Shreveport has been embroiled in discussions about Uber and Lyft for years now. Citizens have wanted it, cab companies have fought it. But now, the city council has passed changes to ordinance 102-88, which are the rules that govern Transportation Network Companies like Lyft and Uber.
When the council passed 102-88 in February, both Lyft and Uber had issues with the ordinance ranging from pricing of rides to a hold harmless agreement which aimed to force the companies to pay for legal fees that may fall on the city.
The city council addressed one of those issues today by voting unanimously to remove provision (c)(3) from the ordinance which required the companies to hold the city harmless in lawsuits (a provision that doesn’t exist in other cities). It has been reported that Lyft was happy with that change and is ready to begin hiring drivers (sign up). If true, then we should expect to see rideshare hitting the streets before winter.
It remains to be seen if Uber will be ok with the changes and if it will choose to operate here but, to be honest, Lyft has been setting industry standards for a while now – offering the ability to tip drivers long before Uber as well as having a better public image.
While Uber would certainly be welcome, it wouldn’t hurt us one bit if we “only” got Lyft.
