HOLLAND, MI (WHTC) – Uber is coming to the Lakeshore.
The ride-sharing service will begin taking passengers from the Tulip City, along with Saugatuck, Grand Haven, South Haven and Muskegon, beginning on Friday, June 16.. This comes after new state laws, signed by Governor Snyder late last year and becoming effective in March, took jurisdiction of regulating commercial passenger vehicles away from local municipalities and into the auspices of the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs.
According to Holland city regulations that have been trumped now by Lansing, Uber drivers could have dropped off riders from outside of the city limits into the Tulip City, but could not pick any rides up in Holland without applying for a taxi cab service license that would be reviewed by Mayor Nancy DeBoer and her City Council colleagues before approval. It comes as a surprise to some at City Hall including Holland Mayor Nancy DeBoer.
“I mean there are reasons for official systems many are to protect the public. We take a lot of things for granted and we don’t like to pay for anything. But there are reasons you want to protect people from eachother.”
Uber began operations in New Buffalo, St. Joseph and Benton Harbor on Thursday.
