A bill giving New Mexico's Public Regulation Commission the power to regulate ride-sharing services, including Uber and Lyft, has passed the House.
The bill, which referred to Uber and Lyft as transportation network companies, will establish a framework that will allow the PRC to promulgate rules governing the ride-sharing services.
The bill passed with 56 votes for it and only eight votes against it. It now will go for discussion in the state Senate.
Democrats were generally in favor of Uber and Lyft. However, there were some thoughts that the bill would give the transportation network companies an unfair competitive advantage over the traditional taxi businesses, which are overseen by the Motor Carrier Act.
Minority Leader Brian Egolf, D-Santa Fe, promised to cooperate with Rep. Monica Youngblood, R-Albuquerque, in the modernization of the Motor Carrier Act to equalize the playing field among the transportation network companies and taxi businesses.
Rep. Matthew McQueen, D-Santa Fe, expressed concerns that Uber and Lyft are not being regulated in terms of the rates that they could set for their services. McQueen recalled a recent event in Sydney where Uber was charging a $100 minimum to pick up passengers leaving an area where there was an ongoing hostage crisis.
After the incident, however, Uber said that the fares paid by passengers at the time would be refunded to make the rides free. Afterward, during the recent storms in the country's Northeast, Uber placed a cap on prices.
McQueen also criticized a line in the bill that described the vehicles used by a driver under a transportation network company as noncommercial, making the vehicles not subject to registration as commercial vehicles. According to McQueen, while transportation network companies are considered a commercial enterprise, this line in the bill contradicts that fact.
There were times during the discussion, however, that Uber received praise, with Rep. Nora Espinoza, R-Roswell, stating that the company provides a great opportunity to college students and mothers.
Uber and Lyft have been involved in battles against regulatory bodies across the country, including New Mexico, where the state's Public Regulation Commission released a cease and desist order on Lyft's operations as the agency sought to provide regulation on the company's service.
There were criticisms against the insurance of the company's drivers, whether it was big enough to provide complete coverage. Youngblood assured that the insurance for the drivers, as long as the app for the transportation network company is open, is big enough to provide coverage for any kind of accident.
