While ride-sharing businesses like Uber and Lyft are regulated in Colorado, they don’t have to follow the same rules placed on taxi companies.

This gives ride-sharing companies and unfair advantage, said Saed Adukar, manager for Springs Cab.

“I don’t mind the competition in the market, but I would like to see transportation network companies to all have to follow the same rules and regulations,” he said. “It’s absolutely unfair.”

In Spring 2014, Colorado legalized ride-sharing companies like Uber and Lyft and gave them a special designation called “transportation network companies.” This type of company is ‘lightly regulated’ by the Colorado Public Utilities Commission, said Terry Bote, a spokesman for the commission which also regulates taxi companies.

“The commission has oversight over their registration, financial responsibility and safety requirements, but does not have any oversight over market entry, rates and most operational requirements,” Bote said. “With taxis, we have rate authority. We set their rates, we determine what areas they operate out of.”

Here are some ways the regulations differ for ride-sharing and taxi companies:

– Taxi companies cannot change rates based on demand. Some ride-share companies, such as Uber, increase pricing depending on the availability of drivers.

– Taxi companies cannot have vehicles older than 10 years old, even if they are in working order. The state does not regulate the age of vehicles for ride-share companies.

– Denver and Colorado Springs both require taxi drivers to be licensed in their cities, but ride-share drivers do not need to be licensed by municipality. This means ride-share drivers have more freedom about where they can work.

– Taxis can pick up passengers who hail them from the street. Ride-share companies can only pick up passengers who pre-arranged their rides.

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Contact Maria St. Louis-Sanchez: 636-0238

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