Senate Rolls Out Updated Uber, Lyft Bill

The Senate version of a bill regulating mobile ride-hailing companies in Massachusetts rolled out of committee Thursday, introducing legislation more lenient toward Uber and Lyft than its counterpart in the House of Representatives.

In the wake of the House bill, proposed earlier this year, the companies cried foul -- calling it too restrictive. The Senate bill appears to assuage those worries.

Like the House bill, it would have the state's Dept. of Public Utilities regulate so-called "transportation network companies," and would require auto insurance, state inspections and background checks -- but no fingerprint checks.

However, the Senate's version eliminates a proposed ban on Uber and Lyft pickups at the airport and convention center in Boston, and imposes certification requirements on the ride-hailing companies as a whole, rather than individual drivers.

In addition, it imposes a fee of 10 cents per ride, which the companies are barred from passing along to customers. Funds from that fee would funnel into the statewide transportation fund.

A possible protest may stem from the Senate bill's requirement that ride-hailing companies add a tipping feature to their apps, something currently provided by Lyft, but not Uber.

The Senate finds itself in a possible no-win situation, pressed by the powerful ride-hailing startups on the one-side and the powerful local taxi industry on the other. While Lyft and Uber called the House bill too stringent, taxi advocates proclaimed it too lenient.

The Senate bill is expected to be taken up next week. Assuming it passes, a conference committee must then hash out a compromise between the Senate and House's competing versions of the bill.

Here's the full text of the Senate bill.