PSC gives Uber license to drive in Montana

The Montana Public Service Commission on Tuesday approved the license of Uber with a 4-1 vote, making it the the first Technology Network Carrier transportation company authorized to operate in Montana.

Founded in 2009, San Francisco-based Uber connects riders to independent drivers through smartphone apps. According to its website, it’s now in hundreds of cities.

Senate Bill 396, drafted in part by PSC Vice Chairman Travis Kavulla, was passed by the 2015 Montana Legislature, opening the door to app-based ride sharing companies like Uber to operate in Montana.

Uber, also known as Rasier-MT LLC, is now the only company to have applied for a Class-E TNC license under the new law, officials said.

“By embracing advancing companies like Uber, Montanans not only have another option to get from one place to another, but there is now an additional incentive for existing transportation companies to improve as well,” PSC Chairman Brad Johnson, R-East Helena, said in a news release.

Commissioner Bob Lake, R-Hamilton, was the dissenting vote.

“The commission’s actions today gives one type of business model within the transportation industry a special exception that provides an unfair advantage to compete with existing businesses, and we are not doing consumers any favors by doing so,” he stated in a news release. “Uber will operate without any oversight from a Montana based agency. This will have a detrimental effect on the current license holders, and by approving this license we are throwing a bunch of people under the bus.”

Uber spokeswoman Taylor Patterson said the company is now recruiting drivers for Montana at www.urbermontana.com.

“We are excited to connect Montana residents with reliable rides in the future,” she said.

The vastness of the state at 147,000 square miles and only 1 million residents did not make the company hesitate coming here.

“We operate in a lot of big states and it works well,” Patterson said.

She said the company usually has a team located in most markets and said they will likely have one in Montana.

According to a 2014 story in Time magazine, the company processes all payments involved, charging the passenger’s credit card, taking some of the fee for itself, which ranges from 5 percent to 20 percent, and then direct deposits the money into the driver’s account.

It has been opposed by some taxi companies.

During the 20-day protest period last month, the PSC received one protest of Uber’s application, which was from the Montana Authority Holders Association. However, the protest was withdrawn. This allowed the commission to move forward with the approval of Uber’s application without a contested hearing, officials said.

“Before this legislation, the PSC was required to determine whether the public needed a new service. That is a question properly answered by consumers themselves and not a government agency. It’s exciting to see more choices for customers in the transportation marketplace,” Kavulla, R- Great Falls.

The approval is effective immediately and allows the company to begin operating right away.

Ready to roll?

To find out more about Uber, go to www.urbermontana.com.