In what will set to become a landmark decision, in an ever growing disrupting service offered by ride sharing apps like Uber, Grabcar and Lyft, the city of San Francisco has made it compulsory for drivers of these service to register their business and get a permit. A fee of US$91 will be imposed annually for the business permit, which allows the city to collect $3.37 million a year.

Ride sharing service seen as welcome treat by consumers, has became a prickly affair for registered taxi drivers, who have been protesting and on occasion turn violent, for taking their business away. Over in our own shores, there has been spate of scuffles between the two at recent times, SPAD local transport authority has still to come to a conclusion on settling the growing dispute. With the announcement made by San Francisco, other cities across the globe could follow suit including here in Malaysia.

While Uber says that as independent contractors, its drivers “are responsible for following appropriate local requirements.” Lyft spokesperson Chealsea Wilson, wasn’t too amused, “We have serious concerns with the city’s plan to collect and display Lyft drivers’ personal information in a publicly available database,” she told the SFGate publication. “People in San Francisco, who are choosing to drive with Lyft to help make ends meet, shouldn’t have to compromise their privacy in order to share a ride.”

Will the saga finally come to an end?. A fair policy will need to be drafted in order for both ecosystem to co-exist, ride sharing drivers are using their spare time and maximising their trips on the road to make an extra buck. However, taxi and cab drivers look to transporting people as their livelihood, while there may be some bad apples among the lot, the majority are simple human beings making ends meet.

Uber and local startup GrabCar currently continue to offer hailing service to customers.