Controversial Ridesharing Service Uber Expands to Pasadena

Uber, a company which uses a smartphone app to connect passengers with paid drivers, expanded its controversial ridesharing, taxi-like service to Pasadena this week.

The Uber app enables users in need of a ride to connect with drivers who are willing to offer a ride in their cars for a fee. The app is also used to pay the driver once the ride is done.

App users have been able to use the app in taking rides from Central Los Angeles to Pasadena for the past year and a half years, but passengers trying to find a ride from Pasadena had some “patchy” service problems, Uber Los Angeles general manager William Barnes told the Los Angeles Times.

“We were focused on providing the best service possible in central L.A., but we’ve seen such demand from the Valley, Pasadena and South Bay that it just made sense to start serving that need,” Barnes told the newspaper.

Late last month, the California Public Utilities Commission issued a framework for the regulation of ride sharing applications including Uber, Lyft and Sidecar, amid safety issues raised by several organizations. In spite of fierce opposition from the taxi industry, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti has recommended these ridesharing apps.

For more information, visit www.uber.com.