Need a ride? Uber ridesharing service begins in southern Beaufort County
There's a new way to get around Beaufort County.
The mobile-phone ride-booking app Uber started UberX service Friday in Bluffton and on Hilton Head Island.
Uber, a ridesharing service similar to a taxi, allows users to book rides from a smartphone application. The company sends local drivers in their personal cars instead of taxi drivers.
Passengers don't pay cash. A user's credit card is built into the app and automatically charged when the ride is over.
UberX is Uber's low-cost service, according to the company's website.
Riders can expect to pay $19 for a ride from Hilton Head to Bluffton.
A trip from Shelter Cove Towne Centre to Mooring Buoy in Palmetto Dunes is $9, according to a news release.
The minimum fare is $5.
Drivers will take a rider anywhere, but only pick up passengers in southern Beaufort County, said general manager Michael Black.
"We're really excited about this market, especially heading into the spring and summer," he said. "A lot of the tourists who come to the area are used to the Uber experience in other areas."
He said Uber wants to expand into northern Beaufort County, but had no specific date when it might.
The Hilton Head area marks Uber's fifth South Carolina hub.
The company also offers rides in Charleston, Columbia, Greenville and Myrtle Beach.
REGULATORY QUESTIONS
Uber has grown into one of the most valuable start-ups in Silicon Valley, with outposts in more than 300 cities and 55 countries.
It has raised about $1.5 billion and is valued at more than $17 billion, according to The New York Times.
But it's also caused controversy with regulators.
In January the app was cleared to operate in South Carolina -- at least temporarily.
A state order allows Uber's contract drivers to provide service until June 30, by which time, presumably, legislators will have passed a law defining how the novel business model can be regulated.
Beaufort County officials said Friday was the first time they heard of Uber coming to the Lowcountry. Town of Hilton Head finance director Susan Simmons said the town will look into whether the service needs the same business license as taxi and limousine companies.
The company contends that it is merely a technology company that links drivers with passengers. When a user asks for a ride, the app alerts the closest drivers, who can choose whether to accept the request.
A DRIVER SPEAKS
On Friday afternoon, there was one driver online in Beaufort County -- 62-year-old John Vinci of Bluffton.
For his first fare, Vinci drove his Nissan Altima to the Island Packet newsroom on Buck Island Road.
"I was pretty surprised I got a ping," he said.
Though Uber only came to Beaufort County on Friday, he'd signed up for the service months ago after his son became an Uber driver in Atlanta.
"He said, 'Dad, you've gotta try this,'" Vinci said.
As Vinci talked, he kept his phone out and the app open in case he gets another rider.
He plans to keep the app online until midnight and drive around downtown Hilton Head Island or Bluffton, though he doesn't expect much interest while people are learning about the service.
Vinci already has a job, working for the S.C. Department of Agriculture, but said being a driver will be something to do on nights and weekends, especially when his wife -- a nurse at Beaufort Memorial Hospital -- is working. He's also excited to use the service himself.
Though Uber hasn't come to Georgia yet, Vinci says he can drive people to the Savannah-Hilton Head Island-International Airport, as long as they don't need a ride back.
Otherwise, he said he's willing to accept fares anywhere in Beaufort County.
"I'll go wherever. I get paid by the minute and the mile," Vinci said.
Staff writer Rebecca Lurye contributed to this article.
Follow reporter Dan Burley on Twitter at twitter.com/IPBG_Dan.
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This story was originally published March 27, 2015 at 4:50 PM with the headline "Need a ride? Uber ridesharing service begins in southern Beaufort County."