Alexa Garcia-Ditta
As Uber and Lyft threaten to leave San Antonio, the Taxicab, Limousine & Paratransit Association is urging Mayor Ivy Taylor to not back down.
The Taxicab, Limousine & Paratransit Association is urging San Antonio Mayor Ivy Taylor to not bow to ride-share service Uber's threats to leave the Alamo City unless leaders budge on new regulations for the industry.
"Uber has threatened to leave San Antonio if a fingerprint-based criminal background check is put into place, and yet taxicab drivers and limousine drivers comply with those very same requirements every day," TLPA President Mike Fogarty wrote in the February 10 letter.
In December, right before City Council passed new regulations for the ride-share industry, Uber General Manager Chris Nakutis said permitting fees and insurance requirements will push the company out of San Antonio, which is scheduled for March 1 — when the Alamo City's new ride-share regulations become law.
Fogarty's letter was in response to claims by Uber that its background check system is better than how taxicab companies conduct background checks.
"Free market principles require transparency and financial responsibility, both of which are eschewed by Uber," Fogarty wrote. "Ordinances require fingerprint-based, criminal background checks are essential to this safety and to the city of San Antonio."
To get a permit to operate as an Uber driver, or as a Lyft driver, potential drivers must take a 10-point fingerprint test with the San Antonio Police Department.