Not in the slightest! Ridesharing services have always been legal. The issue was that neo-taxi companies such as Lyft and Sidecar had been illegally labeling themselves as such. The CPUC has simply approved legislation that will allow them to continue operating, provided they abide by a set of 28 rules and regulations which, if anything, are more stringent than those observed by traditional taxicabs.
In recent months, the entire Bay Area seems to have been sucked in by this bogus terminology. Ridesharing, as defined by US law, is the sharing of a driver’s empty car seats with passengers “on a cost reimbursement basis only”. As soon as drivers start making a profit from taking passengers, they become… you guessed it, taxi drivers!
Until now, Lyft and Sidecar have tried to get around this by describing payments to their drivers as ‘donations’. Were we really supposed to view these drivers as charitable organizations?!
Today the tech press is awash with articles about the CPUC’s ruling on ‘ridesharing’. It’s worth pointing out that at no point in yesterday’s press release is this word used (http://docs.cpuc.ca.gov/PublishedDocs/Published/G000/M077/K132/77132276.PDF).
For the record, we applaud innovation in transportation… Carma leads the world in ridesharing/carpooling innovation, but it’s great to see forward thinking in the world of paid drivers also, from Hailo and Uber to Lyft and HopCab. It creates more options for consumers, which we think is great.
Here’s to proper ridesharing!