For those who don't know, Greg is one of the common faces of the Seattle VC scene. He is a staple at nearly every startup event -- Startup Weekend, Geekwire events, TechStars, VC panels, etc.
I don't have a dog in the fight, but I did spend some time reading the actual bill since these blog articles felt like more political campaigns than informative pieces. The last time this came up I posted https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7303232
The Seattle city council passed a law that made so-called "ride sharing" services legal after intentionally withholding prosecution for over a year. The law isn't perfect, but it does feel like it strives to balance protecting existing investments with new services. The most salient changes about the bill:
1. Seattle defines uberX, Lyft, etc as Transportation Network Companies (TNC) and declares all drivers as "for-hire" drivers, which is a legal distinction that means Seattle can regulate them.
2. TNCs are taxed at $50k for first year. Second year is the greater of $50k or .35% of gross revenue.
3. No more than 150 drivers may be associated with each TNC at a time, and each driver can work only 12 hours per 24 hour period. Previously the law would have limited 300 drivers per TNC per quarter regardless of who was active, and this was "the cap." For comparison, there are 1100 taxicabs in the city.
4. Drivers can't double dip: They can't both drive for-hire cars and also do uberX on the side. They also can't work for both uberX and Lyft.
5. Rates may either be flat-rate between preset zones OR subject to RCW Chapter 19.94. RCW Chapter 19.94 defines appropriate measurement devices that may be used with commerce, which I think precludes most cell phones... uberX would need to install meters it seems and precludes surge pricing.
6. The insurance requirements are stricter than what uberX or Lyft provide today and are mostly in line with existing taxicabs.
7. There was a 30% increase in the cap on cabs at the same time.
8. TNCs have to report their activities to the city, which will be available to the public for inspection.
Thank you for reading and citing the law in detail. For those who haven't read it[1], I'd encourage you to do so. Unfortunately, the author of the blog post is reading it rather selectively and linking to another report.
Reading through the law, it seems largely sensible. The council lays out its logic for which pieces of the operations of a service like Uber need to be regulated, and specifies appropriate regulatory action on each item. We're talking about aspects like "transparency of rates", "certificates of safety" from mechanics, allowances for handicapped people, and insurance.
In fact, the council lays out a pilot program to assess whether such regulatory action is actually effective, "so that regulation provides a safety net that the public can rely on for its protection while new businesses innovate and use technology to better the lives of Washingtonians." The balance between "innovative" interests and those of consumers is clearly being weighed, and the council will assess "any negative unintended consequences of the pilot program" by next year.
Attacking the caps ignores the fact that they are associated primarily with the pilot program and initial regulation. You can think of it as a form of risk management for a trial, not dissimilar from that exercised in a medical drug trial.
I don't have a dog in the fight, but I did spend some time reading the actual bill since these blog articles felt like more political campaigns than informative pieces. The last time this came up I posted https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7303232
The Seattle city council passed a law that made so-called "ride sharing" services legal after intentionally withholding prosecution for over a year. The law isn't perfect, but it does feel like it strives to balance protecting existing investments with new services. The most salient changes about the bill:
1. Seattle defines uberX, Lyft, etc as Transportation Network Companies (TNC) and declares all drivers as "for-hire" drivers, which is a legal distinction that means Seattle can regulate them.
2. TNCs are taxed at $50k for first year. Second year is the greater of $50k or .35% of gross revenue.
3. No more than 150 drivers may be associated with each TNC at a time, and each driver can work only 12 hours per 24 hour period. Previously the law would have limited 300 drivers per TNC per quarter regardless of who was active, and this was "the cap." For comparison, there are 1100 taxicabs in the city.
4. Drivers can't double dip: They can't both drive for-hire cars and also do uberX on the side. They also can't work for both uberX and Lyft.
5. Rates may either be flat-rate between preset zones OR subject to RCW Chapter 19.94. RCW Chapter 19.94 defines appropriate measurement devices that may be used with commerce, which I think precludes most cell phones... uberX would need to install meters it seems and precludes surge pricing.
6. The insurance requirements are stricter than what uberX or Lyft provide today and are mostly in line with existing taxicabs.
7. There was a 30% increase in the cap on cabs at the same time.
8. TNCs have to report their activities to the city, which will be available to the public for inspection.