The Raising Cane’s River Center and the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry are throwing their support behind a second effort to expand ridesharing across Louisiana and establish a set of uniform rules governing companies that offer the service.
The organizations are among a list of 25 businesses and organizations across Louisiana, including the Pelican Institute for Public Policy and Hampton Inn Baton Rouge, backing House Bill 749, which cruised through the House transportation committee Tuesday.
The coalition, called “Let’s Geaux Louisiana,” formed ahead of last year’s initial failed effort to establish a statewide ridesharing transportation network in Louisiana.
The bill, by Speaker Taylor Barras, expands ridesharing service to all of Louisiana, including rural areas, and creates one set of rules regulating companies like Uber and Lyft. A similar bill died in the Legislature last year after it was blocked by New Orleans lawmakers.
Currently, Uber offers service in Baton Rouge, New Orleans, Lafayette, Shreveport and Monroe. Lyft operates in those cities, plus Lake Charles. Supporters of the current bill say riders can hail rides from cities to rural areas but cannot get drivers to pick them up for return trips.
Courtney Baker, LABI director of transportation, says the bill lift barriers to free enterprise. “These job creators have been faced with a patchwork of inconsistent local regulations that allow some communities to have access to ridesharing while others do not,” Baker says. “This inconsistency has created an unstable market for drivers and passengers alike.”
Louisiana is one of five states that has yet to create a clear framework for ridesharing companies to operate, she adds. The River Center is backing the bill because it expands services for the venue’s guests, says Michael Day, general manager. “We host a number of events, like concerts, where people can consume alcohol, and we encourage people to be safe and take an Uber to home.”
HB 749 is pending final passage in the House.
