CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A taxi driver from Charleston who also serves as a Kanawha County delegate sees a lot of benefits in proposed legislation allowing for Uber, Lyft and other ridesharing services in West Virginia even though such options could hurt his own income.
“We have a transportation problem here in Charleston, in Morgantown, in Huntington, in rural areas too. We have a lack of public transportation,” said Delegate Mike Pushkin (D-Kanawha, 37) of alternative transportation possibilities.
“I’m not up here to protect my own personal interests,” he said of his support for the proposal.
Governor Earl Ray Tomblin was preparing to introduce a bill that would reportedly require ridesharing operators to have a permit from the Division of Motor Vehicles and insurance, including underinsured and uninsured coverage.
A similar bill, already pending in the Senate Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, would authorize such transportation network companies to operate in West Virginia.
With that bill, solicitation and street hails would be prohibited along with cash payments. Senator Chris Walters (R-Putnam, 08) is the lead sponsor.
In other parts of the United States, Uber and Lyft are already being used via apps to connect riders with drivers using phone GPS capabilities.
Passengers pay with credit cards for the transportation and, after the companies process those payments and take cuts, deposits are made directly to driver accounts.
Of those potential drivers, “It also gives people an opportunity for some part-time income and I’m not opposed to keeping any industry out of West Virginia,” Pushkin said.
A similar measure stalled in the Legislature last year because of debate about nondiscrimination language within it.