BOSTON – At this week’s Boston City Council meeting, Councilor Ed Flynn filed an order for a hearing to discuss the regulation on Transportation Network Companies (TNCs) by the City of Boston and the Boston Police Department (BPD), following an alleged sexual assault on a young woman in a rideshare last week in South Boston. Although TNCs are currently regulated at the state level under the MA Department of Public Utilities, Councilor Flynn called for the City of Boston and Boston Police Department to provide oversight at the municipal level, including a personal registration and fee to operate, fingerprinting, and an extensive background check. Discussions on prohibiting out-of-state operators is warranted, as well as TNCs being placed under the purview of Boston Police – similar to taxis with the Boston Police Hackney Carriage Unit.

Moreover, Councilor Flynn also filed a records request (17F) for the City Council meeting to seek data from the city on TNC drivers arrested by Boston Police since 2014, drivers re-arrested since 2014, the number of out-of-state operators, and how many were arrested by other police jurisdictions. In addition, Councilor Flynn wrote to Mayor Wu and Commissioner Cox requesting this increased oversight on rideshares. Councilor Flynn previously called for and held a hearing on TNCs like Uber and Lyft in 2019 due to concerns on public and pedestrian safety, as well as the impact on congestion with Boston consistently rated among the worst cities for traffic in the country.

Currently, while Massachusetts requires a two-step background check for those who want to drive for a rideshare company, there is no requirement for rideshare drivers to undergo fingerprinting or to register with the City of Boston. In New York City, rideshare drivers are required by the City and the Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC) to submit their fingerprints in addition to background checks. The Boston Police Department includes the Hackney Carriage Unit, which oversees taxi cabs in the city, and provides a precedent for BPD to play a larger role in regulating public safety issues regarding rideshares.

According to data from Mass.gov, in 2019, TNCs provided 91.1 million rides in Massachusetts, of which 45.3 million rides originated in Boston (124,110 per day). While the industry was negatively impacted during the pandemic, rideshares are back on the rise. In 2021, 18.3 million rides originated from Boston (50,137 per day), with 13 million rides being local trips. On traffic congestion, a 2018 report from the Metropolitan Area Planning Council estimated that 59% of all ridesharing trips are adding additional vehicles on our region’s streets.

It is worthwhile to discuss prohibiting out-of-state operators from ridesharing in the City of Boston due to their negative impact on our existing traffic crisis, consistently rated among the worst in the country, and posing additional pedestrian safety challenges. The lack of designated TNC pick up and drop off areas, or adherence to them, often results in vehicles pulling over in the middle of the street, heightening the safety risks for all on our roads due to blocked travel lanes. TNC drivers are often unfamiliar with the neighborhoods of Boston, and residents often report speeding on our streets.

“Given the serious and continued public safety incidents over the years involving TNCs, as well as the sheer volume that operate in Boston, there needs to be City of Boston and Boston Police oversight for rideshares – with a personal registration, fingerprinting, and background check. Taxis have been under the purview of Boston Police for decades. Rideshares should be no different,” said Councilor Flynn.“Alleged incidents of sexual assault involving rideshares are deeply unsettling for residents across Boston. In addition, it is worthwhile to discuss prohibiting out-of-state operators, as well as the impact that unlimited TNCs have on traffic and our roads with tens of thousands of trips per day.”

For more information, please contact Councilor Flynn’s office at 617-635-3203 or [email protected].