Hillsborough County and the rideshare companies Uber and Lyft have a common interest in ending a yearlong standoff on passenger service. Uber and Lyft are increasingly popular, and they aren't going away —but they also cannot be allowed to thumb their noses at local regulations and operate at will in violation of reasonable safety standards. The ideal fix would be for the Florida Legislature to create a level playing field statewide for the taxicab industry and rideshare companies. But in the meantime, Hillsborough and the rideshare companies should seek a resolution that promotes the interests of both consumers and public safety.
Uber and Lyft began operating in Hillsborough in April 2014, without obtaining permits or submitting to the inspection and insurance requirements by the county's Public Transportation Commission. The firms say that because they connect riders and drivers through a smartphone app — rather than employ drivers directly and field a fleet of taxis, they fall outside the jurisdiction of the PTC, which regulates for-hire vehicles in the county such as cabs and limousines.
The rideshare argument is a distinction without a difference. How they process payments is not the issue; what matters is the service they provide. And these companies make money using the public roadways to ferry paying passengers around town. That's a for-hire vehicle, and Uber and Lyft are obligated to adhere to the regulations the PTC has been delegated by the Legislature to enforce. That includes ensuring that acceptable insurance is in effect, background checks for drivers, and vehicles have passed safety inspections.
Here is where a statewide fix comes in. The Legislature should require that rideshare drivers statewide submit to the same background checks Hillsborough applies to the taxi industry, which require drivers to appear in person and to be fingerprinted. Likewise, the personal vehicles that rideshare drivers use should be inspected by a certified mechanic. The rideshare companies have lower-level background and vehicle inspections now, claiming that anything more vigorous would dampen the pool of affiliated drivers. But convenience should not trump public safety.
The rideshare companies are also stymied by existing state law in complying with insurance requirements. The state Office of Insurance Regulation has found the rideshare insurance policies legally binding and sufficient. But state officials — despite many requests over more than a year — have failed to offer clear guidance on whether the policies fully meet state laws on which insurance carriers may issue liability policies.
The state should clear up the murky insurance question, even if it means the Legislature must change state law to expressly provide a legal framework for rideshares to operate. There is no sense in having one arm of local government — Hillsborough's PTC — spending public money to keep Uber and Lyft off the road when other arms of government — such as the transit agencies on both sides of Tampa Bay — are looking at paying rideshare companies to fill the gaps in bus service.
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Explore all your optionsIn the interim, a recent ruling by a Hillsborough judge in the PTC's case against Uber points to the mutual benefit in reaching a solution. Circuit Judge Paul Huey dismissed the rideshare argument that Uber's upstart status made it immune from regulation. "The James Gang cannot ride into town and tell Sheriff Wyatt Earp how to act," he wrote. But the judge also noted that the PTC is a political entity. The politicians that comprise its board, Huey wrote, "need to come forward to address the very visible interests of their constituents."
Both sides are playing the blame game and trying to wear their adversary down. What Hillsborough needs is a different approach that serves the consumer demand for rideshare while protecting the legitimate and reasonable public safety interests at stake. What Florida needs is for the Legislature to write fair statewide standards for rideshare companies that create a level playing field, encourage competition ‑— and protect the public.