SAN ANTONIO — A week ahead of a meeting to discuss how, or if, to allow ride-sharing companies like Lyft and Uber to operate legally in the Alamo City, District 8 Councilman Ron Nirenberg suggested a dramatic overhaul of San Antonio's entire vehicle-for-hire ordinance.

In a memo sent Monday to the City Council Public Safety Committee, Nirenberg proposed deregulation: Eliminate caps on fares and allow an unlimited number of vehicles-for-hire, including taxis and limos, to operate in the city. Currently, the city issues a set number of vehicle-for-hire permits. For example, the city issues fewer than 900 for taxis alone.

Nirenberg has said the council should develop some kind of provision to ensure that no vehicle-for-hire drivers can discriminate against certain passengers based on pick-up location. He also hopes council will find a way to guarantee that all companies can provide at least some vehicles that are compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

He also thinks ride-sharing vehicles and drivers must be permitted to ensure public safety.

The goal, the councilman said, is to change the rules for taxis and limos, as well as Lyft and Uber, in order to encourage competition and give people more transportation choices.

“We are hearing actively from citizens who are very interested in dealing positively with this issue in a way that also maintains high standards for public safety but encourages consumer choice, and that's what I want to get to,” Nirenberg said. The Public Safety Committee will discuss the issue Aug. 13, more than four months after Lyft and Uber launched in San Antonio. The companies connect non-commercial drivers to passengers via smart phone apps.

But as in many other cities across the country, Lyft and Uber are currently operating in San Antonio illegally. Several ride-sharing drivers here have been issued citations and at least two vehicles have been impounded.

Nirenberg's memo comes on the heels of city staff presentation to the city's Transportation Advisory Board on July 28 about proposals on how to potentially regulate ride-sharing services so they can operate here legally.

Representatives for Uber had no immediate comment.

Regarding Nirenberg's proposal, Lyft spokeswoman Katie Dally said in an emailed statement that the company's “high safety standards have allowed Lyft to operate in numerous markets without regulation, but Lyft does support regulations that support innovation.”

As far as the city staff proposals, Dally wrote, “while there is still work to be done, progress thus far has been positive and we look forward to seeing Lyft's peer-to-peer model recognized and authorized in San Antonio soon.”

The advisory board, made up mostly of members from the taxi and limo industry, unanimously rejected the staff proposals.

The city still plans to present its suggestions to the Public Safety Committee. It is not yet clear if the committee will discuss Nirenberg's memo.

Staff has suggested revising Chapter 33, San Antonio's vehicle-for-hire ordinance in order to impose some regulations on ride-sharing companies, which the city calls transportation network companies, or TNCs.

The goal is to “modify our regulations without jeopardizing public safety” but also match the TNC business model, said Steven Baum, assistant police director.

Currently, all taxi and limo drivers must undergo drug tests, get their vehicles inspected and pay certain fees.

Staff has suggested that TNC drivers meet those some requirements but would allow the TNC companies to administer those tests and inspections rather than the city.

The city would occasionally perform a random audit of TNC drivers and vehicles to ensure they are up to code; TNC vehicles would also be subject to random inspections by the San Antonio Police Department's Ground Transportation Unit.

The city also said each TNC permit should cost $160, far less than the cost of a permit for a taxi and limo, which are $440.

John Bouloubasis, president of the city's largest taxi company Yellow Cab San Antonio, also has rejected both the city staff's proposals and Nirenberg's suggestions, which he first heard about Monday afternoon.

“Without any formal regulation or control (of the industry), the public safety is at extreme risk,” Bouloubasis said.

vdavila@express-news.net

Twitter: @viannadavila