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Honorable Sally Clark, Chair Honorable Bruce Harrell, Vice-Chair and Honorable Mike OBrien, Member January 30, 2014: We are writing in response to proposed Transportation Network Company (TNC) legislation before the Committee on Taxi, For-Hire, and Limousine Regulations, currently scheduled for a vote on February 14. Downtown Seattle continues to attract thousands of new jobs, residents, and visitors, and we expect this strong growth to continue. Specifically, Downtown welcomed 871,000 cruise ship passengers in 2013, a 627% increase over 2000 Downtown added approximately 20,000 new jobs from 2010-2012, up 10% from the 2009 recession Downtown added nearly 15,000 new residents from 2000-2012, a 29% increase Demand for Downtown hotel rooms has risen 14% since 2010

Innovative new transportation options such as Car2Go, UberX, and Lyft have done much to meet the new demand being generated by this growth. Much as OneBusAway has done for transit, these services empower commuters, residents, and visitors to make real-time transportation decisions that flexibly adapt to changing conditions, enabling them to have the confidence to leave their car at home or forego car ownership entirely. We are concerned that excessively restricting these new market entrants jeopardizes our citys status as a hub for innovation and technology. Specifically, we believe that the proposed limit on the number of TNC drivers (100 per company and 16 hours per week per driver) unnecessarily caps supply. With far fewer taxis per capita than peer U.S. cities and the number of taxi licenses being held flat for over 20 years, a growing Seattle needs more transportation options, not fewer. TNCs are responding to strong unmet demand in new and innovative ways, a trend the Council should encourage. We believe that a properly regulated market encourages competition, technological innovation, and consumer safety. With smartphone reservations, cashless payment, GPS tracking, and driver and passenger ratings, these new services offer a number of genuinely new consumer protections. Accordingly, we believe that TNCs complement rather than endanger traditional taxi services, which will continue to enjoy exclusive rights to hailed rides.

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! We urge the Committee and the Council to revisit the draft legislation in order to encourage innovation while also strongly protecting consumer safety. While we believe that proposed insurance, inspection, and driver training regulations are necessary and appropriate, we believe that the market should be allowed to determine appropriate levels of supply.

Sincerely, Kate Joncas President and CEO Downtown Seattle Association Tom Norwalk President and CEO Visit Seattle David Watkins President Seattle Hotel Association

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