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UPDATE: Mayor Taylor Seeks Delay In Some Transportation Ordinance Requirements

Ryan Loyd
/
TPR News

 UPDATE: In an interview with TPR Tuesday night, Mayor Taylor said she's recommending police not fully enforce the new ride-booking ordinance going into effect Sunday.  Taylor said there is currently no insurance policy available that provides the kind of coverage the city is requiring for companies like Uber and Lyft.  

“We would like to see if the legislature is going to take up this issue or if the insurance providers would be able to roll out something in a timely fashion.”

Uber has responded with the following statement:

We are pleased to hear the Mayor recognizes the current ridesharing ordinance is unworkable. In addition to the insurance provisions, we remain concerned with the duplicative driver requirements that do little more than add bureaucratic red tape for part time drivers trying to use their own resources to earn extra money on the Uber platform. We hope the rest of the council will take a comprehensive review of this ordinance and repeal these regulations.

Original story below:

San Antonio Mayor Ivy Taylor wants to delay some of the provisions in an ordinance that would regulate transportation companies like Uber and Lyft.  The ordinance is scheduled to go into effect Sunday, and Uber has threatened to leave San Antonio if it’s implemented.

In an email to the media today Mayor Taylor said she’ll ask the council to delay implementation of some insurance requirements for the companies until options can be considered.  The companies, which use cell phone apps to secure passengers, have complained the ordinance requires them to pay insurance fees that are higher than what taxis pay. 

Taylor said city officials are also discussing ways to ease application and fee requirements for drivers, and they're reassessing how the city would use data collected from the companies.

The mayor said the council could make changes in the ordinance as early as March 5,  several days after it goes into effect. 

Uber and Lyft have not yet said whether they will continue doing business in the Alamo City while changes are discussed.

Joey Palacios can be reached atJoey@TPR.org and on Twitter at @Joeycules
Shelley Kofler is Texas Public Radio’s news director. She joined the San Antonio station in December 2014 and leads a growing staff that produces two weekly programs; a daily talk show, news features, reports and online content. Prior to TPR, Shelley served as the managing editor and news director at KERA in Dallas-Fort Worth, and the Austin bureau chief and legislative reporter for North Texas ABC affiliate WFAA-TV.