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Uber competition proves too much for San Luis Obispo cab company

A Ride Awaits Facebook Page

The owner of a locally-based cab company is pulling out of the City of San Luis Obispo saying he can no longer compete with Uber's ride-sharing drivers.

Dan Indendi is the man behind A Ride Awaits, a company he started a couple of years ago in Paso Robles. He says he decided to expand into San Luis Obispo late last year, but has found Uber drivers were taking an increasingly larger share of the SLO passenger market.

Indendi told KCBX he's not against Uber, but believes cab and ride-sharing companies need to play by similar rules.

"Either they need to lower regulations and fees for us taxi operators, or they need to implement more regulation and fees—I'm not trying to say 'stick it to their wallet' but, we need to be on the same playing field," said Indendi.

Uber spokesperson Tatiana Winograd says in many cases Uber does meet the same requirements as other transportation options.

"We are creating a level playing field in insuring that our drivers do have background checks, that the rides are fully insured and that the cars are safe and that they're inspected in the same way that those other transportation companies, like taxis and public transporation also require," said Winograd.

Gamaliel Anguiano is with the City of San Luis Obispo. He says A Ride Awaits is the first company to leave the city naming Uber as a main force in that decision. He says comparing the regulations faced by transportation companies is not necessarily easy to do.

"Although very similar in nature and operation, it's not an exact apples-to-apples comparison," said Anguiano. "The rigorous requirements that we put on our taxi cab companies through are to help insure public safety, and I'm sure Uber has their own measures. How comparable they are, it's difficult to say."

Uber's big advantage for some is its smartphone app. A new taxi-hailing app called Flywheel is taking off in larger cities, but has yet to arrive on the Central Coast and is too late for Indendi. He says he petitioned Flywheel to come to San Luis Obispo.

For the time being, A Ride Awaits still serves the Paso Robles area, but Indendi says he's feeling the pressure from Uber there as well.