NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — A bill that would make impersonating a rideshare or taxi driver a Class B misdemeanor is progressing through the legislature this session.
The proposed legislation came from Uber, Lyft, and those in the taxi industry in Nashville due to a growing concern over imposter drivers.
Metro Councilmember Jacob Kupin told News 2, in January, one man claimed to have mistakenly gotten into a fake taxi and was charged $60 for a three-minute ride.
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It’s a common problem in places like Nashville, which is filled with visitors who aren’t familiar with the area.
“At 2 a.m. or whenever Broadway closes, you’ve got people lined up that say, ‘Hey, come on, jump in my taxi,’ and it may not be a legitimate driver,” Rep. Elaine Davis (R-Knoxville) said.
Davis’s bill would make it a Class B misdemeanor to impersonate a rideshare or taxi driver in TN, which carries a punishment of up to six months in jail and/or a $500 fine.
However, Davis told News 2 the bill isn’t about locking people up.
“For me, it’s about deterrence,” Davis said. “We want to make sure that people are not doing this to begin with. It’s not to put people in jail. It’s to really deter these crimes.”
Uber and Lyft approached her with the idea, which she combined with Rep. Dan Howell’s (R-Cleveland) bill targeting fake taxi drivers.
“Those companies and those corporations, they invest a lot of time and money to ensure that those drivers have valid driver’s licenses, carry insurance, do background checks, and all of that is done for those passengers to feel safe and secure using those services,” Davis said.
Uber driver, Monique McClain knows firsthand. She told News 2 in January that imposter taxi and rideshare drivers were a growing problem in Nashville, not only for passengers’ safety but also for legitimate drivers who were losing income.
“With them here, we’re all concerned about this because it makes the integrity of rideshares look bad when we are actually out here trying to make a living and do things the right way,” McClain said.
The House version of the bill was supposed to be debated in the House Judiciary Committee Wednesday, but lawmakers ran out of time. It will likely go before the committee again next week. The bill is also making its way through the committee process on the Senate side, gaining bipartisan support in both chambers.
