An ordinance with mandatory fingerprint-based background checks would spell the end of Uber in Corpus Christi, but it may not be the end of ride-hailing services.

Tride, a company from Tulsa, Oklahoma, that got into the ride-hailing business about six months ago, is testing the market to determine if installing its Uber-like business model in the Coastal Bend makes sense. And the company's founders say they're fine with regulations similar to the taxi companies in town — including requiring fingerprints and having a presence in the city.

'If there's enough interest, we'll be building an office in Corpus Christi, and we'll have employees in Corpus Christi,' co-founder Mack Parks, 25, said. 'That's because we believe in being a local business and the face-to-face, human interaction.'

Parks started the company with friend Blake Litton as a party bus rental company in Tulsa, but decided to move into ride-hailing because the industry was shifting in that direction, he said. Parks first met Litton when he hailed an Uber ride. Litton was the driver.

That's why their operation's interface is similar to the global company's, but some things are different. For example, the fares are a little higher, but there is no surge pricing, and the number of drivers in a market is regulated by how many riders download the app — a policy that doesn't affect the company's profits, but does increase what drivers make, Parks said.

The duo's experience with Uber and now running their own company also is why Parks acknowledges the benefits of fingerprint-based background checks.

'We use the same background check system as Uber, and there are limits,' he said. 'If you lived in another state last year under a different name, we don't know anything about that person. We just know the person you are now.'

Uber and Lyft drivers locally have said they're not opposed to submitting to fingerprint-based background checks, but the companies have emphatically rejected the notion and said it's a deal-breaker for them in all future markets.

Still, Parks' and Litton's willingness to accept rules Uber won't doesn't change everyone's opinion on how the city should craft its law.

'When people get off a plane at the airport, they're not going to open their Tride app or another app — they're going to open their Uber or Lyft apps,' City Councilwoman Colleen McIntyre said. 'So those are the companies we need here, but we're happy to have the others as well.'

William Thompson, a vocal supporter for the ride-hailing industry here, echoed that sentiment, but added the company doesn't replace Uber or Lyft.

'The more (ride-hailing) companies operate, the more choices we have, the better off our city will be,' he said. 'We still need Uber and Lyft, because business travelers and tourists from all over the world use them and expect them to have service in any modern city they visit.'

Twitter: @reportermatt

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