Legal Considerations in Relationships Between Transit Agencies and Ridesourcing Service Providers (2018) / Chapter Skim
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Pages 6-17
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6 The digest does address public RSP service. However, mobility services such as carsharing/bikesharing (even though those services may be incorporated by transit agencies)
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7 (2013–2015) 21 that is already somewhat dated in terms of describing the current state of the RSP market.
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8 In September 2017, Transport for London (TfL) announced that it would not renew Uber's license to operate because of Uber's unfitness to operate safely.
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9 as well as arguably worth less.40[E-5] Uber began in 2010 in San Francisco as UberCab, a black-car service (delivered by commercial drivers using highend vehicles)
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10 services.44 By 2017, Uber had also begun providing routing services to local agencies.45 Lyft. -- Lyft was the successor company to Zimride, a ridesharing service, and is the second largest TNC in the United States. In 2012, Lyft was one of the first companies (along with Sidecar)
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11 January 2018, appeared to be preparing to shift its focus to such service. Chariot still creates crowdsourced routes by allowing potential riders to nominate routes.54 Chariot has maintained that its service can fill transit deserts within cities.
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12 service.62 Several of the public microtransit projects that were begun or proposed in 201763 are included in Appendix E While most of the activity in this area has involved microtransit, in the wake of TfL's decision not to renew Uber's operating license, suggestions were raised that London create its own nonprofit alternative to Uber.64 Effect on Taxicab Usage. -- The rapid growth of TNCs has negatively affected the taxicab industry.65 Not only has ridership suffered, but the taxi industry has also lost a significant number of drivers to TNCs.66 TNCs' detrimental effect on the taxi industry has also affected local efforts at taxi deregulation67 and the availability of WAVs.
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13 digest. As of 2017, there had been no federal legislative action concerning TNCs, and regulatory action has been limited to clarifying the application of existing requirements.
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14 at a greater rate than for other modes.78 Labor is the largest cost factor, with driver experience having a significant effect on the quality of service delivery.79 The GAO's 2012 report on paratransit discussed transit agency cost-savings measures, specifically referencing improving technology for scheduling and dispatch.80 Because of the expanding costs of paratransit and frequent complaints about timeliness of service, paratransit could be expected to be particularly fertile ground for collaboration between transit agencies and ridesourcing services.81 A Transit Cooperative Research Program study found that transit agencies indeed "expressed a strong interest in finding ways to harness emerging shared-use business models and technologies to increase mobility, lower costs, and improve the rider experience associated with paratransit and related services," which could be done by having RSPs deliver paratransit service directly.82 However, the special demands of paratransit -- notably training and screening requirements for drivers -- pose challenges for delivery via a TNC. Therefore, that 2016 study suggested that another approach would be to license RSP technologies to deliver service using existing capacity.83 Moreover, current providers have argued that following the regulatory requirements for delivering paratransit are what makes it expensive and that the only way to lower costs is to skimp on service requirements.84 Thus, while providing paratransit patrons with "the least expensive appropriate vehicle" could substantially reduce costs,85 the challenge is structuring the program in such a way as not to violate federal and state requirements for providing wheelchair accessible service.
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15 which have taken the position that the ADA does not apply to them, has weakened an industry on which many transit agencies rely for at least part of their paratransit service.88 4. Other RSP Issues A number of issues have been raised concerning RSPs -- primarily TNCs -- that may be of interest to transit agencies as they evaluate their MOD options.
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16 transit.94 In addition, there has been some suggestion that TNCs actually increase congestion in large urban areas.95 Finally, the viability of the TNC business model may be particularly vulnerable to unpredictable political events as well, such as loss of drivers due to loss of non-employer healthcare.96 B Taxicab Regulation From 2014 to 2017, as TNCs spread throughout the United States, and states and local governments grappled with how to regulate them, commentators looked to the regulatory structures that governed taxicab companies for possible models.97 However, once virtually all states had settled on a basic regulatory structure for TNCs,98 the relevance of taxi regulation to TNC legal analysis appeared to be in two areas: the applicability of federal regulation of taxicabs and transit agency third-party contracts with taxicab companies, and tort liability for incidents involving taxicab drivers.
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17 some context and contrast to the issues that may arise for transit agencies evaluating various relationships with RSPs.
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