Calif. Lawmaker Votes for More Regs for Ride-Sharing, Then Gets Busted for DUI
Courtesy of California political reporter John Hrabe, California Assemblyman Ben Hueso, a Democrat representing the San Diego area, was arrested in the wee hours of the morning for allegedly driving under the influence. This came just hours after voting for legislation that would force more regulation on ride-sharing services like Lyft and Uber. Hrabe notes:
Assembly Bill 612 by Assemblyman Adrin Nazarian, D-Van Nuys, would require ride-sharing companies to abide by extensive new regulations. Earlier this month, in an interview with the San Jose Mercury News, Sidecar CEO Sunil Paul said that the bill could mean the end of the industry that's helped minimize drunk driving.
Paul told the Mercury News that the bill was "a burdensome approach that is backed by the taxicab lobby, really, to try and shut us down. If it passes, it is a disaster — it would literally spell the end of the ride-share industry."
The Sacramento Bee reports that Hueso was driving the wrong way down a one-way road at 2:30 in the morning.
In July, The Washington Post analyzed data that showed the number of DUI arrests dropping after ride-sharing services were introduced to cities like Philadelphia and San Francisco. It may be too early to say there's a direct relationship, but in the event Hueso actually was driving under the influence, maybe his time in the pokey might cause him to rethink whether making it harder for people to find alternatives to driving themselves was a good idea.
Update: Or maybe not. Turns out Hueso's brothers own a taxi company.
