Port Angeles OKs ordinance allowing rideshares

Uber, Lyft have inquired about operations

PORT ANGELES — City lawmakers have passed an ordinance to allow rideshare companies like Uber and Lyft to operate in Port Angeles.

The City Council voted 6-0 Tuesday on a code change to regulate transportation network companies, or TNCs, the same as taxi services.

Companies like Uber and Lyft have inquired about operating in Port Angeles but have been unwilling to comply with a 1980 for-hire licensing code that was designed to regulate taxis, City Attorney Bill Bloor said in a memo to the council.

ADVERTISEMENT
0 seconds of 0 secondsVolume 0%
Press shift question mark to access a list of keyboard shortcuts
00:00
00:00
00:00
 

In a first reading of the ordinance Aug. 6, Bloor said the new law “simplified a lot of the processes” for all for-hire vehicle companies.

The adopted version of the ordinance incorporated a change suggested by Lyft to allow TNC drivers to own or lease their for-hire vehicle.

“Apart from that, this is basically the same ordinance that was considered at the first meeting,” Bloor told the council Tuesday.

“It is based on a number of Washington cities’ ordinances. It has essentially the same language, the same provisions.”

The Port Angeles ordinance was largely based on laws recently adopted in Bellingham, Pasco, Pullman, Richland, Spokane, Tacoma, Yakima and Vancouver, Bloor said.

“They’re all in the last three years and pretty similar — not identical, but similar provisions,” Bloor said.

City staff offered an earlier draft of the ordinance in July 2018.

“Numerous questions, concerns and issues were raised about that draft; and that ordinance was abandoned,” Bloor said in a memo.

The new draft uses a newer system that was modeled on codes elsewhere in the state, Bloor said.

Under the approved ordinance, the fee for businesses to obtain a for-hire license, whether taxi or TNC, is $50 per year.

All for-hire vehicles must be inspected by a qualified mechanic and rideshare companies are required to document vehicle inspections.

Drivers must have a clean driving record, a background check and insurance.

________

Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56450, or at rollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.

More in News

Samantha Herik, an EMT with the Port Angeles Fire Department, attaches a poster to the side of her department’s vintage 1956 Seagrave fire truck during a fundraising drive on Saturday in the Swain’s General Store parking lot in Port Angeles. PAFD is collecting donations to rebuild the retired vehicle, known as “No. 5,” with a restored engine and transmission. The truck is used primarily for the annual Operation Candy Cane food bank fundraising drive, along with other promotional purposes. (Keith Thorpe/Peninsula Daily News)
Donation collection

Samantha Herik, an EMT with the Port Angeles Fire Department, attaches a… Continue reading

Clallam County working with North Olympic Library System to relocate its law library

Expanded access to materials is the goal, administrator says

Director: Department continues to shrink

Public works projects not sustainable, he says

Sequim City Council member Kelly Burger takes the oath of office from City Clerk Heather Robley on Feb. 10 after council members voted to appoint him to replace Kathy Downer. (Matthew Nash/Olympic Peninsula News Group)
Sequim council appoints Burger to fill seat

Appointed position goes through certification of 2025 general election

Tristan Lowman.
Clallam Fire District 2 hosts annual recognition banquet

Kate Haworth, Taylor Counts and Tristan Lowman were among… Continue reading

Jefferson County home show set for Saturday

The Home Show sponsored by the Jefferson County Homebuilders… Continue reading

A mobile unit from the Jamestown Healing Clinic in Sequim drives to Clallam Bay on weekdays to provide treatment for 30-40 opioid use disorder patients in the West End. The program started last March. (Jamestown Healing Clinic)
Mobile health clinic treating patients on West End

Number of overdose deaths down, official says

Sequim School District administrators, staffers, families and supporters gather in Stymie’s Bar and Grill on Feb. 11 after they learned the district’s bond and levy proposals were passing. (Matthew Nash/Olympic Peninsula News Group)
Sequim School District leaders celebrate results

Construction bond, EPO levy both pass

The 2024 Citizen of the Year finalists include, from left, Nicole Lepping, Ron Stecker and Blaine Zechenelly. (Sequim-Dungeness Valley Chamber of Commerce)
Three named finalists for Sequim Citizen of Year

Three finalists have been named for the Sequim-Dungeness Valley Chamber… Continue reading

Weekly flight operations scheduled

There will be field carrier landing practice operations for aircraft… Continue reading

Port Townsend Co-op employees narrowly vote down unionization

Organizers hope efforts have brought issues to light

Steven Becker and Delma Morrison, both of Sequim, peer into a display tank on Friday at the Feiro Marine Life Center at Port Angeles City Pier. The center features a wide variety of sea creatures on display as well as touch tanks and educational exhibits. (Keith Thorpe/Peninsula Daily News)
Life center display

Steven Becker and Delma Morrison, both of Sequim, peer into a display… Continue reading