THE California Assembly approved 69-0 a bill that allows companies like Uber, Lyft and Sidecar to offer shared rides to passengers with similar pickup and drop-off locations. However, each person’s individual fare must cost less than the amount a person would pay to travel alone.
“Passengers pay less, drivers make more, we have fewer rides and it’s better for the environment,” said Assemblyman Phil Ting (D-San Francisco), who authored the bill, AB1360, to legalize paid carpooling. An older California law prohibits separate charges for shared rides.
The California Public Utilities Commission stepped in after the companies began introducing the shared service, which allowed multiple passengers to split the cost of their fares and be dropped off in different destinations, The Sacramento Bee reported.
The bill garnered support from the companies involved, as well as a number of environmental groups, who said affordable carpools would lessen greenhouse gases and alleviate traffic congestion.
AB1360 is indicative of a broader trend of the state government trying to adjust regulations for a business model that is similar to a taxi service, except that it depends on amateur drivers who use personal vehicles.
The bill now heads to the California Senate, where it is expected to encounter a similar fate with little to no opposition.
(With reports from San Francisco Chronicle and The Sacramento Bee)
(www.asianjournal.com)
(LA Midweek May 27- June 3, 2015 Sec. A pg.5)
