Wheeling Retention Committee Gets Update On Uber Interest
Wheeling officials are still waiting to hear whether Uber is interested in operating in the city, Mayor Glenn Elliott told a new committee tasked with suggesting ways to retain population.
The popular ridesharing service has received focused attention from some residents and the Wheeling Area Chamber of Commerce, which has asked residents to download the company’s app to display consumer interest, after Uber received the legal right to operate within West Virginia this summer. Although Uber doesn’t operate in Wheeling, the company views a high number of downloads as a signal there’s a strong market for its service in a particular area.
Elliott told Committee on Retention members that while Wheeling would be one of the smallest freestanding markets to which Uber provides service, the company was interested by the idea of aligning its brand with the narrative of a city on the rise.
Ultimately, Elliott said, Uber’s concern is that it doesn’t want to operate in a location where it isn’t an absolute success. Susan Hagan, co-chair of Wheeling’s Committee on Affordable Housing, said the company was impressed by the number of people who installed the app, but heard from few people interested in driving for the service.
Elliott said he’s spoken with Uber officials about the planned PTT Global Chemical ethane cracker in Dilles Bottom, as well as about the numerous senior living centers scattered throughout the region. Uber knew of neither, according to Elliott.
He said there’s an opportunity to involve the company in ongoing efforts to revitalize downtown. Rather than pump additional money into bus services through the Ohio Valley Regional Transit Authority, Elliott said there’s potential in a possible Uber subsidy, similar to the “Freedom in Motion” senior transit program in Gainesville, Fla., to improve public transportation.
The mayor expects to hear again from the company within a few weeks.
Additionally, members of the committee discussed recreation as a means to attract and retain population. Delegate Shawn Fluharty, D-Ohio, co-chair of the committee, said the city hasn’t properly advertised itself as a destination, beyond Oglebay Park.
Discussion of the Ohio River and Wheeling Creek reared its head once again. Both waterways are underutilized assets in the eyes of the committee, as they could be spaces for recreation and business.
Elliott said he recently spoke with Woda Group President Jeff Woda about the near-complete Boury Lofts along 16th Street, and asked if there had been any consideration of developing the property in such a way to take advantage of the creek, which runs behind the building. Woda said no, according to Elliott, because it wasn’t something he stopped to look at.
“That’s the challenge we have, is getting people to realize what’s here,” Elliott said.
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