Mass. House Approves Ride-Hailing Services Bill
BOSTON (AP) — The Massachusetts House has approved a bill that would regulate ride-hailing services like Uber and Lyft by requiring that drivers undergo criminal background checks but not fingerprinting.
The House passed the bill on a 139-16 vote Wednesday.
The bill calls for a two-step background check, the first conducted by the companies and the second by state regulators working in a new Ride for Hire Division created within the state Department of Public Utilities.
San Francisco-based Uber and other services would have to carry a minimum $1 million of insurance coverage on each vehicle.
The bill would keep in place until at least August 2021 a ban that keeps the companies from picking up passengers at Boston's Logan International Airport to appease the taxi industry, which has struggled against the competition.
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