Uber OK with AG deciding fingerprinting requirement

A House proposal to ban Uber and Lyft pickups at Logan International Airport and the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center for five years raised objections from the Convention Center Authority and other business and advocacy groups, which said it sends a bad message about Boston to tourists and businesses. Ride-hailing companies with more than 200 drivers have to pay a $30,000 annual fee.

Sen. Jamie Eldridge, Senate chairman of the Financial Services Committee, said the committee met with ride-hailing companies, taxi owners and municipal leaders while crafting the bill. The Rideshare Ordinance needs concrete benchmarks that will hold Uber and Lyft accountable.

The taxi cab industry in Chicago applauded the ordinance because they are losing money to new competition and see this as a way to reclaim ground.

Proposed Chicago regulations on ride-hailing services like Uber and Lyft have the companies threatening to cease operations in the city.

A compromise has been reached on a ridesharing proposal in Chicago and aldermen are backing off proposed regulations. Emmanuel may not have the political clout to stop the taxicab lobby in this case.

Beale’s stricter ordinance would have required Uber and Lyft drivers to get restricted chauffeur’s licenses after a one-day class, be fingerprinted by a city-approved vendor and get their vehicles inspected by City Hall.

The compromise failed to satisfy the taxi industry, which argues that ride-hailing companies operate with an unfair advantage because they’re not subjected to the same level of regulation. “Until we have a more comprehensive data base of offenders, fingerprinting is the gold standard”, Arena said.

“This is an industry that has gone on too long unregulated, and we need to start regulating”, Sarlo said.

A Lyft spokeswoman says the company is evaluating the amendment passed at a committee hearing last Thursday.

Residents were asked to decide whether a transportation ordinance passed by the City Council in December requiring the fingerprint checks should be repealed and replaced with one backed by Uber and Lyft that did not require the checks.

When ridesharing companies made a decision to pull out of Austin, TX, it sent a clear message that too much regulation would not be tolerated. It was not clear Monday when that framework will be in place, allowing the companies to know and report what percentage of their drivers have complied with the requirement. Innovation will not stop and eventually, new regulations won’t be enough.