May 27, 2026
Molly McVety/PhillyVoice
Mayor Cherelle Parker’s plan to levy a $1 fee on every rideshare transaction in the city to raise money for the school district has again come under fire from Uber with a new deluge of advertisements opposing the tax.
Uber has intensified its efforts to dissuade City Council from passing a proposed $1 fee on all rideshare services.
Commercials calling on Uber riders to speak out against Mayor Cherelle Parker's proposal will begin airing on local TV networks Wednesday, Uber said. Similar print ads will run in national and local publications, too. Parker has proposed the fee in an effort to help the School District of Philadelphia relieve its $300 million structural deficit. The proposal has to be voted on before July 1 as part of Parker's budget package.
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In addition to new TV ads, the company also launched a new webpage that consolidates dozens of dissenting public comments and includes a prompt for users to email members of Philadelphia City Council.
“Uber has spent over six figures on campaign advertising across social media, major broadcast television channels and national and local media outlets to fight back against the Mayor’s proposed regressive double tax on rideshare riders,” company spokesperson Jazmin Kay said in an email Wednesday. “This latest campaign is an expansion of our efforts.”
Two new video advertisements lasting 30 and 15 seconds, respectively, feature comments submitted by “Regina S.” from North Philadelphia who shared her opposition to the plan with Uber, the company said.
“As a Philadelphia rider, I'm concerned that a $1 tax on rideshare trips will make it more expensive for me and my family to get where I need to go,” the commercial says. “I rely on rideshare for work, appointments and daily needs, and higher costs would make that harder.”
Since the bill was first proposed by Parker in March, Uber has launched a series of public messaging campaigns to encourage its users to speak out to council against the tax, which the company claims will disproportionately impact senior and low-income drivers and riders in the city.
Uber’s efforts thus far have led to around 50,000 letters being sent in opposition of the tax, Kay said. She did not disclose specifics about how much Uber has spent on the new advertisements.
Parker has said the tax, which will be applicable to rides within city limits, will help the School District of Philadelphia retain all 340 jobs it had planned to eliminate. If approved, the tax would take effect on Jan. 1 and is estimated to generate around $48 million per year for the district starting in fiscal year 2028.
Debates about the merits of the tax have been ongoing for months. Teamsters Local 502, which represents administrators in the city’s schools, held a rally in support of the tax Tuesday.
"The rideshare funding is not a luxury," KaTiedra Argro, principal at Philadelphia High School for Girls in Logan, said during the rally. "It is a lifeline."
The bill has to be passed as part of City Council’s budget approval process, which will continue over the next month. Some council members have threatened to reject the proposal as a consequence of the Board of Education voting for the closure of 17 public schools.
Uber is reportedly offering local and state officials an alternative proposal that would raise its already enforced 1.4% Transportation Network Company fee, which partially funds the Philadelphia Parking Authority. The plan would require approval from the state, not the city, and has reportedly gained some ground in Harrisburg, the Inquirer reported.
Leah Uko, a spokesperson for the mayor’s office, said conversations are continuing “as part of the normal budget process” and that they would not discuss negotiations publicly.
Disclosure: Uber is an active PhillyVoice advertiser. This story was produced independently by the PhillyVoice editorial team.
