City of Everett now allowing rideshare pickups

Update: A few hours after pickups were suspended, we received word that the City of Everett has decided to allow rideshare operations in Everett while the council revisits outstanding issues with their recent ordinance. We appreciate this decision by the City and look forward to working with city officials over the coming weeks to resolve outstanding issues. We will continue our efforts to minimize the impact to your business.

The City of Everett passed new regulations for rideshare in June 2017 that are different from every other community in Washington state and prevent Uber rideshare pickups in Everett until the regulations are changed.

We have attempted to work with City officials for months to get changes to the law that would allow rideshare to continue in the city and remain committed to finding a reasonable solution that brings safe, affordable transportation options back to Everett. We know that rideshare operations present new and unique regulatory challenges, and we do not believe it was the intention of the Council to force rideshare to leave Everett.

Unfortunately, until the regulations are changed, we have suspended rideshare pickups, which means that riders in Everett will be unable to request a ride and drivers will be denied earning opportunities. The silver lining is that UberEATS will continue to be available and riders can still be dropped off in Everett if they are picked up outside the city limits.

As we stated in a joint letter with Lyft sent to City officials on July 31, we support sensible regulations that ensure drivers, riders, and communities can use our technology safely and reliably, no matter where they are.  As we began taking steps to implement the new regulations, we have confirmed our previous concerns that it is impossible for us to comply with some of the provisions.

Here are the most problematic elements of the current Everett regulations that are unique to the city:

When the Everett City Council began working on new regulations for taxi and rideshare companies in late 2016, Uber representatives engaged with City staff. From then until now, we’ve continued to provide suggestions on proposed regulations and to offer feedback at council hearings. Unfortunately, efforts by rideshare companies to work with City staff have been unsuccessful.

Speak up by emailing or calling the Mayor and City Council if you would like to see Uber back in Everett.