Taxi companies and the ride-hailing industry agree: Stricter regulations on taxis are strangling cabs’ ability to compete.
But rather than adding to the rules governing Uber and Lyft, an effort that has seen limited success in Sacramento in recent years, Assemblyman Evan Low (D-Campbell) wants to deregulate the taxi industry.
Low has introduced a bill, AB 650, that would allow taxi companies to set their own prices, streamline licensing, background check and insurance requirements and shift regulatory authority from local governments to the state in an effort to better mirror the rules governing Uber and Lyft.
“The taxicabs need fair competition,” Low said.
The ride-hailing companies’ emergence in recent years, spurred by cheaper rides and looser restrictions on their operations, have threatened the taxi industry as a whole. In Los Angeles, for instance, taxi trips arranged in advance are down by nearly half over the last three years.
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