St. Louis is the largest city in the USA without UberX service.
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A modernization of the taxi cab industry could be integrated into legislative efforts to regulate ride-hailing services like Uber and Lyft, according to a House lawmaker who will play a significant role in shaping the future of a bill that aims to “level the playing field” for cabs and alternative ride-for-hire services.
Uber insists its background checks are tough enough and calls the idea of fingerprinting drivers a burden and claim its a deal breaker.
The outlook is less clear for drivers in St. Louis County. Three members now are, but a taxi driver is supposed to be on the commission as well. “We were going to find ourselves in court anyway”. The Uber debate will resume Friday morning.
Drivers could be cited for driving a vehicle for hire without being licensed by the taxi commission, he said.
But it’s unclear if the panel, which listened to several hours of testimony at a public hearing, will endorse a measure similar to that proposed by Republican Gov. Charlie Baker or one offered by two Democratic lawmakers that seeks more stringent rules, including the fingerprinting of drivers.
“After more than a year of delays and maneuvers designed to block rideshare services from St. Louis, today’s events come as a last resort to provide residents with the same transportation options they have in other cities”, the company announced. “Through their concerted activities, the MTC and its market-participant members have destroyed competition, thereby depriving consumers in the St. Louis market of a transportation request option that has proven wildly popular worldwide”. “But because of the MTC’s anti-competitive conduct, I am forced to navigate my daily life while depending on unreliable, unaccommodating, expensive taxicabs when there is a better way”.
“I should be able to drive with Uber in my own community”, said the plaintiff, Kneeshe Parkinson. By that Monday afternoon, St. Louis Circuit Judge David Dowd ordered Lyft shut down in the city and St. Louis County.
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But as UberX drivers opened their apps and hit the streets, taxicab commissioners voted 7-to-1 to enact regulations which would require smartphone-based ride services to get licenses and require drivers to be fingerprinted.
