Council to consider Uber ordinance

The Vestavia Hills City Council will hear the first reading of an ordinance regarding the Transportation Network Company (TNC) Uber on Monday, Dec. 14.

Mayor Butch Zaragoza said the city has been in discussion with the city of Birmingham regarding its recent consideration of Uber, and has been researching the service Uber provides.

Representatives from Uber attended a work session with the Vestavia Hills City Council on Nov. 16 to answer questions and clarify how the company operates.

Zaragoza said after sitting down with Uber representatives, and conducting its own research, the city has decided to move forward with considering an ordinance that would bring the service to Vestavia Hills.

He said the meeting allowed the city to “iron-out” some of the questions and concerns it had, and said he and councilors “feel a lot more comfortable with the process.”

There will be a public hearing for the ordinance at the Dec. 28 council meeting, and Zaragoza said so far there has been no negative feedback.

“I think that the initiative is something, based on the comments that we have from the citizens and based on our research, that will benefit our citizens here in Vestavia Hills,” he said.

The mayor said he thinks the research Uber does on its drivers and vehicles is “very thorough,” and that the service may provide something for citizens that other taxi services do not.

For anyone interested in becoming an Uber driver, Zaragoza encouraged them to check with their personal insurance before beginning the process in order to determine what their policy covers or does not cover.

Monday’s City Council meeting will take place at 5 p.m. at 1032 Montgomery Highway, and full meeting agendas are available at vhal.org.