Uber, Lyft will be regulated in Ohio

In Ohio, Uber and Lyft will now be regulated by the state Public Utilities Commission.

On Tuesday, Ohio Gov. John Kasich signed a measure to create a set of statewide regulations for ride-sharing services. House Bill 237 affects companies such as Uber and Lyft, which use smart phone apps to connect drivers with passengers.

Under the law, companies must obtain a $5,000 permit from the PUCO in order to use a digital network to prearrange rides between riders and drivers.

The companies must also disclose how fares are calculated, provide a receipt, conduct background checks on drivers and maintain records for two years.

The 13-page bill sets minimum levels of commercial auto insurance drivers must carry, called $50,000/$100,000/$25,000 insurance. The insurance sets coverage for bodily injury liability per person, per accident and property damage, according to the bill's language.

The primary sponsors of bill were Republican representatives Mike Duffey and Bob Hackett. State senators Bill Seitz, R-Green Township, and Shannon Jones, R-Springboro, were two of 30 co-sponsors of the bill.

Lawmakers are favoring a new term, “transportation network companies,” to describe these new services, according to the Wall Street Journal.

A transportation network company, or TNC, is defined at its most basic level as a service that does not own vehicles or employ drivers, and relies on software to connect passengers to rides.

Uber and Lyft have drivers in Cincinnati, Akron, Cleveland and Toledo.

Uber started offering services in Greater Cincinnati in March 2014. In early September, the company was cleared to pick-up passengers at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport in Hebron.

On Wednesday morning, Uber released this statement, in favor of the law:

"Today, two years after Uber arrived in Ohio, Governor Kasich signed HB 237 into law – a bill that allows ridesharing to flourish across the state.

With the leadership of Senator Faber, Senator LaRose, Representative Hackett, Representative Duffey and Speaker Rosenberger – along with the members of the House and Senate and Governor Kasich – Ohio now joins the nearly two dozen states across the country that have adopted ridesharing regulations to protect consumer choice and promote economic opportunity.

"The newly passed regulations will create common standards for ridesharing across Ohio. This means that Ohioans can continue to request rides when they need them, and driver-partners can continue to benefit from the flexible income-earning opportunities they enjoy on the Uber platform.

"Please join us in thanking the many legislators who championed this issue and worked to establish common-sense regulations on behalf of the thousands of Ohioans who depend on the Uber platform."

The law also creates opportunities for ride-sharing drivers to unionize.

Earlier this month, Uber drivers in Seattle were the first in the country to unionize, calling for the country’s first law granting collective bargaining rights to rideshare services drivers.

The legislation passed unanimously by Seattle's City Council.