UberDC: Is It Illegal? (updated Friday afternoon)

On

Wednesday the D.C. Taxi Commission accused the new luxury car serivce Uber of "being illegal." Is it? I did an exclusive and extensive interview with Uber CEO Travis Kalanick that's up on washingtonian.com. Please give it a read. He addresses the Taxi Commission charges, talks about the founding of Uber, his background and what the hell went on during the wee hours of New Year's Eve. 

Read this update with Kalanick from Friday, after one of his drivers had his car impounded.

The D.C. Taxi Commission has a lot of hubris slinging trash at Uber or any other car service, especially given the paltry level of service available from DC cabs. Yes, there are still a few good drivers in the fleet, who speak English, who know their way around town, whose cars are clean and with working parts, and who don't babble on the goddamned phone the ENTIRE time of the trip. But, as I said, they are few. DC cabs are awful. The city needs more Ubers, and I say that having never used the service.