City to hold final Rideshare Roundtable discussion

Background checks sparking most debate

SAN ANTONIO – San Antonio residents on Wednesday will have their last chance to meet face-to-face with city leaders to share their thoughts on the future of ridesharing.

Community members have already attended a similar meeting and completed more than 2,000 online surveys.

City leaders are asking the following main questions:

  • Do you want choices when it comes to transportation?
  • Should all ride-for-hire services operate under the same rules?
  • Are Social Security-based background checks sufficient or should drivers undergo fingerprinting background checks as well?

Most people who attended the first public meeting answered yes to the first two questions. The third question is sparking the most debate.

“To us, that reinforced the wisdom of the direction we took with this -- a consumer choice-based program where people who want that extra SAPD fingerprint background check can select it,” said Jeff Coyle, director of government and public affairs for the city of San Antonio. “Others who don’t care don’t need to, and drivers can decide for themselves whether it gives them a competitive advantage or not.”

The nine-month pilot programs with Uber, Lyft and Get Me end in July, August and September, respectively.

As part of those programs, the city and the companies agreed to let drivers choose whether to undergo voluntary fingerprint background checks conducted by the San Antonio Police Department.

When customers request a ride, they can choose whether they would like to have a driver who has undergone such a background check.

The final public meeting will be held Wednesday from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. at TriPoint YMCA Grantham Hall at 3233 North St. Mary’s Street.

The city will take the information learned from the Rideshare Roundtable and the online surveys and use it to decide how the companies will operate in San Antonio in the future.

City Council discussion is set for June 23.

You can access the online survey by clicking here.


About the Author:

Myra Arthur is passionate about San Antonio and sharing its stories. She graduated high school in the Alamo City and always wanted to anchor and report in her hometown. Myra anchors KSAT News at 6:00 p.m. and hosts and reports for the streaming show, KSAT Explains. She joined KSAT in 2012 after anchoring and reporting in Waco and Corpus Christi.