BOSTON (WHDH) - Advocates are calling upon Massachusetts lawmakers to pass a bill that will make fingerprint background checks mandatory for all rideshare drivers.
The push for more stringent security measures comes just days after Boston police say an Uber driver trapped a woman inside his car by putting on the child safety locks. The driver, 47-year-old Kamal Essalak, of Acton, has since been arraigned on a kidnapping charge.
“Gold standard for a background check begins with fingerprinting,” said Rick Szilagyi, of the New England Livery Association.
Szilagyi says his members, including taxi and limo drivers, are required to be fingerprinted before they can get licensed. He believes Uber and Lyft drivers should be as well.
“Uber and Lyft are required to do fingerprinting for their ridehail drivers in New York City,” Szilagyi noted. “What’s the difference between New York City and Boston? Do people in Boston deserve less safety than people in New York City?”
In 2016, Uber and Lyft drivers packed hearings at the State House that eventually led to a new law that authorized the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities to conduct background checks on drivers, but it did not mandate fingerprinting.
Szilagyi says he hopes the law will be amended during the current legislative session.
A new fingerprinting bill is in the process of being assigned to a legislative committee for a public hearing.
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