Taxi cabs in South Lake Tahoe now on more level playing field with rideshares

For months the operators of taxicabs in South Lake Tahoe have said the regulations they have to abide by when operating in the City limits were unfair since app-based rideshare services such as Uber and Lyft didn't have to follow the same controls.

After Tuesday's City Council meeting, the cabs and rideshares will now be on a more level playing field with less regulation.

The "cabbies" at the meeting all left happy with the 5-0 vote of the Council to reduce the number of regulations they once had to abide by, and with a new ordinance created through group meetings with both sides.

"This was the best, most prepared community group I've ever come across," said City Manager Nancy Kerry of the organized taxi group.

Sunshine Yellow Cab owner Gary Poley spoke before Council as a representative of local cab companies.

"We'd like to thank the City, Council and Nancy for acknowledging our industry," said Poley.

While the new ordinance eliminates several regulations, Poly said it won't fix the thousands of dollars that Uber takes out of the pockets.

The State of California regulates rideshare services, and the City cannot impose any regulations on them except for the need for each driver to have a business license. Since the rideshares operate with less regulation in the country many other communities are easing up their taxi regulations. Los Angeles, San Antonio, Mississippi City and San Jose are just a few of the areas easing up laws.

The City will no longer require annual inspections of taxis or fingerprint and background checks. The new ordinance allows the cab companies to regulate their own employees. The companies can set their own standards, especially since they don't want to jeopardize their business by hiring criminals.

While the City will lose about $17,000 annually in revenues from the vehicle and background checks, they will also not need to have staff spend time on those issues, so its pretty much a wash financially. It also frees up staff time to help in other needed areas.

Uber, Lyft and taxis operating in the City limits all need to have South Lake Tahoe business licenses and carry insurance on their vehicles.