The Latest: Regulators adopt new safety rules for Uber, Lyft

SAN FRANCISCO – The Latest on California regulators adopting new safety rules for Uber, Lyft (all times local):

11:30 a.m.

California regulators have adopted new safety rules for ride-hailing companies Uber and Lyft that will not require their drivers be fingerprinted as part of background checks, rejecting a push by the taxi industry.

The California Public Utilities Commission voted Thursday during a meeting in San Francisco, officially espousing safety regulations proposed last month.

Dave Sutton, a spokesman for a group that represents the Taxicab, Limousine & Paratransit Association, is calling the decision “a mistake.”

The taxi industry, which is required to undergo fingerprint checks for its drivers, had pushed hard for the rail-hailing companies to be held to the same standard.

But after a year-long review the commission said in a 35-page proposed decision released Oct. 5 that fingerprinting does not add “a greater level of safety.”

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9:18 a.m.

California regulators are set to adopt new safety rules for ride-hailing companies Uber and Lyft that will not require their drivers be fingerprinted as part of background checks, rejecting a push by the taxi industry.

The California Public Utilities Commission will vote Thursday during a meeting in San Francisco, making official safety regulations proposed last month.

The taxi industry, which is required to undergo fingerprint checks for its drivers, had pushed hard for the rail-hailing companies to be held to the same standard.

But after a year-long review the commission said in a 35-page proposed decision released Oct. 5 that fingerprinting does not add “a greater level of safety.”

In 2016, California lawmakers passed a law prohibiting the companies from hiring drivers who are registered sex offenders or have been convicted of violent felony crimes.