Lyft, Uber again hoping to keep records private

Lyft and Uber, part of the booming "gig" economy, continue to argue that their data is private, even while similar data by taxi companies is readily made public. Lyft and Uber, part of the booming "gig" economy, continue to argue that their data is private, even while similar data by taxi companies is readily made public. Photo: Justin Sullivan, Getty Images Photo: Justin Sullivan, Getty Images Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Lyft, Uber again hoping to keep records private 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

Lyft and Uber do not want to share their data.

With anyone.

The two ride-hailing companies have sued the city of Seattle to stop the release of records, an issue they have both fought hard against in more than one instance.

In this case, an Austin, Texas man submitted a public records request in January asking for data on rides the ride-hailers had provided in Seattle and King County.

As soon as the county notified the companies about the request, they asked a court to block release of the records, based on the argument that the information would reveal trade secrets and hurt their competitive edge.

“We feel strongly that it’s competitive,” said Nathan Hambley, Seattle spokesperson for Uber.

The city argued that the records have no value outside of meeting licensing requirements, and that the companies have shared similar records with other businesses when it’s to their advantage to do so.

And this is hardly the only case of the companies aiming to keep their records a secret -- something attorneys for the city made sure to note in their trial brief.

“Plantiffs’ (Lyft and Uber) data is only a ‘trade secret’ when they are seeking to limit regulation, which is part of their business plan,” the city's attorneys said in court papers.

Just last week, Lyft filed suit in a Florida court aiming to block release of records that would, among other things, release trip data, according to a report by the Sarasota Herald-Tribune.

In another suit, also filed in Florida, the Yellow Cab company in Broward County sued the county in February for withholding the amount of fees Uber had paid for picking up passengers at the airport there.

Both Uber and Lyft sued King County last December to block the release of records showing how many drivers held permits to drive in the county. In that case, too, the companies asserted the numbers were trade secrets.

The records were ultimately released, with a judge noting that all other transportation company licensing information is public.

As part of their licensing agreements, Uber, Lyft, and all taxi and for-hire companies have to report no small amount of information to the city, including: Number of rides, where those rides start and end (by zip code), the percentage of rides in each zip code, the way rides are requested, any reports of crimes against drivers or passengers, and more.

Taxi companies have to report the same data as Uber and Lyft. And at least at the airport, taxi and for-hire data is readily available through a public records request.

But Uber and Lyft are uptight about their data, to say the least. And the companies argue in trial briefs that the city hasn’t always disagreed with them.

“Contrary to the city positions in other (Public Records Act) trade secret cases, the city’s promises to Lyft (to induce Lyft to provide the zip code data in the first place), and the city’s actual treatment of this data, the city has now done an about-face and instead now aggressively asserts that Lyft’s data is not a trade secret,” attorneys for Lyft wrote in their trial brief.

The argument goes on to say that public disclosure of the data would “destroy the value of Lyft’s property interest in its trade secret and cause it competitive harm.”

Uber’s Hambley also said data collected by Uber could be more comprehensive than that collected by taxi companies, therefore making it a valuable trade secret while the other is not.

True trade secrets can be subject to exemption from disclosure under Washington’s Public Records Act.

Many of the records the Texas man asked for were subsequently released even before the issue went to trial earlier this month, though Uber and Lyft still sought to seal court records and close the courtroom. Some records were sealed, though the judge agreed only to do so on an item by item basis. The courtroom was not closed for the proceeding.

The remaining data up for debate was that around where rides began and ended and the percentage from each zip code.

Tuesday was set to be the final hearing in the matter and a judgment is expected Nov. 14.