Uber’s Plans for Market Street
Uber is set to deploy its taxi service on San Francisco’s car-free Market Street, according to a letter from a top executive to Mayor Daniel Lurie’s adviser. This move comes a month after Lurie allowed Waymo to map the downtown area for its self-driving vehicles, a decision that has been met with controversy.
The controversy surrounding Waymo’s robotaxis has sparked debate, with some arguing that they should be considered taxis and allowed on the car-free street. Uber is now seeking to apply the same logic to its commercial ride-hails, starting with its taxi service and potentially expanding to Uber Black luxury cars.
Uber’s senior vice president of communications and public policy, Jill Hazelbaker, wrote to Lurie on April 10, expressing concerns over the perceived favoritism shown to Waymo. She argued that excluding Uber drivers would be counterproductive to the goal of revitalizing downtown San Francisco.
Public Reaction
The decision has been met with opposition from public transit advocates, who fear that allowing more cars on Market Street will lead to congestion and degrade Muni service. Cyrus Hall, a public transit advocate, stated, “The addition of Uber to that is just opening the floodgates to what we used to have: a congested, hard to navigate Market Street.”
On the other hand, some businesses along Market Street have been lobbying for the return of car traffic, citing the need to restore vibrancy to the corridor. Fernando Pujals, deputy director of the Mid-Market Business Association and Foundation, said, “The world has changed since the design of the original car-free Market Street, so it does bear looking at.”
Implementation Plans
Uber plans to wait until Waymo has finished its mapping before deploying Uber Black cars on Market Street. The company hopes that by doing so, both services can launch simultaneously.
Mayor Lurie’s spokesperson, Charles Lutvak, stated that San Francisco “can’t expect downtown to recover if we let Market Street stay empty.” The city plans to evaluate the impact of these changes and make decisions that prioritize public transit and reenergize downtown.
As the situation unfolds, it remains to be seen how Uber’s plans will affect the car-free status of Market Street and the overall transportation landscape in San Francisco.
