By Kim Kalunian, WPRO News
A new $40 minimum fee for non-taxi car services that’s been in limbo for more than a year will officially go into effect next month following a Superior Court ruling on the matter.
Rhode Island Division of Public Utilities and Motor Carriers (PUC) tell WPRO News they’ll begin enforcing the $40 fee on February 9, giving drivers of Public Motor Vehicles (PMVs) a grace period to adjust.
But the PUC says the new $40 base fare will not apply to ride-sharing services like Uber and Lyft, since they do not technically use registered PMVs for their riders. Both Uber and Lyft use apps to connect riders with available drivers in the area.
Uber had originally said a $40 minimum charge would make their business “untenable” in Rhode Island, but this week said they didn’t believe this regulation would apply to them and the “Uber X” ride-sharing model they use in Providence.
“Minimum fares reduce competition, give riders fewer affordable options and unfairly take away business from driver-partners,” said Uber Providence spokesman, Matt Wing. “Regardless of this decision, Uber is confident that we will be able to continue operating effectively in Rhode Island and providing safe and reliable transportation options to riders across the State.”
The same goes for Lyft.
“Lyft drivers in Providence are stay-at-home-moms, entrepreneurs, and students – people who are able to fill the empty seats in their cars by giving welcoming and affordable rides to people who need them,” wrote spokeswoman Chelsea Wilson in an email. “Regulations requiring minimum fares were created long before anything like Lyft’s peer-to-peer model was ever imagined, and we look forward to working with state leaders to develop new rules for ride-sharing that prioritize public safety and consumer choice.”
According to the state, the new regulation was put into effect to better differentiate between taxicabs and other car services that are considered to be a higher tier or “luxury” service. According to an order filed by RIPUC in October of 2013, Terrence Mercer, RIPUC’s Associate Administrator for the Motor Carriers, said the minimum charge would “’eliminate the rogue, gray-area sedan services that are really acting like taxicabs and, truth be told, stealing the work of taxicabs.’”
