Louisiana could be the 40th state to establish statewide rules for ride-sharing services like Lyft and Uber, circumventing the current parish-by-parish system for rolling out ride-sharing to new areas.
State Rep. Kenny Havard, R-Jackson, has pre-filed a bill that defines ride-sharing services, or transportation network companies, and imposes regulations like requiring drivers to undergo background checks and forcing ride-sharing companies to maintain trip records.
It also defines creates rules surrounding the payment and logistics of operating a ride-sharing service. Such companies generally operate by connecting contractor drivers to users through a smartphone app, and payment is submitted digitally.
Lyft and Uber both reached out to Havard in support of the bill, and Havard says it will streamline the current process for rolling out transportation services to different parts of the state.
“It’s a useful transportation network they’ve created, and I want to keep it uniform so no matter where you are in the state you can use it,” says Havard, who uses Uber and Lyft when he is in New Orleans. “I think most people would like to see them expand. Throughout Louisiana we don’t have a lot of mass transportation.”
Lyft rolled into New Orleans last year and earlier this year expanded into Baton Rouge. Uber began offering its services in Baton Rouge in 2014, following months of meetings with city-parish officials to navigate local rules.
Chelsea Wilson, senior policy communications manager for Lyft, says the company expanded to Lake Charles last month and will likely enter the Shreveport market in the near future.
The move to regulate ride-sharing statewide makes it easier for the company to continue expanding and offering new products, Wilson says. Larger markets have seen the addition of carpooling services and autonomous vehicles, though self-driving cars are a long way off for markets like Baton Rouge, Wilson says. Most of the rules, she adds, would codify Lyft’s current policies.
“There’s just so much more clarity for us as a business if there’s only one set of rules,” Wilson says. “That encourages us to bring new products, it encourages us to expand into new markets.”
A current problem for companies like Lyft is that they encounter different rules from parish to parish, Wilson says. For instance, if a driver takes a user from Baton Rouge to Ascension Parish, there could be conflicting rules for the driver to follow or a driver could be pulled over for not having a logo in the right place on their car.
Florida and Texas are among the other states that are currently considering establishing state laws for ride-sharing services, Wilson says. Thirty-nine states have done so already.
Havard recognizes that the move preempts local governments, but says he expects most localities to be on board with the proposed law. However, he does expect pushback from New Orleans, which has a bustling taxi and tourism industry.
—Sam Karlin
