ST.

LOUIS NEEDS RIDESHARING

July 23, 2015
to: Metropolitan Taxicab Commission Chairman Louis Hamilton;
Commissioners: Dave McNutt, Thomas Reeves, Eyasu Asfaw, Chris Sommers, Basil
Rudawsky, Larry Satz, Kim Tucci
cc: Mayor Francis Slay & County Executive Steve Stenger
Dear Chairman Hamilton and Commissioners,
As part of the St. Louis business community, we are deeply invested in maintaining a strong and competitive
economic climate in our city. As such, we are compelled to write you today to express our deep concern regarding the
Metropolitan Taxicab Commissions (MTC) ongoing refusal to allow ridesharing services in St. Louis.
It is not lost on our employees and those with whom we do business that St. Louis remains the largest metropolitan
area in America without ridesharing. For more than a year, the MTC has bestowed our city this disappointing title by
declining to take the necessary steps to allow ridesharing services such as uberX and Lyft to enter the market. Meanwhile, more than 50 local and state jurisdictions across the United States have taken the opposite approach by enacting modern regulations to explicitly authorize ridesharing.
Uber, specifically, continues to make a major impact across the globe by:
Facilitating more than 1 million trips each day
Creating income opportunities for 50,000 new drivers every month
Helping to reduce DUI arrests in cities such as Seattle, Philadelphia, and Austin by more than 10%
St. Louis shouldnt be falling behind - we should be leading the pack. If we want to be a top tech-hub, it is time to
start acting like it.
Ridesharing should be a transportation option here in our city just as it is in more than 300 cities around the world and
more than 150 cities in the U.S., including Chicago, Minneapolis, Washington D.C. and Kansas City. In order for St.
Louis to compete in the global economy, the MTC must modernize their approach as the vast majority of other big
cities have done to allow ridesharing to grow and thrive.
Our economic competitiveness and ability to recruit young talent depend on whether or not St. Louis embraces, supports and attracts innovative business models such as ridesharing. We strongly encourage you to take action on July
29 to authorize ridesharing with modern regulations that welcome these services.
Thank you for your consideration.
Signed:
Maxine Clark
Founder, Build-A-Bear Workshop
Managing Partner, Prosper Womens Capital

Michael Christ
CIO
EquiTrust Life Insurance Company

Eric Gilbert
CEO
Anova

Brian Kearns
President
SportsPlay Equipment Inc.

Leslie A. Small
President
The St. Louis Trust Company

Dave Spence
Chairman
Legacy Packaging

Sharon Price John

CEO and Chief President Bear
Build A Bear

Rob Cima
President
FeatherShark

Linda Goldstein
President
Linda Goldstein Consulting

John Kemper
President and Chief Operating Officer
Commerce Bancshares, Inc.

Steve Smith
President/CEO
Lawrence Group

Edward (Ted) Spies

CEO & Partner
Gateway Exhibits

Keith Alper
CEO, Creative Producers Group / NitrousEffect
Founder, TEDxStLouis, EO St. Louis

Norm Conley
CEO & CIO
JAG Capital Management LLC

Robert S. Goldstein
CEO & Chairman
Alter Trading Corporation

Jerry Kent
Chairman and CEO
Cequel III

Chuck Pecher
President
Skinner & Kennedy Co.

Anthony Thompson
C.E.O., Kwame Building Group, Inc.
Founder, TBeats Entertainment

Michael Allen
Owner
Preservation Research Office

Charlie Boyce
President and CEO
Innsbrook Corporation

Trip Goodloe
COO
GirlsAskGuys.com

Rodney Kinzinger
Managing Partner and Audit Leader
Deloitte & Touche LLP

Rick Ryan
CEO
Apertus Pharmaceuticals

Holden Thorp
Provost
Washington University in St. Louis

Jon Alston
Former NFL Player
Founder, The Common Goods Film Company

Amy S. Coyne
CEO
Propper International

Mary Jo Gorman
Lead Managing Partner
Prosper Capital

Andy Kohn
Owner
Edgewild Restaurant group

Kirk Mills
President
Mills Properties

Mark A. Turken
Retired Chairman
RE investments

Jan Christian Andersen

CMO, Pushup Social
Cofounder, Lab1500, Ignition Tank

Dan Curran
President
10X Lab

Kasey Grelle
Director of Corporate Development
Gateway Media

Al Koller
President
Koller Enterpriser

Tim Murch
CEO
4M Building Solutions

Dean VandeKamp
CEO
Vitaligent LLC

Barbara C. Archer
President
Archer Wealth Management, LLC

Chris Danforth
General Partner
Cultivation Capital and The Yield Lab

Jeff Gross
President & CEO
Dynamic Controls Inc

Sam Koplar
President
Koplar Properties

Lisa Nichols
CEO and Co-Founder
Technology Partners

Charles D. Van Dyke

President
The Western Textile Companies

Matthew Badler
Managing Director
Twain Financial Partners

Matt Danis
Managing Director
American Piping Products

Mahendra Gupta
Dean Olin Business School
Washington University in St. Louis

Ted Koplar
CEO
Koplar Enterprises

Bob O'Brien
CEO
O'Brien Capital

Paul Vogel
CEO|CPA, JD, LLM
Argos Partners, LLC

Keith Baizer
Owner
Artmart

James (Jay) De Long

Partner
Active Capital

Keith S. Harbison
Managing Partner
Alitus Partners, LLC.

Ralph Korte
Chairman Emeritus/Founder
Korte Construction

Craig Johnston
President
CR2 Engineering LLC

Zach Wagner
President
Gateway Truck & Refrigeration

Mike Barry
Partner
Owen Development

Jenny Dibble
VP at Brighton Agency
Founder of WEST

Amos Harris
Principal
Spinnaker St. Louis

Cheryl Lauer
President
EO St. Louis

Atul Kamra
Managing Partner
SixThirty

Derek Weber
President, goBRANDgo!
EO

David A. Belsky
President
Rodemyer-Christel, Inc.

Edward Domain
CEO Techli.com
Founder, Startup Voodoo

Tracy Hart
President
Tarlton Corporation

John Lemkemeier
Co-Founder and Managing Partner
Sage Capital

Cassandra Sanford
CEO
KellyMitchell Group

Charles Windsor
CEO
Oakwood Systems Group

Joan Lee Berkman

President
Face Watchers Public Relations

Gabe Douek
CEO
Gateway Media

Page Hereford
President
HPR, Inc.

Bob Lesser
Owner
Columbine Printing

Nick Sansone
Principal
Sansone Group

Doug Woodruff
President and CEO
Downtown STL, Inc.

Dominic Bertani
Owner
Dominic Michael Salons

Gary Eldridge
President
Sequoia Sciences

Laura Herring
Founder and Chair Emeritus,
IMPACT Group

Dan Lohman
CEO, Pushup Social
Cofounder, LaunchCode, Lab1500, Cubicle.com

William Schmidt
General Partner
Cultivation Capital

Mark H. Zorensky
President
Hycel Properties Co.

Christine Bierman
CEO
COLT SAFETY

Peter Esparrago
General Partner
Cultivation Capital

Mike Herring
Retired COO
IMPACT Group

Mike Marchal
President
Holland Construction Services

James Seldin
President
Miss Elaine Inc.

Koran Bolden
President
Dream Success Worldwide

Joe Blomker
President, Enteon LLC
EO, Maryville Technologies

John S. Eulich
Retired Chairman
ASPEQ HOLDINGS, INC

Tom Hillman
Managing Principal
FTL Capital

Rick Marchbanks
Owner, Skyline Exhibits & Graphics
Founder GreenStream Chemicals, Akcire Group

David Sherman
President
TDC

Khalia Collier
Owner & General Manager
St. Louis Surge Women's Professional Basketball

Charlie Boyce
President and CEO
Innsbrook Corporation

Tricia Zimmer Ferguson

President
Kaldi's Coffee

Gina Hoagland
President
Collaborative Strategies Inc

Brian L. Matthews
General Partner
Cultivation Capital

Jennah R Purk
President & CEO
Purk & Associates, PC

Don Danforth
President & Co Founder
City Academy

Zachary Boyers
Chairman & CEO
US Bancorp CDC

Bob Fox
Founder & Chairman
NewSpace, Inc.

Cliff Holekamp
General Partner
Cultivation Capital

John E. McBride
President
Pegasus Advisors, Inc.

Joseph F. Reagan
President and CEO
St. Louis Regional Chamber

Ron Kruszewski
Chairman and CEO
Stifel

Jason Braidwood
Managing Director
The Koman Group

Richard Fox
President
Brady McCasland

Rick Holton, Jr.

General Partner
Cultivation Capital

Virginia McDowell
President and CEO
Isle of Capri Casinos, Inc.

Mike Rogers
President and Owner
Valued Pharmacy Services

Mark B Ratterman
President
MBR Management Corp

Michael Carr
Owner, Carr Textile Corp.
Partner, Arch Equity Partners

Jeff Fox
President and CEO
Harbour Group

Reed Howlett
Chief Executive Officer
Natures Variety, Inc.

Jim McKelvey
Co-Founder, Square
Co-Founder, LaunchCode

Matthew E. Porter
CEO
Contegix

Kyle Welborn
Partner
Cultivation Capital

Barry T Cervantes
President Camelot Life Coach Co
(formerly, CEO of Laclede Cab Company)

Andrew Freundlich
CEO
Poptions Popcorn

Jeff Huelskoetter
CEO & Partner
Closed Loop Recycling

Philip Mackey
Partner
Lewis Rice

Lisa M.Powell CISR CLCS

Manager
Crane Agency

Andy Whiteside
CEO / Founder
SprintShip Saint Charles Missouri

Christopher Chivetta
CEO and President
Hastings+Chivetta Architects, Inc.

John Frost
President
Frost Electric Supply Company

Rick Hunter
CEO
Microgrid Energy

Lynn Schenck
Managing Director
JLL

Brian and Katie Thompson

A.J. Chivetta
CEO/Co-Founder
Selequity

Dan P. Charles

Chris Imbs
Chairman of the Board
Charles L Crane Agency

Joni Karandjeff

Steve Trampe

Barry Blackwell

Thad Simons
Founder and Managing Director
The Yield Lab

Kevin J. Klingler

Steve Trulaske

Bob O'Loughlin
Chairman and CEO
Lodging Hospitality Management

William J Bick

John Fort

David B. Mueller

Rob Klingler

Michael J. Vienhage

Joseph Potter

James B. Berges

Jenny Gupta

Andy Newman

Jack Kramer

Robert C Byrne

John Rogers

Dan Barrett

Harvey A. Harris

Marcello Nucci

Ken Kranzberg

Byrne & Jones Construction

Bill Rusnack

James P. Bick Jr.

Dave Hartenbach

John M. Nucci

Richard Landman

Dennis Lower

Skip Sallee, MD

Gil Bickel

Julian Hess

Jay Patel

Russ Lauer

David Mesker

Manuel Silva

Missy Fish

Jeff & Susie Hochman

Dave Peacock

Mont S. Levy

Tony Wilcox

Rex Sinquefield

David C. Stoup

Michael Hoyer

Pete Peters PhD

J. David and Lucy Levy

John Moore

Michael Skinner

Reed Sugg

Tom Hughes

Steven J. Ponciroli

Dr. Jonathan Majers

Michael Staenberg

Jim Spellmeyer

Ann McFarland Sullins

Clinton Jackson

Robert E. and Jane Ellen

Rod Jones

PAID FOR BY UBER

Paul Tice