Transportation Network Companies (Uber and Lyft) - Spring 2019

Transportation Network Companies (TNCs) have been proliferating around the world for the past several years starting in larger cities and now moving into less populated areas like the Rogue Valley. In order to operate in a city or town at the time of this decision, each TNC had to negotiate a contract with the municipality. Both Uber and Lyft were in discussions with the City of Ashland when I came on as a councilor in January of 2019. The city had two requirements that the TNCs did not like:  1. Annual maintenance inspections of the vehicles and 2. They would have to provide the ability to transport people in wheelchairs. This second requirement is what is in place in some larger cities, particularly Portland, Oregon, and the City of Ashland was following Portland’s lead. Both requirements were in place for taxi companies in Ashland at the time. The TNCs indicated they would not come to Ashland with those requirements in place, so staff brought to Council a resolution to amend the ordinance and remove those requirements for taxi companies and TNCs.

I offered a motion to amend the ordinance so that it eliminated the maintenance requirement, but kept the wheelchair transportation requirement. I was hopeful that by meeting them halfway, we could keep one of the requirements and it was possible that one of the two companies would break ranks and sign a contract. If that did not work, we had time to come back and remove the second requirement if that seemed the best path. Knowing the TNC business model and the fact that cars have to be newer models and functioning well because of the instant rating system, I was not concerned about the annual maintenance checks for vehicles.

The council voted down my amendment and voted to remove both requirements from the ordinance. I voted against that motion. Since then the two companies have signed contracts and arrived in Ashland, which made many constituents happy, particularly elders who no longer drive and young people out for a night on the town. I am not opposed to this business model, I just wish we had a local option rather than two very large companies that are not part of our community. I also heard the concerns of local taxi drivers and some constituents who were concerned about traffic congestion worsening with the TNC model in town. While I am committed to fostering our local economy, it does not generally seem to be a good idea for cities to protect specific industries from competition, especially when residents are clearly indicating a need for a service that is not available currently from within the community.