Business News

Council to consider Uber regs

by Walter Pierce

The City-Parish Council Tuesday will vote on an ordinance for final adoption that would codify non-traditional transportation services like Uber and Lift to the current ordinance that regulates traditional taxicab and limousine companies.

The City-Parish Council Tuesday will vote on an ordinance for final adoption that would codify non-traditional transportation services like Uber and Lift, adding an official classification — Transportation Network Providers — to the current ordinance that regulates traditional taxicab and limousine companies.

CDO Carlee Alm-LaBar

“Right now, our code of ordinances is silent on that type of operator,” says Carlee Alm-LaBar, Lafayette Consolidated Government’s chief development officer. “While we were examining the ordinance, we wanted to also address some issues we have had historically with our existing ordinance, specifically how we regulate taxis.”

The Downtown Lafayette Restaurant & Bar Association recently announced plans to test run an Uber pick-up station at the corner of West Congress and Jefferson streets in the heart of the nightlife district. Alm-LaBar says the ordinance amendments were already underway in anticipation of the start-up’s arrival.

“We were already rewriting the ordinance when Uber came to town — but we were doing so anticipating that they would be coming. So yes, that was one of the things that motivated us to review the code,” she says.

The regulations governing Transportation Network Providers like Uber include an application process for prospective drivers to register with Uber, assurances that Uber drivers will honor the code of conduct for traditional drivers-for-hire, a vehicle-inspection process to ensure Uber vehicles are road-worthy and properly insured, a uniform system for displaying logos and decals on vehicles, among other things.

Click here to read the amended ordinance.

For more on the planned Uber station Downtown, click here.