Golden Voice makes Uber official ridesharing partner for Desert Trip

Excitement for Desert Trip is building. Concert goers received a newsletter this week, getting them ready for the big day in October, but tucked in between advice on shuttles and seating is a very pointed suggestion to take Uber.

It’s been an ongoing battle between the cab companies and Uber, but now it seems the concert promoter, Golden Voice, has taken a side.

We talked to local Uber drivers and Desert City Taxi to find out how they feel about the partnership and how it will affect their businesses.

“We’re here to make the event fun and happy for all the riders,” said Tim Donovan, a local Uber driver.

Uber drivers say there are more Uber drivers working the weekend festivals than there are taxi cabs.

Mahboob Mabu, Desert City Cab president, says competition is OK, as long as the playing fields are fair. Mabu says their drivers go through extensive background checks and deems taxi cabs more safe than Ubers.

“Safety is the biggest thing-we have federal fingerprinting and background checks, random drug tests–things that Uber doesn’t,” said Mabu.

We reached out to Golden Voice and they did confirm the partnership but had no comment on why they chose Uber as a partner.