The Anchorage Assembly still has some work to do before the city's legal department can restart stalled negotiations with ride-sharing service Uber, which suspended operations in Anchorage this month due to an ongoing debate over how it should operate within the municipality.
Uber, which is also billed as a transportation network company, connects people looking for a ride with drivers using a smartphone app. The company pulled out of the Anchorage market March 6, citing stalled negotiations. Some of the reasons for the failed negotiations came to light during a Wednesday meeting of the Assembly's Public Safety and Ad Hoc Transportation Network Company committees.
Uber claims the municipality was dragging its feet on months-long negotiations. Municipal attorneys told Assembly members Wednesday they needed more direction before proceeding with any further negotiations with Uber.
"This is a community decision and you are the community representatives," said deputy municipal attorney Dee Ennis. "And the (Municipal) Department of Law can't move forward without your guidance."
Before it suspended operations in Anchorage, Uber had been offering free rides. An Anchorage Superior Court judge ruled in November the company could not charge for rides in Anchorage without violating city taxi codes.
A memorandum of understanding, allowed by the passage of an Assembly ordinance in November 2014, would have allowed Uber to begin charging its riders, without the company having to adhere to the rules governing cabs, limousines and car services.
Anchorage code requires for-hire car services to maintain certain levels of commercial insurance and conduct driver background checks and frequent vehicle inspections. Uber has said it is not a cab company, but simply a technology company -- collecting a 20 percent fee from drivers who use its app.
That Assembly ordinance in November directed the city and Uber to negotiate terms setting requirements for those vehicle inspections, background checks and insurance, while exempting Uber from other, more stringent regulations currently applied to taxicabs.
Local taxi permit owners said they don't think Uber should be able to operate under any different regulations than are already required of their drivers -- including having video cameras in cars, obtaining permits, and having commercial insurance coverage from the time the driver first gets into the car.
Anchorage Taxicab Permit Owners Association attorney Jim Brennan said the memorandum of understanding was light on both public safety and consumer protection considerations.
While the rules being considered were less restrictive than those faced by cab drivers, the city said there was still too much daylight between it and Uber when it came to public safety issues.
The city wants Uber drivers to obtain a chauffeur's license, which requires a physical, government-controlled background checks and drug testing. Uber does its own background checks and claimed that they are better than ones done by city officials because they use court records, and not just state or federal compilations of those records. The company also said that requiring drug testing and chauffeur's licenses of all drivers would place too much of a burden on people who might drive on a part-time basis.
"Our opinion is the proposals for many of the requirements are unfortunately onerous for not only the driver, but would limit transportation options for Anchorage riders," said Bryce Bennett, Uber's Anchorage general manager.
Another sticking point between the city and Uber is the amount and type of insurance that would be required of Uber drivers. The city wants assurances Uber's insurance -- which, unlike with taxicabs, changes depending on whether the driver has picked up a fare -- will be adequate.
Access to appropriate vehicles for people with disabilities, drug and alcohol testing after an accident, and Uber's dynamic pricing that changes depending on demand are also items that kept the company and the city from reaching an agreement.
Uber claimed its operations are safe and that it is already operating under less-stringent rules in most of the U.S. cities in which it operates. Before it pulled out of the Anchorage market, Uber had operated in the city for months.
"We had been running a pilot program here for the better part of five months," Bennett said. "We have provided tens of thousands of trips (in Anchorage) without a single major incident."
Bennett pointed to an online petition that launched as the company stopped its free Anchorage operations and has already garnered thousands of supporters.
An Assembly work session, scheduled for Friday, will allow members to offer suggestions. Assembly member Bill Evans said he hopes that work session will lead to a draft document that can then be given to municipal attorneys for further negotiations with Uber.
Another proposed ordinance that would permanently set rules for Uber and other transportation network companies will be tabled while the negotiations continue, according to Evans.