Bend council talks rules for Uber and Lyft coming to town
The city of Bend has partnered with Redmond to collaborate on the future of companies like Uber and Lyft coming to town. The city council now is trying to decide how these ride-share services will co-exist with the more traditional local taxi businesses.
They call the ride services Transportation Network Companies (TNCs). While many travelers elsewhere find an Uber or Lyft ride to be a convenient lift around a city, some taxi companies might disagree.
“The cab companies in town have some concerns, but what I am hearing from them is they want a fair and even playing field,” Bend Mayor Casey Roats said Wednesday evening. “I think most of the council is certainly interested in making sure that’s the case.”
City attorneys and business advocates explained the issues taxi companies are concerned about if Uber or Lyft are allowed in the area. Roats said they want to make sure that they know who the drivers’ areas, so someone can be held accountable if something happens. They’re also concerned about insurance coverage in case of an accident.
Currently, taxi driver background checks and fingerprinting are conducted by Bend Police. But, Transportation Network Companies will not agree to finger printing if they come to the area. The staff proposal would have companies, not the city, conduct background checks of drivers and provide certification to the cities.
City attorneys said police are okay with this and also see the benefit of having extra transportation for people, especially late at night. The attorneys also said that Uber and Lyft services are not intended to be a revenue generator for cities, but they will charge fees to recover the cost of the registration and oversight.
Councilors hope to ensure equity between the new ride-sharing companies and traditional taxis, including similar insurance requirements.They believe it won’t be a roadblock.
“It’s not so much about reaching an agreement with the taxi companies as I understand it,” said Roats. “it’s just whether or not we want to offer other companies to be in the community working as well.”
Among issues at hand are a new insurance framework and obtaining driving route data, to know where they go and who they serve, without violating rider privacy.
City attorneys said Uber is very interested in the combined markets of Bend and Redmond.
After a staff presentation, councilors agreed to consider a first reading of draft regulations at their next meeting in early February.
