FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
JULY 23, 2014 — In a letter to Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring, seven Virginia owned taxi and limousine companies have urged the state’s chief law enforcement officer to “employ your authority under the Virginia constitution to enforce the ‘Cease and Desist’ order issued June 6 by DMV Commissioner Richard Holcomb to both Uber and Lyft.”
Both of those California-based companies continue to operate, despite the June 6 action by Holcomb and fines assessed against them two months earlier. “We believe the Office of Attorney General (OAG) needs to hold them accountable for making a public mockery of Virginia law over the last several months by ignoring the cease and desist letters.” The taxi and limousine companies, which include M&R Taxi Company, L&Z Transportation Inc., Stafford Limousine Inc., Sonberz Inc., Northern VA Checker Cab, C&C Transportation Inc., and King Cab Co. Inc., contend that statements made in the media by the Attorney General seem to indicate that he may be attempting to “circumvent the legislature” by considering granting Uber and Lyft Temporary Operating Authority. “A TOA is warranted only for those immediate and urgent situations when licensed carriers are unable to perform a service,” according to the July 22 letter.
Last Friday, the companies asked Fairfax County Circuit Court to enjoin Uber and Lyft from operating in Virginia because they lack the necessary legal permits required by the Commonwealth, adding that the Attorney General’s office has taken no action to require them to comply “despite serious concerns raised in both the legal and insurance communities about the safety of the riding public while using these services.”
In the letter to Herring, the taxicab operators “sincerely ask the OAG to defend state agencies and their decisions and enforce state consumer laws” while pledging to continue “to work with you, the Governor’s office and Commissioner Holcomb to resolve this issue.”
For more information, please contact Joel Rubin, Rubin Communications Group, at 757-456-5212 or 757-287-0361.
