations in Portland without the city's permission, causing a huge sparring match between Uber and Portland, with the city filing a lawsuit against Uber and issuing a cease-and-desist order that Uber stop its UberX service at once and Uber ignoring the city's demand.
In a blog post, Uber says it will temporarily halt its services in the city of Portland starting on the evening of Sunday, Dec. 21. However, the more than 500 Portlanders who have signed up as Uber drivers in the last two weeks can continue to pick up passengers in surrounding communities in the Portland Metro area, including Beaverton, Gresham, Hillsboro and Tigard, and drop them off in Portland. They will not be able to pick up passengers in the city until Apr. 9, when Uber's operations resume.
"Uber is dedicated to curating and continuing a valuable and constructive relationship with Portland's lawmakers, working to create a regulatory framework that works for everyone, not just us," says Uber. "Not just the taxi cabs. Not just the city officials. Everyone."
In exchange for Uber's voluntary suspension of its services, Portland Mayor Charlie Hales promised that the city will have revised regulations in place on Apr. 9 in time for the resumption of Uber's operations. If no new regulations are in place by then, Uber will still be allowed to operate while the city continues to pursue a long-term solution.
"The city and Uber started off on the wrong foot," Hales tells the Williamette Week. "But this agreement resets the clock. We will work with Uber moving forward, and we thank other sharing-economy companies, like Lyft, for working with the city to bring our policies up-to-date."
In a press release, the city of Portland says Mayor Hales has formed the PFHT Innovation Task Force, which will convene starting Jan. 14 to discuss and form recommendations for transportation rules regarding the number of licenses granted, pricing systems, accessibility features for persons with disabilities, and safety issues, such as requiring commercial insurance and stricter background checks for drivers.
Portland is one of the first American cities to embrace the sharing economy. It has regulations in place requiring Portland-based Airbnb renters to comply with local short-term rental laws and pay mandated taxes for such rentals. Unlike Uber, however, Airbnb voluntarily approached the city shortly after it launched its apartment rental service in Portland.
Uber's short, five-year history is riddled with similar other instances of entering markets without the permission of regulators, but the company has mostly gotten away with its actions with the support of its users and local lobbyists.
It's unusual for Uber to suspend its services, but this isn't the first time the company did so. Earlier this month, Uber stopped operations in New Delhi, India after being banned for allegations of rape against an Uber driver. The company also stopped servicing Nevada last month after a district court issued an injunction preventing it from operating in the city due to "confusion" over its business model.
