How Should Uber Be Regulated?

For two days this month, taxi drivers didn’t pick up any weary travelers leaving Mineta San Jose Airport. Instead they drove past, honking, and hoping their strike would persuade city leaders to make ride-hailing companies such as Uber and Lyft follow the same rules as taxi companies at the airport.

“Either the city should deregulate us completely, like them … or regulate them at least closer to us, and let there be fair business competition,” said Kirpal Bajwa, a taxi driver and union leader.

Ride-hailing companies, which connect paying passengers and drivers through a mobile app, deliver rides like a taxi service. But they’re not taxi companies, and states and cities are beginning to regulate them differently.

California created permitting and public safety rules for ride-hailing companies in 2013. Over half the states now have regulations in place, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL).

But as San Jose’s experience shows, the debate over how to govern Uber and others is far from over.

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