Rufus Smalls likes to drive.
His day job is as a patient care technician at Candler Hospital. But after that, he has a driving job. He books passengers and, using his own car, takes them to their destination.
But Smalls is not a taxi driver — he is an independent contractor who offers ridesharing.
Instead of working with a dispatcher, Smalls uses his phone and its GPS feature to find passengers and can take as many as four at a time in his 2014 Nissan.
His driving schedule is flexible.
“I work any day of the week, according to my schedule. I might get up in the morning and work seven to ten. I might work all day. It’s whenever I feel like driving,” Smalls said. “This has been super for me.”
Smalls is among a number of Savannahians who have joined forces with the innovative technology firm called Uber.
Using a mobile app on his phone — “U” for Uber — Smalls has downloaded its uberX ridesharing software. And his passengers have downloaded Uber software that allows them to connect with Smalls.
Steady surge
San Francisco-based Uber started in 2010 and now operates in 300 cities around the world, according to general manager Michael Black.
Uber launched in the Savannah area May 8 and now offers rides from Hilton Head to Hinesville, from Tybee Island to Richmond Hill and points in between. Information about the new service has spread by word of mouth, not by advertising, Black said.
“The people of Savannah have embraced this service,” Black said .“Since our launch, we’ve connected Uber users with hundreds of safe rides and look forward to continuing to provide reliable rides at the touch of a button.”
He said hundreds of drivers have signed up to partner with Uber.
“We don’t run a fleet of vehicles. Our customers are our drivers,” Black said. “We’re providing a software application” for them to run their own transportation business.
The cost of this new service? Not much — $1.75 base fare plus 20 cents per minute and $1.50 per mile. Cost is just $19 from Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport to downtown Savannah.
When someone wants a ride, GPS software locates the UberX partner driver who is closest to the would-be passenger.
Then, Black said, a ping sounds on the partner’s phone, alerting him or her that someone wants a ride. The rideshare partner can then talk to the passenger about the destination.
When an UberX driver takes the job, he clicks “Begin Trip” and the fare is ready to be calculated on the software application, Black said. When the driver clicks “End Trip,” the rider learns the cost of the ride and gets an electronic receipt.
An Uber ride is “a cashless experience,” Black said. An Uber passenger has already given Uber his email address and credit card number.
Taxi differences
Savannah’s taxi owners and drivers are not happy about the competition and say it’s unfair because Uber doesn’t have to comply with the city ordinance on taxis. At least one taxi owner doesn’t believe rideshare contractors are any different than taxi drivers and should be subject to the same rules as his company.
“They’re a taxi. They have an app. We have an app. We have to have a color scheme. We have to have a sign affixed to the cab. We have to have a top light on the car. We have to carry a state minimum of insurance. We have to have taxis inspected every year,” said Larry Green, president of Savannah’s largest cab company, Yellow Cab of Savannah.
But Bret Bell, city public information director, said the Savannah taxi ordinance does not and cannot affect Uber. Since last year, Bell said, staff in the city attorney’s office have been trying to draft regulations to cover both rideshare companies and taxis. Other cities also have been struggling to decide how to treat the rideshare business, Bell said.
Attorney Mark Adelman, who represents the Savannah Taxi Owners Association, acknowledged the rideshare economy is coming.
“We just want it to be fair and balanced. We want an even marketplace,” Adelman said.
On May 5, Gov. Nathan Deal signed two state laws that deal with taxis and ridesharing companies. In a May 7 memorandum to the mayor and alderman — on the eve of Uber’s launch in Savannah — City Manager Stephanie Cutter wrote that the two bills “shift all enforcement over rider share services (example: Uber) to the state and preempts all current local legislation.”
She also wrote that the city “will take no action to formerly stop (Uber’s) operations from starting. City staff is in contact with Uber representatives and will be forwarding all complaints and concerns received to both them and the state.”
Still, Cutter wrote, Uber “will be required to follow all basic traffic and parking rules within the city.”
Adelman, who represents 200 of Savannah’s 280 taxis, said the two new laws mean that, in some instances, taxi owners face city regulations that don’t affect Uber.
For instance, under the current Savannah taxi ordinance, taxis face an annual city inspection, but Uber cars don’t, Adelman said. The ordinance requires a physician’s certificate of good health for taxi drivers but not for Uber drivers.
In addition, he said, there’s a dress code for taxi drivers — a uniform shirt for each company — but Uber drivers have no such requirement, he said.
Also choosing to ride with an Uber partner or choosing a taxi is a matter of safety.
“Who do you feel safer with — a professional driver rather than a part-timer who is coming off a fulltime job unrelated to driving? It’s common sense. It’s safer to take a taxi,” he said.
A fun job
Meanwhile, Uber is recruiting drivers and promising they can earn up to $20 an hour. Drivers must be 21, have a four-door vehicle, a driver’s license and insurance. Plus, they must undergo a background check that searches local, state and federal data bases back seven years.
Smalls, 51, started working as an Uber partner on the day the Savannah-region ridesharing was launched.
“I’m a pretty good driver,” he said. “And I keep my car clean, and I keep myself looking good. On weekends sometimes I put on my tuxedo shirt and bow tie.”
And Smalls has rules for conduct in his car — no smoking, no drinking.
Smalls said he loves his new job.
“It’s great. Uber has been super for me… I’m making great money ... And I can drive whenever I feel like driving,” he said. “I can take one trip a day and then quit. Or I can take up to 15 trips a day. It’s all up to me.”