City of Austin Council Message Board

Dear Council Member colleagues:

Thursday, we will be considering a recommendation from the Mobility Committee to revise the interim TNC ordinance that was put in place by the previous City Council in October 2014. The Mobility Committee has continued the work set forth in the ordinance which directed the City to review the regulations and work with the Austin Transportation Department to enact policy that provides “equity in the treatment of taxis, TNC’s and other vehicles for hire with regard to fares charged, dynamic pricing, fleet size, accessibility, insurance, vehicle safety, and driver background among other relevant factors”.

The rules set forth in the recommendation are reasonable common sense measures that establish fairness for all drivers, that are easy for drivers to comply with, and that protect the public safety. They are also in line with the Austin community’s concerns about public safety, as evidenced by a recent poll in which 70% of respondents said ‘Yes’ when asked “Do you think the Austin City Council should pass these proposals and require fingerprint-based background checks?”, even after being told that “Uber has said they will stop operating in Austin if these proposals are passed into law.”

TNCs may have a zero tolerance policy when it comes to criminal history of any kind, but that policy is hard to enforce when their name-based background check fails to identify the criminal record. The FBI and the Texas Department of Public Safety agree that fingerprinting is the best way to ensure that the records reviewed belong to the person being checked, with a match accuracy rate of 99.6%.

When the Austin Police department reports having received seven complaints of TNC drivers sexually assaulting between April and August 2015, and when experts at SafePlace tell us they have provided exams and support in the past few months for five individuals who reported that they were assaulted by a Lyft or Uber driver, we must take those reports very seriously.

While there is no one thing that will ensure absolute public safety, the least that the City can do is implement the recommended best-practices.

Attached here you will find:

(1) a vehicle-for-hire fact sheet with relevant background information,
http://assets.austintexas.gov/austincou ... 165543.pdf

(2) an outline of the proposed TNC ordinance, and
http://assets.austintexas.gov/austincou ... 165639.pdf

(3) a ‘Frequently Asked Questions’ document with responses to common concerns my office has gathered from public input.
http://assets.austintexas.gov/austincou ... 165722.pdf

Sincerely,

Ann Kitchen
Council Member, District 5
Chair, Mobility Committee

REF: PROPOSED AMENDMENTS to late backup TNC ordinance draft:
From: Dinning, John
Sent: Monday, December 14, 2015 2:35 PM
To: Council Executive Assistants
Cc: Powers, Catie
Subject: Late Backup: TNC ordinance

CM Colleagues,
I intend to propose these amendments at 17-Dec-2015 meeting on item 75:

Amendment Z1:
Background Checks
I move to Strike “13-2-509 DEFINITION, (2) ELIGIBLE DRIVER” and the contents under “§13-2-527 DRIVER ELIGIBILITY-CRIMINAL BACKGROUND AND DRIVER HISTORY CHECKS” and replace with:

(A) Criminal background and driver history checks for all TNC drivers, as set forth below, are required upon application to drive and annually thereafter.
(1) A criminal background check is required and must be national in scope and prevent any person who has been convicted, within the past seven years, of driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol, or who has been convicted at any time for fraud, sexual offenses, use of a motor vehicle to commit a felony, gun related violations, resisting/evading arrest, reckless driving, a crime involving property damage, and/or theft, acts of violence, or acts of terror from driving for a TNC.
(2) A TNC driver history check is required and must prevent anyone with more than three moving violations within the three-year period before the driving history check, or anyone charged with driving without insurance or a suspended license within the three-year period prior to the history check, from driving for a TNC.
(3) A TNC driver may be authorized to drive for a TNC under this ordinance if the TNC has caused the criminal history of the driver to be researched by a company approved by the Austin Transportation Department Director (Director), and the results of that search demonstrate that the driver has no convictions of any offense listed in this ordinance. A TNC driver may be authorized to drive for a TNC under this ordinance if the TNC has caused the criminal history of the driver to be researched by a company approved by the Director, and the results of that search demonstrate that the driver has no convictions of any offense listed in this ordinance. These results must be available for audit by a private, agreed-upon third party, for further criminal history checks if deemed necessary by the Director.

Amendment Z2:
Inspections
- Strike §13-2-521 INSPECTIONS and §13-2-526 DRIVER REQUIREMENTS “and possess proof of a successful inspection”.

Amendment Z3:
Data Reporting
- Strike §13-2-516 DATA REPORTING REQUIREMENTS

Amendment Z4:
Fees
- Strike §13-2-533 GRADUATED FEES and §13-2-534 MAXIMUM FEES and strike the contents under §13-2-532 TNC FEES and replace with “Each TNC operating in the City of Austin shall pay an annual fee of $1 a year.”

Amendment Z5:
Accessible vehicle service
- Strike §13-2-517 ACCISSIBLE VEHICLE SERVICE (A)

Amendment Z6:
Taxes
- Strike the 2nd sentence under §13-2-523 TAXES “A vehicle used as a TNC vehicle that has unpaid taxes assessed may not operate on City streets.”

Amendment Z7:
Application – Strike Part 3 and Part 4

Amendment Z8:
Termination of service – Strike Part 5