Car Service Uber Avoids D.C. Council Restrictions

After protests about a District Council measure to control prices for rides by the new car service, Uber, council member Mary Cheh dropped an amendment to a taxi bill that would have raised the minimum fare for an Uber trip at roughly five times the drop rate of a D.C. cab — or about $15. Cheh will bring up the issue again with a separate bill in the fall.

Uber operates an online system with registered members who can use a smartphone app to contact a Uber sedan and get their ride. D.C. cab advocates say the start-up firm, which is going global, has an unfair advantage in D.C. with fewer traditional taxi cab restrictions.

The proposed measure would have set Uber’s minimum price for a ride at about $15 — which is the base fare for the car service, as it stands today.