At risk of breaking his promise to Uber, Portland Mayor Charlie Hales teamed up with Commissioner Steve Novick on Friday to propose temporary regulations allowing ride-hailing companies to pick up passengers within the city limits.

Among other things, the proposal for a 120-day pilot program, which builds on recommendations from a citizen for-hire transportation task force, would lift the long-standing cap on taxi fares. As a result, taxis and app-based ride-hailing services would both set their own fares, including Uber's controversial "surge pricing" during high-demand periods, without city regulation.

In turn, Uber and Lyft would be required to provide service to people with disabilities, have vehicles on the streets around the clock and certify drivers using their private vehicles as de facto taxis have passed city-approved background checks -- just like traditional cab companies.

The resolution, scheduled to go before the City Council for a public hearing and vote at 5 p.m. Tuesday, directs Portland Bureau of Transportation Director Leah Treat to create and sign an administrative rule launching the pilot program.

Portland residents could once again hail an Uber ride "in a matter of days after the vote," said PBOT spokesman Dylan Rivera.

The proposal was met with immediate protest from the Transportation Fairness Alliance, a coalition of the city's taxi companies, which portrayed Uber and Lyft as transportation charlatans that can't be trusted.

"History has shown that although Uber says it will comply with rules such as those suggested by Hales and Novick, its actions across the globe suggest otherwise," said Raye Miles, president of Broadway Cab and Sassy's Cab.

For example, Miles said, Houston's mayor is currently demanding that Uber comply with similar agreements the company made but it has failed to honor in that city. "Uber has proven time and again that it is not a dependable self-certifier of regulations," she said in a statement.

In announcing the plan, Novick noted that the city's existing taxi companies have had two lines of argument.

"One is, simply, that they should be protected from competition in order to ensure a living wage for drivers and good service for people with disabilities," he said. "Given that our best information is that the average net hourly income of Portland taxi drivers is $6.22 an hour, and given the complaints people in the disability community have about taxi service, we are not entirely persuaded by that argument."

The other major argument has been that any competition needs to be on a level playing field.

"We agree with that," Novick said, "and in order to ensure fair competition, the proposed framework makes some changes to the task force's recommendations - and underscores certain features of those recommendations that might not have been well understood."

On Dec. 18, after operating illegally for three weeks and amassing more than $67,000 in fines, Uber agreed to suspend its controversial UberX ride service -- which allows residents to hail and pay for private rides with the push of a smartphone button.

However, Hales promised the company that if new regulations were not in place by April 9, City Hall would allow Uber to restart operations with temporary rules in place.

Last week, however, the City Council failed to support a for-hire task force's recommendations, forcing the city to miss its promised deadline.

The new proposal for a pilot program, Hales said, is another big step in the two sides moving "from confrontation to collaboration."

But Miles said the "competitive situation" supported by Hales and Novick would be inherently unequal.

"Taxi companies have ongoing expenses that Uber and Lyft do not, such as paying off recently purchased wheelchair vehicles that are city-mandated, in addition to all the other regulatory costs that were paid for, and are being amortized," she said.

However, Lyft said it was ready to follow the temporary rules and finally enter Portland.

"Portland residents have spoken up in support of increased transportation options," said Lyft spokeswoman Chelsea Wilson.

Attempts to reach Uber officials for comment were unsuccessful.

During the 120-day pilot, City Hall is expected to collect and analyze market data from all of the companies to help shape a permanent overhaul of the city's taxi regulations. The citizen for-hire transportation task force is expected to submit its final report this summer, making recommendations for all modes of for-hire transportation, including taxis, Uber and even pedicabs.

Under Hales and Novick's 120-day pilot-program proposal:

The rules for fares will be the same for ride-hailing companies and taxis.

Background check requirements for taxis and drivers working for Uber and Lyft would be the same. Both can use city-approved third-party background check providers and the city will audit random samples to enforce compliance.

Taxi companies, Uber and Lyft will "implement service performance measures to ensure timely service for people with disabilities."

Ride-hailing companies would not be allowed to pick up passengers until permits have been certified. "Once the companies are permitted, they will be required to start submitting names of drivers they have certified to the city," Rivera said. "The city will then audit those records with random sampling to make sure those drivers are clearing background checks and don't have felonies."

Taxi companies and ride-hailing companies will both be required to offer "24/7 service." Neither will be allowed to reject trip requests based on the shortness or length of the journey.

The city would prohibit disclaimers prohibiting riders from suing the companies and drivers.

-- Joseph Rose

503-221-8029

jrose@oregonian.com

@josephjrose