A bill to bring Uber and Lyft ride sharing services to Alexandria and rural areas is close to final legislative passage. The proposal has died in the Senate the last two years, but over the weekend the upper chamber aproved the measure 34-to-1. Alexandria Senator Jay Luneau (Lou-NO) says this legislation can help reduce drunk driving deaths among college students.
“They desperately need to have ride-share available for those students who drink and party and we all know they are going to do it,” said Luneau.
The lone Senator to vote against the measure was Kenner Republican Danny Martiny, who questioned why Lyft and Uber would not be regulated by the Public Service Commission, which currently regulates taxi cabs.
“Let the Public Service Commission regulate these vehicles the same way they regulate the other vehicles that drive all around the state with our loved ones on there, I don’t know why they don’t want to go there,” said Martiny.
The bill enacts statewide regulations for ride-sharing services. Supporters say 44 other states have a statewide regulatory framework for Uber and Lyft to operate. Winnfield Senator Gerald Long says this is an important bill for central Louisiana.
“We want to provide some type of dependable, reliable transportation, many of our cab companies don’t operate in a geographical region of 60 or 0 miles,” said Long.
The bill still needs House approval of changes made by the Senate, but that is expected to happen.
