Local residents and visitors will soon be able to hail an Uber or Lyft ride.
Gov. John Bel Edwards signed House Bill 575 into law at Nicholls State University today, setting statewide regulations for ride-sharing services. The law will take effect Aug. 1.
The bill was sponsored by Rep. Tanner Magee, R-Houma, and successfully cleared three years of hurdles in the state Senate last month.
While Uber and Lyft services are available in the state’s larger cities — like Baton Rouge, New Orleans and Shreveport — smaller cities like Houma and Thibodaux have waited years for the service.
“We are probably the largest population base that did not have it, so we were really the next step. It’s huge,” Magee said. “Now we get to have our restaurants and our places compete with everybody else and have part-time jobs for students at Nicholls.”
Edwards and Magee said opening up the service will modernize Louisiana, promote tourism and local spending and reduce instances of drunk driving.
“When people come to Louisiana to visit they expect it,” Edwards said.
Magee said the strong constituent outcry was another motivating factor in his continuing push to get the legislation past the Senate.
“People think state government is not responsive. They’re wrong,” Magee said.
With the governor’s signature today, the bill will go into effect Aug. 1, when ride sharing services like Uber and Lyft will be able to take down their geographic fencing, opening up rides across the state. Local parishes do not have to take any extra steps to prepare for the services, Magee said.
In Thibodaux, not only will year-round residents benefit from the new service, so will Nicholls State students, university President Jay Clune said.
“We have a lot of students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds, and we’d like to recruit more international students. One drawback of Nicholls has always been transportation off campus, so this is a big win for us,” Clune said.
It’s also a chance to reinvigorate downtown Thibodaux, with both students and entrepreneurs looking to invest in the city, he said.
The majority of local uses for the apps will be on the weekends and after hours when residents are more likely to be drinking, Lafourche Parish Sheriff Craig Webre said.
“This takes the risk off the table,” he said, pointing to his own successful use of the service in other cities. “It’s a win-win in every respect.”
The legislation gives the state Department of Transportation and Development the authority to regulate the industry on a statewide level without disturbing the existing rules set by other cities.
It also requires background screening for drivers and consumer protection provisions such as fare transparency.
“This is is a win for the state, a win for the city and a win for all us drivers,” said Gwendolyn Wallace, an Uber driver in New Orleans.
Staff Writer Julia Arenstam can be reached at 448-7636 or julia.arenstam@houmatoday.com. Follow her on Twitter at @JuliaArenstam.