The city is once again considering tweaks to its regulations on the local ground transportation industry. The once-proud market has taken its share of lumps in recent years due to stagnated innovation and the arrival of transportation network companies like Uber and Lyft. Their arrival has made clear that the litany of local controls on everything from minimum fares to the type of meters companies can use have become an insurmountable burden for industry actors already on life support. So today, Dec. 7, City Council will consider the first of two packages of changes to the city’s code governing ground transportation services. This part targets limo and charter services, and proposes the removal of the $55 minimum fare requirement, elimination of the 30-minute trip minimum, and the expungement of any cap on additional temporary vehicle permits for special events. The language will also remove the TNC regulations that the state Legislature nullified during the most recent session. A group of recommendations for the cab industry is expected to reach the dais in February.
This article appears in December 8 • 2017.