Mitch Perry
(Update: Jeff Brandes & Uber respond).
This past week St. Petersburg-based state Sen. Jeff Brandes said that he intends to once again introduce legislation in next year’s Regular Session to reform the Hillsborough County Public Transportation Commission. Brandes, who chairs the Senate Transportation Committee, was reacting to the news that the PTC, which regulates commercial vehicle use in the county, would continue to have its officers cite Uber and Lyft drivers, even after a Hillsborough judge blocked efforts by agency to ban ridesharing in Hillsborough.
“This is a perfect example of government run amok,” Brandes wrote on his Facebook account.
There are more than 2,000 active Tampa Bay area drivers using the Uber platform.
Contemplating what might happen should the Legislature kill the agency next year, PTC Chairman Victor Crist asked Hillsborough County Administrator Mike Merrill Wednesday to have his staff calculate the costs to the county if that happens.
He specifically asked about county liability for reimbursing cab and limo drivers for their permits, as well as what it would cost to absorb the expenses the PTC accrues. The agency was created by the Legislature decades ago, and lawmakers in Tallahassee have the power to eliminate it.
“Will that also include the towing and ambulance?” Merrill said.
“All of that,” Crist said. “I know that there’s a significant fiscal impact, and I think it would be more appropriate for the county to determine what that is then the PTC. But keep in mind it isn’t just the operations but the value of all those permits”
Crist then went on to repeat the familiar complaints the PTC has made about Uber specifically in the past year: that the ridesharing company has refused to negotiate with the county, unlike how they have with officials in markets such as New York City, San Francisco, Los Angeles and others to discuss background checks and insurance policies.
In an apparent shot at Brandes, he said, “It’s quite annoying because every year just before Session some state legislator, without thinking with their brain, runs their mouth and makes statements that are false and misleading, and gets everyone up in arms, thinking other than what is true that the PTC is not trying to accommodate, which is false.
“The industry, is not willing to come to the table and work with us, and they’re doing that to create a false sense of urgency.”
The Legislature was working on proposals about ride-sharing companies during the past legislative session, but it ended without a final bill being approved.
When asked for comment, Brandes said, “I am encouraged by the prudent request of Chairman Crist to ask county staff to appropriately plan for the elimination of the Public Transportation Commission, so that Hillsborough County can join the other 66 counties in this state who lack such an antiquated regulatory organization.”
Uber spokesman Bill Gibbons said, “Since day one, the Hillsborough County PTC has waged an aggressive, publicly-funded intimidation and harassment campaign against the hard-working driver-partners that are providing a valuable service to their community.Time and again, our attempts to work in good-faith with the PTC on sensible, modern regulations have been met with renewed hostility and redoubled efforts by the PTC to eliminate ridesharing in the area.”
