Limousine Finder: Boston Ordered To Revise Rules Separating TNCs, Taxis

Friday, April 1, 2016

Boston Ordered To Revise Rules Separating TNCs, Taxis

<p>A Boston taxicab with association logo.</p> BOSTON — A federal judge on March 31 gave Mayor Martin J. Walsh’s administration six months to revise the way it regulates taxis and ride-hailing firms like Uber and Lyft, part of an ongoing legal and political battle still shaping the way the two industries operate.

U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton pressed city officials on their decision to impose one set of regulations on traditional taxi companies and another on the up-and-coming transportation network companies (TNCs), showing sympathy to the cabs’ claim that their equal protection rights had been violated.

Scott Solombrino, spokesman for a coalition of taxi and livery industry members, and CEO of Dav El/Boston Coach Chauffeured Transportation Network, said in an e-mail, “We applaud the court’s decision today in recognizing what we have known all along — that the city of Boston has the authority to regulate Uber and Lyft and should be taking action to level the playing field between these companies and the law abiding taxi and livery industries.”

Boston Globe article here

Full court decision document here