SB 371

Existing law provides for the regulation of charter-party carriers of passengers by the Public Utilities Commission and includes specific requirements applicable to transportation network companies and their participating drivers. Existing law defines transportation network companies as certain organizations that, using an online-enabled application or platform, connect passengers with drivers using a personal vehicle. Existing law imposes specified requirements for liability insurance coverage on transportation network companies and their drivers, including a requirement that the insurance coverage provide for uninsured motorist coverage and underinsured motorist coverage in the amount of $1,000,000 from the moment a passenger enters the vehicle of a participating driver until the passenger exits the vehicle. Under existing law, that coverage may be satisfied by insurance maintained by the participating driver, the transportation network company, or a combination of insurance maintained by the participating driver and transportation network company. This bill would lower that amount to $60,000 per person and $300,000 per incident. The bill would also make the transportation network company responsible for maintaining the uninsured motorist coverage and underinsured motorist coverage. The bill would require the commission and the Department of Insurance to collaborate on a study of the impacts of the requirements established for uninsured motorist coverage and underinsured motorist coverage to assess whether those requirements are appropriate to the risk of transportation network company services, and to report the findings of this study to specified committees of the Legislature on or before December 31, 2030. Existing law requires the commission to develop, publish, and annually update a report containing specified information, including, among other things, the commission’s annual work plan and an accounting of the commission’s transactions and proceedings from the prior year. Existing law requires the commission to submit that report to the Governor and Legislature no later than February 1 of each year. This bill would require the report submitted on or before February 1, 2026, to also contain certain information regarding automobile accidents reported to the commission by transportation network companies and uninsured motorist and underinsured motorist claims resulting from those accidents, as specified. The bill would require the report submitted on or before February 1, 2027, to specify the average transportation network company rider fare paid during certain time periods, as provided. This bill would make the operation of its provisions contingent upon the enactment of AB 1340 of the 2025–26 Regular Session.