Photo courtesy of Thinkstock
Thanks to a massive influx of high-profile guests and ongoing public transportation issues, the city of Philadelphia has reached a deal to allow Uber to do business in Philadelphia during the upcoming Democratic National Convention.
The agreement was reached just months after the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission fined Uber $11.4 million for operating in the city without permission, but was deemed immediately necessary thanks to the city's inability to handle increased traffic.
The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) was forced to remove a third of their rail cars from service because of structural defects experienced with their Silverliner Vs cars. The public transportation both within and around Philadelphia has been dramatically cut back, according to PhillyMag.com.
SEPTA hopes to get the Silverliner Vs cars back on the tracks, but cannot guarantee a timetable.
Although this agreement was an immediate stop-gap measure, the move toward allowing Uber to operate within the city (as well as rival company Lyft) was already in process thanks to bills in the state legislature on top of financial settlements being reached between the companies and the local transportation and parking authorities.
Traffic has already increased in Philadelphia as preparations are underway for the Democratic National Convention, which will be held at the Wells Fargo Center and Philadelphia Convention Center on July 25-28.
For the latest travel news, updates and deals, subscribe to the daily TravelPulse newsletter.
Topics From This Article to Explore
