New legislation proposed to change standard for rideshare companies

SPRINGFIELD, ILL (WICS/WRSP) — Illinois lawmakers in the house are trying to make changes to how rideshare companies are held responsible for injuries or attacks during a trip.

House Bill 2231 aims at holding rideshare companies to the same standards as taxicabs.

Right now, taxicabs are considered common carriers while rideshare companies are not.

There is currently a statute in place that exempts rideshare companies from being common carriers.

If passed, the legislation would remove the exemption. This means if a driver committed a violent crime while working, a rideshare company could be legally responsible if the plaintiff can prove they were exercising a sufficient level of control, meaning control over their actions.

President of the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association Patrick Salvi testified in the house for the bill.

"The only reason that Uber and Lyft as the two key examples don’t want this bill to pass is so that they don’t have the same accountability as every other common carrier that exists. they don’t want the liability, they don’t want the responsibility," Salvi said.

We reached out to Lyft and Uber.

Lyft sent us a statement saying they oppose the bill.

They sent us a statement saying, “imposing the additional requirements on TNCs (transportation network companies) as proposed in this bill will result in increased costs to the consumer and is unnecessary, as the current TNC rules and liability standards provide ample protection. for these reasons, we oppose this bill.”

The bill passed 73 to 36 in the house.

It now heads to the Senate for further consideration.