New Uber, Lyft Rules Move To Full City Council For Vote
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A City Council committee quickly gave its approval for an ordinance that would require drivers for ride services like Lyft and Uber to be licensed and fingerprinted like regular taxi drivers.
A representative for Lyft said it will cease operations in Chicago if the current proposal becomes law.
The chairman of the transportation committee, Ald. Anthony Beale, said he is willing to make some changes to the ordinance before a final vote next week in City Council; but he said the new law, which requires background checks for drivers, is needed for public safety.
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Beale said the requirements will not kill the business model, as Uber and Lyft representatives have claimed.
"Absolutely not," he said, adding the companies' services operate with regulations in other cities.
Some drivers are worried about the cost of the business license.
"It will make it a hardship," one driver told WBBM Newsradio's Craig Dellimore.
In a statement, Chelsea Wilson, Senior Policy Communications Manager at Lyft, blasted the proposal.
"The ordinance passed today out of Committee forces part-time Lyft drivers into an onerous, outdated model – requiring hundreds of dollars in fees just to share a seat in their car. It would make true rides haring impossible. Because of this, we will be forced to cease operations in Chicago if this ordinance becomes law," she said. "We continue to believe there is a way forward that sets high safety standards."
