By Keith McCoy
City City Hall 2
The Mountain Brook City Council on Monday night voted to amend its transit and passenger transportation ordinances in order to allow for for ridesharing companies, like Uber, to operate within city limits.
As part of the new ordinance, transportation network companies, or TNCs, will be required to pay a flat fee of $500 per year to operate within Mountain Brook. Drivers who work on behalf of the TNC will not be required to pay the yearly fee, nor will they be required to pay a license tax/fee or obtain a commercial permit.
Companies who pay the yearly fee and who meet a specific set of requirements will be permitted to operate. Those requirements, as outlined in the new ordinance, include:
- Conducting yearly background checks on TNC drivers with minimum requirements
- Specific driver qualifications that exclude the use of TNC drivers who have been convicted within the past seven years of a DUI, of any sexual offenses and other crimes, who are a match in the National Sex Offender Public Website, have accumulated more than three moving violations or a major driving violation, among other restrictions
- All TNC vehicles must be covered by insurance with meets the minimum outlined criteria of automobile liability insurance of at least $1 million per incident involving a TNC driver
"It's great to hear that the Mountain Brook City Council proactively passed sensible regulations enabling Uber to operate in the community, and we thank the Council for their leadership," said Uber spokeswoman Kaitlin Durkosh in an email. "We look forward to providing Mountain Brook residents with safe rides, and greater Birmingham area residents with economic opportunity in the future."
