Lee County OKs regulation for Uber, Lyft services

Uber may be decelerating its efforts in Lee County.

On Tuesday, company representatives said the future of Uber in Lee is unclear, after commissioners voted unanimously this morning to approve new regulations for cars for hire.

After two hours of public comment, commissioners voted on the ordinance that adds companies such as Uber and Lyft to the regulations that once only covered taxis and limousines.

The new ordinance sets requirements for background checks, inspections, commercial insurance and car markings that will apply both to traditional transportation companies and newer, phone-based ones such as Uber, which came to Southwest Florida a few months ago.

Commissioners still have the chance to amend the regulation if they choose in the future, and there are bills in the Florida House and Senate that address regulations of companies such as Uber, County Attorney Richard Wesch said.

County commissioners said the regulations simply streamlined the rules to include all kinds of transportation companies, and some taxi company owners said they believed it was only fair that all drivers follow the same regulations.

But Uber representatives said the regulations ignore that their drivers are mostly part-time, and create too much burden — both on the drivers and the company.

"This kind of regulatory framework is not conducive to the fact these are part-time drivers," said Dave Barmore, public policy representative for Uber.

Lee is one of a host of communities across the country that are beginning to create rules governing companies such as Uber in the same way they govern other transportation types such as taxis. Most recently, Palm Beach County created a temporary agreement, Barmore said.

One major sticking point the two sides couldn't agree upon, Wesch said, was the county's proposed requirement for Uber and other companies to provide lists of their drivers to the tax collector's office, which will now oversee all required inspections, background checks and applications for drivers.

Uber considers that information proprietary, though it has set up agreements with some places that allows for some "auditing," Barmore said.

Dozens of the company's drivers wore black Uber shirts, and many spoke of how driving for Uber has been a much needed supplemental income. Others said they'd had riders of all types who said Uber was an essential part of their lives, from late-night rides home after drinking to ways to get to work.

"I keep hearing the government wants to create jobs for people like me, spouses of military people. But Uber created a job for me," said Oscar Santana of Cape Coral, who said he drives for Uber now that his wife has retired from the U.S. Navy after 21 years.

Barmore said it was too early to say whether the vote meant Uber would exit Lee County, and the company would begin discussions.

But there will be an impact, said Ana Mahoney, general manager of Uber in Southwest Florida.

"At the end of the day it will affect the riders and the drivers," she said.