RALEIGH, N.C. — Governor Roy Cooper signed three new bills into law Friday, including one that protects passengers using ride-sharing services.
House Bill 391 looks to amend various transportation network company laws and creates criminal offenses related to transportation network company drivers.
The act, known as the Passenger Protection Act requires transportation network companies like Uber and Lyft to have their drivers inspected annually to meet state safety requirements.
Companies must provide information for prospective drivers to fill out during applications such as a photo of the driver, license plate number of the vehicle, description of the vehicle and approximate location of the driver’s vehicle displayed on a map. The law ensures that the company will maintain records of the driver and their vehicle(s).
According to the act, ride-sharing companies must require their drivers to display the license plate number of the driver’s vehicle in a location visible from the front of the vehicle from the time the driver starts their shift until the end of their shift.
The act also makes it unlawful to impersonate a transportation network company driver. Violation of this will result in a Class H felony.
HB391 is effective October 1, 2019, while other sections of the law becomes active on December 1, 2019.
To read the entire bill, click here.