As Uber Returns, Portland City Hall Adds Teeth to Its Towing Rules

UBER DRIVER

Back in December, WW reported that the city of Portland had discovered it lacked an important weapon in cracking down on illegal cabs: the authority to tow scofflaw taxis.

Ride-hailing behemoth Uber and its competitor Lyft are now here with the City Council's blessing, thanks to an April 21 vote.

But the ordinance clearing the companies' path contains fine print authorizing regulators to impound and sell the cars of Uber and Lyft drivers who break city rules.

"We're trying to strengthen our position," says Ken McGair, a deputy city attorney. "We want to have a stick to use against illegal operators."

City attorneys believe placing the authorization in the ordinance legalizing Uber would protect the city from lawsuits by drivers claiming Portland City Hall violated their constitutional rights.

A 2005 decision by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals found that the Oregon city of Cornelius violated the rights of a woman who had her car impounded for driving without a license. The court ruled that police could only impound cars if the vehicle posed "a threat to public safety."

Uber officials didn't respond to WW's request for comment. In December, the company pledged to pay any fines its drivers faced—and in fact did pay Portland City Hall more than $67,000 in fines before returning this month.

WWeek 2015

Willamette Week’s reporting has concrete impacts that change laws, force action from civic leaders, and drive compromised politicians from public office. Support WW's journalism today.