Business

Boston Chamber chief asks Senate to limit Uber restrictions

By Adam Vaccaro

2 minutes to read

The head of the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce wants the state to allow Uber and Lyft to operate at Logan Airport and the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center.

In a letter dated May 31, Jim Rooney, the head of the chamber and formerly head of the state’s Convention Center Authority, wrote to Senate President Stanley Rosenberg, copying a group of senators involved in drafting a bill that would regulate so-called transportation network companies.

“I believe the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority and Massachusetts Port Authority [which runs Logan] should be able to negotiate and regulate their own transportation operations without legislation, including operating agreements with rideshare companies,” Rooney wrote.

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The House of Representatives in March passed a bill that included a five-year ban on Uber and Lyft drivers who do not have livery licenses — meaning the vast majority of them — from picking up passengers at the convention center and the airport. Both measures would give taxi and livery services exclusive pick-up domain at the two heavily trafficked spots.

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The services’ non-livery drivers are currently allowed to operate at the convention center, located in South Boston. They cannot pick passengers up at Logan due to airport regulations, but hope they will be able to eventually. The House bill would dash those hopes by baking the ban into law.

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Convention center officials have already voiced their opposition to the proposed ban at their property, saying it would limit visitors’ transportation options.

Rooney also called on the senators to pass a bill that would “protect riders and the public, but also keep ridesharing a thriving business in Massachusetts.”

Uber and Lyft have opposed the House bill, not just because of the airport and convention center bans but also because of provisions that would require drivers to register with the state. Taxi industry groups, which argue the digital-era services should face similar regulations as their services, have also criticized the House bill, saying it doesn’t restrict Uber and Lyft enough.

The Senate bill is overdue, based on a timeline predicted by Sen. Jamie Eldridge in mid-April, when he said it would be drafted within four to five weeks. A spokeswoman for Eldridge has since declined to provide a timeline for its completion, with the end of the legislative session coming at the end of July.

Rooney’s letter:

https://www.scribd.com/doc/315702867/TNC-Letter-of-Support

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