Transportation

PUC approves updated taxi regulations to help industry compete

image from Shutterstock

image from Shutterstock

Harrisburg – The Independent Regulatory Review Commission Thursday unanimously approved a set of final regulations from the Public Utility Commission aimed at modernizing the commission’s regulation of taxicabs in order to help them better compete with the recently legalized transportation network companies such as Uber and Lyft.

Stemming from enabling legislation in Act 85 of 2016 and Act 164 of 2016 that allowed the temporary, then permanent, legalization of TNCs, the Legislature tasked the PUC with promulgating new regulations as they pertain to taxicab and motor carrier companies that would allow them to better compete with TNCs, which operate on a different business model than traditional taxi companies.

Pertinent changes to the way motor carrier companies can operate include: removing the requirement to show a public need before being authorized to enter into the market; establishing flexible tariffs to allow motor carrier companies to operate their businesses in real time; requiring motor carrier companies to update their fleets; and eliminating the restriction on owner-operated taxis.

Of concern to the commissioners Thursday was the elimination of the need to show a public need by a company prior to entering into the market.

In the past, these companies needed to show that they were both serving an unmet public need in the area and that their company was fit – physically, morally and financially – to serve the alleged need.

According to PUC Deputy Chief Counsel John Herzog, the removal of the public need requirement brings traditional motor carrier companies more in line with limousines and TNCs.

“This was on the commission’s own initiative using its expertise, its experience, looking at these industries and asking: ‘Does this make sense to continue this particular barrier to entry?’” he said.

According to Herzog, much like what happened with limousine companies, the removal of the public need requirement will lower the number of objections to entry that can be filed and create greater competition.

Additionally, the PUC will retain its role determining the fitness of a company to enter into the market, observing their financial ability, their ability to cover the geographic area they wish to serve, and inspecting the quality of their vehicle fleet and suitability of the company’s drivers.

According to Herzog, the regulations are also in line with the new business models being adopted by traditional carriers as they seek to remain competitive after TNC legalization.

“In the markets I’m familiar with, in talking with the traditional carriers in those markets, they’ve had to change,” he said. “They’ve had to modify their business models to maintain their relevancy to what the public demands to provide better service. There’s more TNC rides today because there is more pent-up demand being provided by the model than there was before.”

Given IRRC’s approval, the regulation will become effective following a legal review by the Office of Attorney General and publication in the Pennsylvania Bulletin, the commonwealth’s official gazette for information and rulemaking.

IRRC was formed under the Regulatory Review Act in 1982 as an independent legislative agency that reviews regulations to determine whether they are in the public interest and promulgated under appropriate legal authority.

According to the commission, it also serves as “a clearinghouse” for complaints and comments from the public and members of the General Assembly regarding proposed regulations.

The five members of the commission are appointed by each of the four legislative caucuses and the governor.

The current chairman is George Bedwick, who was first appointed by then-Speaker of the House Keith McCall (D-Carbon) in 2009 and then reappointed to the commission by current House Minority Leader Frank Dermody (D-Allegheny) in 2012.

While IRRC has no ultimate authority to stop a regulation, a regulation’s approval by the commission has commonly been recognized as a regulatory sine qua non in terms of whether it should move forward.

X
This website uses cookies to enhance user experience and to analyze performance and traffic on our website. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners. Learn More / Do Not Sell My Personal Information
Accept Cookies
X
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Do Not Sell My Personal Information

When you visit our website, we store cookies on your browser to collect information. The information collected might relate to you, your preferences or your device, and is mostly used to make the site work as you expect it to and to provide a more personalized web experience. However, you can choose not to allow certain types of cookies, which may impact your experience of the site and the services we are able to offer. Click on the different category headings to find out more and change our default settings according to your preference. You cannot opt-out of our First Party Strictly Necessary Cookies as they are deployed in order to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting the cookie banner and remembering your settings, to log into your account, to redirect you when you log out, etc.). For more information about the First and Third Party Cookies used please follow this link.

Allow All Cookies

Manage Consent Preferences

Strictly Necessary Cookies - Always Active

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data, Targeting & Social Media Cookies

Under the California Consumer Privacy Act, you have the right to opt-out of the sale of your personal information to third parties. These cookies collect information for analytics and to personalize your experience with targeted ads. You may exercise your right to opt out of the sale of personal information by using this toggle switch. If you opt out we will not be able to offer you personalised ads and will not hand over your personal information to any third parties. Additionally, you may contact our legal department for further clarification about your rights as a California consumer by using this Exercise My Rights link

If you have enabled privacy controls on your browser (such as a plugin), we have to take that as a valid request to opt-out. Therefore we would not be able to track your activity through the web. This may affect our ability to personalize ads according to your preferences.

Targeting cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.

Social media cookies are set by a range of social media services that we have added to the site to enable you to share our content with your friends and networks. They are capable of tracking your browser across other sites and building up a profile of your interests. This may impact the content and messages you see on other websites you visit. If you do not allow these cookies you may not be able to use or see these sharing tools.

If you want to opt out of all of our lead reports and lists, please submit a privacy request at our Do Not Sell page.

Save Settings
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Cookie List

A cookie is a small piece of data (text file) that a website – when visited by a user – asks your browser to store on your device in order to remember information about you, such as your language preference or login information. Those cookies are set by us and called first-party cookies. We also use third-party cookies – which are cookies from a domain different than the domain of the website you are visiting – for our advertising and marketing efforts. More specifically, we use cookies and other tracking technologies for the following purposes:

Strictly Necessary Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Functional Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Performance Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Social Media Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Targeting Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.