Dispute may put brakes on rides
Uber, rivals snub city’s trial program-requiring licenses, fingerprinting
SAN JOSE — Not a single ride-booking company has registered to operate at Silicon Valley’s airport under the city’s trial rules taking effect next month, meaning passengers eager for a high-tech alternative to taxis will have to wait.
Company officials and drivers say the city’s new rules are too costly and burdensome.
“There’s no way I’ll pay fees or get fingerprinted because it defeats the purpose of a shared economy,” said Zia Ahmed, 31, who drives for both Uber and Lyft. “Complying with these regulations makes no sense because I think they’re unnecessary.”
Under pressure from taxi operators who say it’s unfair to give ride-booking drivers a free pass on regulations, the City Council adopted a pilot program that begins Sept. 1 to allow ride-booking
pick-ups at Mineta San Jose International Airport. It requires drivers to register with the city, agree to be fingerprinted, obtain business licenses and meet vehicle age and mileage requirements, just as cab drivers already do.
Lyft officials told this newspaper the company wouldn’t sign up for San Jose’s program and neither would its competitors. Uber did not respond to requests for comment. It noted other major airports across the country, including Oakland International and San Francisco International, don’t require fingerprints or business licenses.
Ride-booking company officials said they already perform standard background checks on their drivers without fingerprints.
But Mayor Sam Liccardo is sticking to his guns on the fingerprinting rule — even if it means having no ridebooking companies at the airport.
“I’ve got a responsibility as mayor to ensure they operate safely,” Liccardo said.
Liccardo cited a lawsuit by San Francisco District Attorney George Gascón against Uber for giving “misleading information” on background checks. The case referenced an Uber driver, previously convicted of reckless driving, who struck and killed a 6-year-old girl.
Lobbyists for the ridebooking companies and taxis have swarmed City Hall for months, trying to persuade lawmakers to vote in their favor.
The issue has put Liccardo at odds with his longtime friend and ally, Silicon Valley Leadership Group CEO Carl Guardino, who publicly denounced the pilot program and predicted it would fail. He urged the council to nix the fingerprinting requirement.
“As I told the council, a pilot isn’t a pilot if no one participates,” said Guardino, who counts the company as a member of his organization. “I’m not surprised, and this was predictable.”
Guardino’s wife is a lobbyist for Lyft.
Taxi drivers fought to keep ride-booking away from the San Jose airport, saying it creates an uneven playing field because the drivers aren’t held to the same standards. Taxi fares already are higher because the companies have to pay for a dispatch system that the mobile apps do not need. The ride-booking companies also treat their drivers as independent contractors rather than employees — though a recent court decision has thrown that in doubt.
Dave Logan, operations manager for Yellow Cab and Checker Cab companies, said that if Uber and similar companies don’t agree to the same rules cab drivers follow, they shouldn’t play the game.
“They think they can buy people off and bully their way around,” he said.
Logan said the industry is waiting to see if Uber and Lyft cave in to San Jose’s conditions because it could set a precedent for other cities.
“If they give in to what San Jose airport wants, why wouldn’t airports across the country want to do the same thing?” Logan said. “I’m sure they’re thinking, ‘If we give in to this, other airports are going to require the same thing.’”