Exclusive: As D.C. weighs rideshare reform, Uber warns of higher fares
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Uber is claiming its fares in the District will increase 10% if the D.C. Council passes a new rideshare bill.
Why it matters: D.C. is looking to overhaul its rideshare rules — proposing new regulations more than 15 years after laying the groundwork for the expansion of Uber and Lyft.
State of play: The reform would require beefier insurance policies for drivers, reduce wait times for wheelchair-accessible vehicles, and prevent surveillance-based fare discrimination, among other requirements. A hearing is scheduled on the bill Monday morning.
- Councilmember Brianne Nadeau, a progressive who wrote the bill, has said it brings "international best practices" to D.C.
- Nadeau says it would also close an "attempted loophole" used by the company Empower, which has been in a dramatic regulatory battle with the District and recently shifted to offering free rides in the city to continue operating.
Friction point: Uber is lobbying against many of the changes. The company tells Axios it plans to testify Monday that the new bill would lead to a 10% rise in fares in the first year.
- That's partly because of the bill's more expensive minimum insurance requirements, and the prediction that it'll lead to fewer drivers operating — the end result being more surge pricing, Uber says.
- "Based on data from states that have onerous onboarding restrictions, we expect that thousands of drivers would leave the platform," LaVita Gardner, a representative for Uber, says in prepared testimony for Monday's hearing.
Flashback: D.C. expanded ridesharing in 2015 under what many saw as a favorable law for the emerging gig economy sector, over the protests of traditional cabbies.
- That allowed big operators like Uber and Lyft to flourish.
What's ahead: Nadeau has said the proposed bill will modernize an "over-complicated law" written years ago. Uber says it'd be "overly rigid," treating the industry like "legacy taxicab fleets."
- The debate will play out in Monday's hearing, and we'll find out in the weeks ahead if Nadeau has the votes to advance the bill forward.