At the NYT, Brian X. Chen reports that Uber, the nifty internet service that uses a "clever algorithm to summon a car quickly with a smartphone app" was nearly banned by politicians in the Washington, DC.
After six months, the company has finally won a battle with the city, which had been trying to deem its service illegal. The City Council of the District of Columbia on Tuesday afternoon passed a legislative amendment that formally legalized sedans like the ones that Uber’s car-service partners use. The bill will permit Uber to do business without regulation until the end of the year, when the legislation will need to be revisited.
That’s a sharp turn of events from Monday, when the City Council discussed a legislative amendment that would have fixed the prices of fares for sedans so that they would be five times the minimum cost of cabs.
More: Uber, Maker of Summon-a-Car App, Wins in Washington – NYTimes.com.
Co-founder and CEO Travis Kalanick wrote a letter to the DC City Council here, arguing his company's case.
