Sisters looks to join move to bring Uber to C.O.

It’s looking more and more likely that ride-sharing services will be coming to Central Oregon soon, and now a third city is expressing interest. “Ubering it” may soon be a thing in Sisters.

“Having that pool of people that can pick you up, you can track them on your phone — people are going to love it,” Sisters City Manager, Rick Allen said Thursday, “And it’s just something we haven’t had in Central Oregon.”

Allen said Uber recently approached the city, hoping to bring their service to town.

“It’s going to be available in Bend and Redmond,” Allen noted as both city governments are finalizing their own “transportation network companies” rules to implement this spring.

“We really are a region,” he said. “And people might fly into Redmond and they’re staying in Bend, and they want to come into Sisters.”

If Sisters does not adopt the service, Uber drivers will only be able to drop off in the city and not make pickups.

“When the service starts up in both of those communities ,we should be onboard around the same time (May 1) and so people can move throughout the Bend, Redmond and Sisters area,” Allen said.

Many people in town have not used the service before.

“First off I’d rather ride my bike, but I’m not opposed to it anyway,” said Jimmy Buccarelli, who works in Sisters. “It’s just another way for people to make a living and share a ride. I think that’s a good thing,”

Allen also said the addition of ride-sharing services won’t hurt the local taxi companies.

“Many of the cab companies, especially in the smaller communities like this end up signing up with Uber,” he said. “So they end up getting business through the ride sharing software people use, and people can still call the traditional cab for people who don’t do that.”.

A Sisters city ordinance similar to Bend’s is expected to be drafted soon, and a public hearing is expected within the next few weeks.