I'd be happy to have them here, but don't like their tactics.

It's pretty much anarchy if we excuse the "good guys" that we like from following local laws. They need to lobby and get the Council to change the rules before simply operating here illegally.

Fuck Uber, but it should be easier than it is now to put a for-hire vehicle on the road.

Something needs to change. Why would the taxi companies invest in location updating, smartphone apps, etc.? They have absolutely nothing to gain right now and taxi service here sucks ass. In order for service to get any better the regulations need to be relaxed and the market needs to be opened up to competitors.

There is an app for hailing taxi cabs in Portland. http://gocurb.com/portland/

Portland's current cab situation is undoubtably horrible, but I'd rather sacrifice convenience and be patient for a less degenerate option to arrive than reward Uber's creepy modus operandi (a simple google search reveals just how far their lack of business ethics go). I'd be happier walking through the freezing rain before giving a Canadian penny to the Enron of Apps.

Geez, except on New Year's Eve, I've never had trouble getting a cab in Portland. Maybe once or twice I've had to wait a little too long, but I am truly amazed at the bitching about Portland taxi service.

This was all very preventable on behalf of the city. It could have decided to allow a market demand for cabs or change rules to allow cabs for hired. It could have taken the same approach that it did for Air B'N'B, which was allowing to it operate within the city with a blind eye, and then allowing it with some regulations. But it decided to, instead, tell a service being demanded in Portland to shove off.

This is the inevitable. I have no sympathy for the city being all scorned by this.

I just wish the upper management at Uber weren't so douchey.

It's been years since I've had an issue with any cab company in town (a Radio Cabbie was late some time in 2005, I have since forgiven them). No idea where all this hate is coming from.

But that Uber is some spooky shit.

I live in Fort Worth, TX where Uber has been around for a while now. Everyone I know who has tried it, loves it. I use it constantly. It's cheaper and faster than any cab I've ever taken. The best part is, the app finds your location through gps - so if you're drunk at a bar, you don't have to worry about figuring out the address to tell a cabbie. That being said, when I visited Portland, I experienced much better cab service compared in Dallas/Fort Worth. Radio Cab was pretty reliable but could be very slow at times. Still, Uber beats them all. And as far as the safety concerns: My boyfriend recently started driving for Uber and I can tell you guys that drivers go through an extensive background check. It took weeks for him to gain approval to drive here.

I'm a Uber driver, hire me

Uber driver here, I gave several rides in Portland this weekend and everyone I met loved having uber here in Portland. But let's get some things straight...

1. The city has argued that uber is not safe because they don't do background checks. Wrong, they did a background check on me before I was cleared to drive.

2. The city claims our vehicles are not inspected. Wrong again, I had to pay out of pocket to get my brand new car inspected at an approved facility.

The only thing uber is not doing is giving the city council their cut, and there's the rub. Broadway has stated they pay $150k annually, well of course the city is pissed they aren't getting that from uber.

Portland doesn't even have 400 taxis for the entire city. I have worked at nightclubs downtown and every weekend it was the same story, someone needs a taxi at 1 or 2 am so we call them one, and then they have to wait anywhere from 30-90 minutes. With uber the riders can see where there driver is in real time and the app even shows them an estimated arrival time based GPS.

I have seen several articles saying that the taxis can't refuse service, and that riders must go through a dispatcher to get a cab. Well, I have seen cabbies in Portland refuse to take people to Beaverton stating it is too far for them (read: I don't get paid for the return trip), I have seen them deny service because they are afraid the rider may puke in the car, and I have seen them just flat out not show up. The taxi situation here in Portland is abysmal, and considering tri-met closes before the bars do, there needs to be a change.

The city can't just keep a business interminably in limbo because they haven't put a regulatory debate on the agenda. Uber has wanted to be here for a couple of years. Uber felt that disrupting the city commissioners was the best way to spur action on setting regulations. Now the only way for the council to stop them from operating is to get an injunction, which would give them a limited time frame to set rules. I applaud Uber for forcing the city council's hand when they had no incentive to ever let them in.

And the libertarian trends continue in Portland. The unregulated free market is a crock and a definite affront to the progress of union era progress

We've waited from our home for Radio Cab to take us to the airport several times over the past ten years only for them to tell us that they won't be picking us up because they either "couldn't find our house" or they were "to busy" even though we called 3+ hours in advance like they recommend. Nor can they guarantee a precise pick up time within 90 minutes.

I do disagree with Uber's walking all over our laws in order to do business but I think we need the competition because companies like RadioCab only survive because currently the city guarantees them no competition.

I've used Uber extensively in Phoenix, Seattle, Houston, and Albuquerque and had GREAT service every single time. I've called drivers to shuttle my friends and family and had zero complaints. I almost always talk to the driver and ask about their experience with Uber and they've almost universally praised the flexibility of the system and the way they're compensated. A driver in Houston told my mother and I about the extremely thorough background check the company made him go through. I've never had an issue with an Uber car taking an excessive amount of time to pick me up, going an indirect route to rack up a bigger fair (they use Google maps almost exclusively to get from point A to point B), or getting swiped by another rider on the street.

I know there's plenty of terrible stories you can Google and use to state your case that all Uber cars should be banned from PDX (all of Oregon too?), but there's a lot of folks like me who are just relying on their own wealth of positive experiences (compared to years of inconsistent local cab service) and saying we want and believe we deserve alternatives to the status quo.

If Uber is able to open the door for Lyft or some other company who is not the alleged Deathstar of ride-share companies, fine. But there's a strong need for change in this town when it comes to private transportation and we deserve the same options that many cities enjoy.

The GOP bastards are going to do their best to shut down the NLRB in the next session. More than ever, the working people of the country need to stick together. Uber may be convenient, but we're essentially paying scabs to cut out a union job.

Some people will go against full time employment for working people on principle and wreck union jobs. I can't stop them. But I can counter them and always buy union when possible. So, despite the hype, I won't be using uber.

The Uber PR team is pretty strong here.

Portland's taxi fleet may be imperfect, but at least it's Portland. Keep in mind that Radio and Broadway Cab have each been taking your drunken ass home for over 70 years now. Radio Cab is driver-owned and organized as a co-op. So is Union Cab. Broadway invested in a green office building recently and all their dispatchers are union organized. New Rose City and Green Cab are minority-owned businesses that have also been around for decades. And most Portland taxi companies own their own building. This means they pay local property taxes. They pay city business taxes. They employ dispatchers and office workers and pay payroll taxes.

When you call Uber, you're making a decision to remove money from the local economy and send it out of state. That money could be putting a computer in your kid's classroom, fixing a pothole on Sandy Blvd., or modernizing a fire station in your neighborhood. Instead, you're sending 20% of your fare into the pockets of venture capitalists in California. They're taking your money and flipping you the bird in the same instant.

Portland talks a lot of talk about micro-craft this and locavore that. Just keep in mind that Uber is part of the same continuum of enterprises that either upholds local, autonomous, community-based values, or undermines them. By operating in direct defiance of local laws, Uber is showing unabashed contempt for the Portland community. They deserve as much in return.

I am an ordinary citizen and consumer much like you, reader. I have tried Uber in several major metropolitan areas in the United States not unlike yours. The service was amazing, and I have recommended Uber to all of my friends, family, and co-workers. The drivers I have spoken to all have wonderful things to say about this innovative company. Portlanders I have spoken to about this service have expressed their desperate desire for its arrival here. Full stop.

Forgive me if this sounds stupid, I've had a few. This argument seems like a perfect example of two people that feel like they really love Portland.

One sees an out of state, union-busting startup that would literally blackmail critics and choke local business, while the other is frustrated that Portland is kvetching about something that other larger and fancier cities enjoy. The former loves Portland and wants to protect it, the latter loves Portland and wants it to be 'all it can be'.

Guess which one turned Division into a horrifying shit-show.

Now I'm angry. Screw you, Uber.

Playing by the same rules Uber would get it's ass kicked. Just the fees alone would keep out 95% of their drivers: drivers permit $150, vehicle inspection $150, vehicle permit $600 per year. That's $900 just to get started, then every year - same as cab drivers have to pay. Then there's wheelchair accessibility. Cab companies are required to have 20% of their fleet wheelchair accessible. That means an expensive lift system and specially outfitted vehicle - operating at the same rates. Then there's commercial insurance - about 6 times more expensive than private insurance. Cabs have to operate in all parts of the city 24/7 with a minimum size fleet, at the same rate. No surge pricing allowed. Cabs are not allowed to exclude low income and elderly riders who don't have smart phones or even credit cards.

Anyone of you Uber lovers even bother to read their 30 page customer agreement? Here's a small excerpt:

UBER DOES NOT GUARANTEE THE SUITABILITY, SAFETY OR ABILITY OF THIRD PARTY PROVIDERS. IT IS SOLELY YOUR RESPONSIBILITY TO DETERMINE IF A THIRD PARTY PROVIDER WILL MEET YOUR NEEDS AND EXPECTATIONS. UBER WILL NOT PARTICIPATE IN DISPUTES BETWEEN YOU AND A THIRD PARTY PROVIDER. BY USING THE SERVICES, YOU ACKNOWLEDGE THAT YOU MAY BE EXPOSED TO SITUATIONS INVOLVING THIRD PARTY PROVIDERS THAT ARE POTENTIALLY UNSAFE, OFFENSIVE, HARMFUL TO MINORS, OR OTHERWISE OBJECTIONABLE, AND THAT USE OF THIRD PARTY PROVIDERS ARRANGED OR SCHEDULED USING THE SERVICES IS AT YOUR OWN RISK AND JUDGMENT. UBER SHALL NOT HAVE ANY LIABILITY ARISING FROM OR IN ANY WAY RELATED TO YOUR TRANSACTIONS OR RELATIONSHIP WITH THIRD PARTY PROVIDERS.

I think I'll buy an old school bus and start my own bus service. Hey, why not? Screw the rules, get in, shut up, and hang on.

The idea that the city of Portland has to endure terrible cab service just so said industry has no impetus to improve is truly mind boggling. Uber might not be any great shakes, but it's not like Portland cab drivers aren't kicking lesbians out of their vehicles on the freeway.

Bunch of whiners... I'm SO pissed that I can't get a cab in 5 minutes on bar break Saturday night after a long night of self-indulgent debauchery. Boo hoo, poor me.

Let's give Uber a warm Portland welcome at their Uber party at Union/Pine tonight, 12/9/2014. By "warm welcome" I mean telling them to obey the dang laws or else.

Speaking of reliable and courteous, as soon as Union Cab opened for business I tried them out after a consistent lack of good service from Radio Cab (note: mostly dispatching and time to arrive, the drivers are mostly great with the occasional tinfoil hatter). I've been very very happy with Union Cab. I also have zero desire to support arrogant nerds exploiting the desperate for sub-minimum wages, which is apparently what Uber considers as the "sharing economy." If I wanted, I have the option of things like RelayRides or Getaround for an ACTUAL "sharing economy" experience. :P

A fellow cab driver told me about a lady in his cab, she's a bartender btw, that she thinks it's okay if Uber is in town. My friend says " Oh really, how about I come over to your bar with a couple of kegs and start selling beers for a buck right outside your front door?" She says" That's illegal!" My friend says "Exactly."

Uber drivers are nothing but a bunch of scabs, every single union worker in this town should be supporting legal, licensed and permitted cab drivers because I support you and have many friends and family that are union members in various construction trades like ironworkers, electricians, plumbers, painters even nurses.

None of you would be okay with people coming to your job and told you they're going to do it for less wages than you. You would fight them just like we cabbies are gonna do to these wannabees.

Last but not least to all Uber drivers reading this I will be looking for you in town and if I see you picking anyone up I will take a picture of your face and license plate. If you want to be a cab driver go downtown and get your 10 year FBI background check and driving record check, take the test issued by the city and pay the couple hundred that I did and apply to be a real cab driver for a local cab company that will keep money earned here in Portland here not down to San Fransisco.