Taxi Company Owners Call for Deregulation in Montgomery County

Uber doesn't show up; local cab owners call for even playing field

October 10, 2014 11:00 a.m.

The elephant in the room wasn’t in the room Thursday when a Montgomery County Council committee discussed taxi regulations in the county.

Uber didn’t send a representative to the meeting, where  the company was mentioned over and over again as cab company bosses called for less regulation to even the competition in the local taxi market.

Lee Barnes, CEO of Kensington-based Barwood Taxi, noted that taxi companies operating in the county must undergo vehicle inspections twice a year, have no control over the fares they charge and  are required to conduct extensive background checks on their drivers, who don’t own the taxis they drive. Meanwhile companies such as Lyft and Uber do not fall under these county regulations. The two San Francisco-based companies have developed phone apps that link drivers who use their own cars with people needing a ride. The rides are paid for automatically through the app using customers’ credit cards.

- Advertisement -

David Mohebbi, president of Gaithersburg-based Regency Taxi, called on council members to hold Uber and Lyft accountable to the same regulations governing taxi companies.

“They’ve taken over city and state transportation infrastructure under the umbrella of technology,” Mohebbi said. “They transport people in unmarked vehicles without a [taxi] license and proper insurance.”

The cab company owners said they support revisions to county laws regarding taxis, including allowing drivers to own their own cars, allowing older model cars to serve as taxis and enabling taxi drivers to be licensed in 24 hours. Currently it takes 30 days for a driver to get a taxi license in the county. Owners also said they now have their own apps to compete with Uber and Lyft, but that regulations are limiting their ability to be as profitable.

Uber did send a statement to the council committee indicating it was willing to work with county officials on regulation issues.

Roger Berliner, chair of the transportation, infrastructure, energy and environment committee, said he supported changes to the county’s taxi code.

Sponsored
Face of the Week

“The manner in which we regulate our taxi industry is so old school that you won’t get any debate from me on how we regulate you,” Berliner told the owners. He said he’s looking for a way to allow traditional cab companies to compete with app-based companies such as Uber and Lyft without imposing unreasonable burdens on the new companies.

Chris Massey, director of government relations for Lyft, said the company is ready to talk about regulation that ensures public safety. He noted that Lyft conducts comprehensive background checks on each of its drivers and also insures every trip they make.

Councilmember Hans Riemer said he’s seen examples around the country where app-based companies are comfortable with operating in a regulated environment.

Deputy county attorney John Markovs raised the question of whether county law would apply to companies such as Uber and Lyft or if the state Public Service Commission (PSC) will issue regulations governing them. The PSC ruled in August that Uber’s more luxurious black-car and SUV services fall under the state’s common-carrier regulations, but has not ruled on UberX, in which drivers operate their own cars. Markovs said the PSC may do the same for UberX, but hadn’t under the previous ruling because the service wasn’t operating in Baltimore when the UberBlack and UberSUV petition was filed.

Berliner said regardless of what the PSC may do, he believed the county should fight for its own regulations of taxis and companies like Uber and Lyft.

Digital Partners

Enter our essay contest