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Mobile has Uber. Birmingham is getting Uber. Three other Alabama cities are welcoming the ride-renting service. What about Huntsville?

After several false starts and failed negotiations, it looks like Uber could start operating in Huntsville early next year.

"We absolutely want transportation network companies to come and operate in Huntsville," city administrator John Hamilton said Thursday. "We would love to see Uber here."

Challenge is business model

The challenge to getting Uber is integrating its business model with existing transportation codes that cover a wide variety of services from taxis to hotel courtesy vans.

Huntsville has tweaked its code twice trying to make Uber work here, Hamilton said, but it still isn't where Uber would like it to be.

The company says its business model is "unique" and needs a new section in the code, not just revisions or additions.

"We stand ready to work with Huntsville officials, should they want to create a new section of the transportation code for ridesharing that recognizes its unique business model," spokeswoman Kaitlin Durkosh said Wednesday.

"Transportation Network Companies (TNCs)" is how cities and companies like Uber define the business model of networked, part-time drivers ferrying passengers to make extra money. Passengers download the Uber app to their smartphones, create an account, upload their credit card information, then summon an Uber car directly to their location and ride without paying cash.

"We acknowledge there is more we can do to lower the barriers," Hamilton said. "Not just for Uber but for all for-hire companies."

Back to the council early next year

Hamilton said Mayor Tommy Battle's administration will bring a third modification to the city's "vehicle for hire" ordinance before the City Council in late January or early February.

Neither Hamilton nor Uber will discuss the unresolved issues in detail.

Based on experiences in other cities, one challenge could be certifying drivers. In Austin, Texas, the city council is now considering a vote to require Uber drivers to undergo national fingerprint background checks. Reports say Uber, which says it carefully screens its drivers, will leave Austin if that requirement passes.

Cities have incentives to reach an agreement with Uber and companies like it. Uber operates in more than 100 North American cities, and Hamilton said Huntsville's traveling professionals use it in bigger cities, like it, and would like to see it here.

Another choice to avoid DUIs

Having more for-hire cars on the roads at night can also lower the risk of people driving under the influence in Huntsville, Hamilton said.

Huntsville's taxi companies "are not excited to have the competition," Hamilton said, "but they're all realistic." They know Uber or something like it is probably coming, he said.

"They just want a level playing field," Hamilton said. And he said some of the changes being considered "should apply to all vehicles for hire."