City Council weighs new bill regulating Uber, Lyft

The Honolulu City Council is considering a proposal that would expand the definition of taxicabs and taxi companies to include Uber and Lyft.

Bill 85, introduced by Council Chairman Ernie Martin and Council Member Ann Kobayashi, would require Uber and Lyft drivers to go through the city taxi-certification process. Any vehicles used to transport passengers for hire would have to be equipped with a taximeter, rooftop sign or dome light, and fares would have to be posted. Drivers would be prohibited from using a GPS device to measure distance and calculate fares.

Violators could face a $2,000 fine and up to a year in jail.

“Taxi drivers have been asking for a level playing field,” Kobayashi said. “If they have to be certified, they would like all drivers to be certified.”

The new definition of taxicab companies would include any entity that “functions as an intermediary between the passenger for hire and the taxicab or taxicab driver, and receives a portion of the consideration paid by the passenger for hire for the transportation provided, regardless of whether the intermediary performs its function entirely or in part using any form or type of technology.”

The definition of taxicab would include any motor vehicle that is “directed to a destination by the passenger for hire or on the passenger’s behalf and operates on call or demand.”

Uber spokeswoman Taylor Patterson said the company was still studying the proposal.

“We are aware of the bill,” she said. “We are working through it and processing the bill.”

She added that other cities have also taken steps to regulate ride-hailing companies.

“Certainly we’ve seen bills crop up in other markets,” she said.

Lyft spokeswoman Mary Caroline Pruitt said, “Current rules surrounding taxis and limos were created long before anything like Lyft’s peer-to-peer model was ever imagined. We look forward to continuing conversations with Honolulu City Council on creating new rules for our peer-to-peer model, as have many other states and major cities across the country.”

Kobayashi said the bill is a consumer protection measure. “We’re not trying to regulate the industry. We’re trying to protect the public and protect the drivers, too,” she said. “We’re just trying to make it safe for everyone.”

There are few requirements for obtaining a taxi certificate in Honolulu. Applicants must have a valid Hawaii driver’s license, at least a year of driving experience and an understanding of traffic laws, the English language and Oahu streets and landmarks. Applicants must pass a medical exam and a criminal background check that goes back two years and is limited to Hawaii convictions.