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Last December, Mayor Charlie Hales cut a deal with ride app Uber to temporarily leave Portland while city officials crafted new rules for so-called "ride-sharing" companies.
Just a little over a month remains until April 9, the date Hales promised Uber it could return to Portland—and the City Council has yet to publicly debate the coming upheaval in the taxi market.
That silence is about end.
City Commissioner Steve Novick, who oversees transportation, has introduced new legal definitions for Uber and the rest of its "ride-share" brethren be added to city code. Those changes are scheduled to appear before City Council on March 11.
"It is a bit of a bureaucratic thing weâre doing," says Bryan Hockaday, Novick's policy advisor. "Council canât pass regulations on something that doesnât officially exist within city code. But itâs important that weâre taking this first step, because itâs the first time council will discuss this issue."
Novick isn't suggesting policiesâthe ordinance changes simply acknowledge the existence of ride-share companies that fall outside of taxis, limousines and other âfor-hireâ transportation services. He wants to approve the new definitions now to pave the way for City Council to craft new rules for ride-share, based on recommendations from an independent task force convened by Hales.
The change also defines the technology and platforms used by Uber and others to connect riders with drivers, and briefly lays out an expectation that the ride-share companies receive city permits to operate.
The arrival of the code changes comes three months after Uber invaded the Portland market, forcing Hales and Novick to agree to a deal allowing the San Francisco company and its competitor, Lyft, to operate in the city.
Hales promised new rules by April 9, though officials from Novick's office have said it may take the city longer to finish crafting those regulations.
Since then, a city task force has been mulling what rules Uber and Lyft will have to followâlike picking up passengers with disabilities, or increasing their commercial insurance. The committee has spent less time discussing Uber's pledge to provide the city with data, or the suggestion from Hales and Novick that taxis could be radically de-regulatedâan experiment Novick dubbed "Taxis Gone Wild."
Cab companies, meanwhile, aren't waiting to see what the city does. They're backing a bill in the Oregon Legislature to force ride apps to carry insurance for their drivers at all times.
The arrival of the code changes comes three months after Uber invaded the Portland market, forcing Hales and Novick to agree to a deal allowing the San Francisco company and its competitor, Lyft, to operate in the city.
Hales promised new rules by April 9, though officials from Novick's office have said it may take the city longer to finish crafting those regulations.
Since then, a city task force has been mulling what rules Uber and Lyft will have to followâlike picking up passengers with disabilities, or increasing their commercial insurance. The committee has spent less time discussing Uber's pledge to provide the city with data, or the suggestion from Hales and Novick that taxis could be radically de-regulatedâan experiment Novick dubbed "Taxis Gone Wild."
Cab companies, meanwhile, aren't waiting to see what the city does. They're backing a bill in the Oregon Legislature to force ride apps to carry insurance for their drivers at all times.
WWeek 2015