Larger Livery Companies Would Face State Regulation
Gov. Charlie Baker on Thursday renewed his effort to update data collection and safety regulations on ride-hailing companies in Massachusetts, and included a proposed reform of the state’s ban on surge pricing during states of emergencies like the COVID-19 pandemic.
Reviving many components of a bill he filed last session, Baker unveiled legislation aimed at strengthening the 2016 law covering transportation network companies, or TNCs, such as Uber and Lyft.
The new bill would strengthen penalties on TNC drivers who fail to abide by safety guidelines or “rent” their driver accounts to other individuals, gather more detailed information about when and where TNC trips take place, and criminalize the use of personal information to stalk, harass or defraud riders.
“This reform would ensure that there is a penalty in place to deter and penalize drivers who improperly use passenger information rather than leaving it up to the rider to pursue a protective order,” Baker wrote in a letter to lawmakers.
Since 2017, the state has approved more than 240,000 people to drive on the platforms after background checks, not all of whom remain in those positions, according to Baker’s office.
Drivers could face up to two and a half years in prison for allowing someone else to provide service using their identity, a practice sometimes known as “account renting.” They would also face tougher punishment for failing to maintain a background check clearance certificate, failing to display TNC vehicle decals, or failing to maintain adequate insurance or vehicle inspection proof.
“From a public safety perspective, this bill will greatly enhance our efforts to protect TNC users,” Public Safety and Security Secretary Thomas Turco said. “By strengthening the laws against ‘account renting,’ creating a criminal penalty for misusing riders’ personal information, and adding additional regulatory safeguards, it will help ensure that riders know whose car they’re entering and that they can do so safely.”
The Department of Public Utilities (DPU) would be tasked with collecting more granular information about trips taken on TNCs. Under existing regulations, the department tracks the city or town in which each ride begins and ends, then publishes a compilation of the data in an annual report.
Baker’s bill would require the DPU to monitor pick-up and drop-off points to within 100 yards, times of day for trips, and how many miles each vehicle travels. That additional data, he said, can help local and state officials gain a better understanding of how the services fit into the broader transportation system as well as their impacts on congestion and emissions — information that Baker said “assumes greater importance as we seek to understand how road travel has changed during the pandemic.”
In 2019, the most recent full year for which data is available, DPU counted a total of 91.1 million trips on ride-hailing services in Massachusetts, about 40 percent more than in 2017.
The latest version of Baker’s proposal includes a brand-new section granting DPU authority to regulate livery companies with more than 100 drivers on a digital network, effectively bringing more platforms under the umbrella of state rather than municipal oversight.
DPU’s Transportation Network Company Division does not have jurisdiction over livery companies, which also offer trips for hire but are regulated at the local level.
“While this continues to make sense for smaller, traditional livery operators, a greater degree of oversight is necessary for large livery companies that operate on a digital network, have drivers located all over the state and, aside from having cars with livery plates, are otherwise indistinguishable from TNCs,” Baker wrote.
Like his 2019 proposal, Baker’s new bill could also open the door to allowing surge pricing on the platforms during states of emergency. Surge pricing, when costs for app users increase during periods of high demand, is currently banned during state or federal states of emergency under Massachusetts law.
While the practice is unpopular among some riders, surge pricing has come under additional scrutiny during the COVID-19 pandemic. As the Boston Globe reported in July, some TNC companies argue that their inability to deploy surge pricing reduces the available pool of drivers and lengthens wait times.
Baker’s legislation would grant DPU authority, if regulators deem it appropriate, to permit surge pricing during emergency declarations.
“Enabling surge pricing under certain circumstances and with appropriate limitations could increase the supply of drivers, which reduces wait times and ensures reliable transportation options,” Baker’s office said in its summary of the bill.
Alix Anfang, a spokesperson for Uber, said the company is still reviewing the latest bill and added that “it is clear that Massachusetts continues to be a leader on innovative policies to help keep residents safe and protect workers.” A Lyft spokesperson could not be reached for immediate comment.
Baker first proposed the data collection and safety provisions in July 2019, saying at the time that the companies needed to be regulated more strictly as they become “an undeniable thread in the fabric of Massachusetts transportation, environment and overall economy.”
His bill never emerged from the Transportation Committee as standalone legislation, though House lawmakers spliced much of its language into a massive transportation funding bill — which also called for higher per-ride fees on TNCs — their chamber approved in March 2020.
The Senate did not take up that bill, in part due to the shifting climate during the COVID-19 pandemic, and Baker’s changes died with the end of the 2019-2020 lawmaking session.
Baker’s refiled bill would not alter the existing 20-cent flat fee assessed on every TNC ride. He proposed increasing that to $1 per ride in his original fiscal year 2021 budget proposal, but since COVID arrived, he appears to have cooled to the idea.
In January, Baker vetoed a section of a $16.5 billion transportation bond bill that would have instituted a new fee structure of 40 cents for a shared ride, $1.20 for a non-shared ride and $2.20 for a luxury ride.
