Transportation Network Company (TNC) Safety and Accountability Act – Key PointsOverview
This bill introduces strict safety regulations, enhanced background checks, and increased consumer protections for Transportation Network Companies (TNCs) and their drivers. The law aims to address rider safety concerns, prevent fraudulent driver activity, and improve accountability for TNCs operating in Colorado.
Drivers are prohibited from working more than 10 consecutive hours (current law allows 12 hours).
Fingerprint-Based Criminal Background Checks:
TNCs must conduct a fingerprint-based criminal history record check:
Before a driver is authorized to provide rides.
Every six months thereafter.
Privately administered name-based checks are no longer allowed.
Automatic Disqualification for Certain Offenses:
Drivers convicted of, or pleading guilty or no contest to, any of the following crimes are permanently disqualified:
Fraud
Unlawful sexual behavior
Property crimes
Crimes of violence
Domestic violence
Stalking
Harassment
DUI Convictions:
A driver convicted of DUI/DWAI cannot serve for 7 years after conviction.
Driver Disqualifications:
A driver is permanently banned from driving if they:
Have been removed or disqualified from any other transportation service (including TNCs, taxis, or delivery services).
Share their driver account or use someone else’s account to complete rides.
Driver Identity & Ride Verification
Before each ride, TNCs must verify that the authorized driver is the actual driver through one of the following:
In-vehicle dash camera
Live self-identification photograph or video
Biometric verification (fingerprint or optical scan)
Another effective verification method
Complaint Handling & Public Safety Transparency
Complaint Investigations:
If a complaint is filed against a TNC or a driver, the company must:
Respond to law enforcement, courts, or regulators within 24 hours.
Provide all available data, photos, audio, and video upon request by the complainant.
Public Reporting Requirements:
By February 1, 2026, and annually thereafter, TNCs must submit reports to the Colorado Public Utilities Commission (PUC), Attorney General, and legislative Judiciary Committees on:
Number of reported safety incidents (physical assault, sexual assault, verbal assault, stalking, harassment, theft, motor vehicle accidents, homicides).
Number of discriminatory incidents reported against drivers.
Audio & Video Recording Requirements
TNCs must ensure that every ride is continuously audio and video recorded from pickup to drop-off unless the rider or driver opts out.
Consumer Protection & Legal Accountability
Private Right of Action:
The Attorney General or any person harmed by a violation may file a civil lawsuit against a TNC or driver.
Contracts Cannot Waive Consumer Rights:
TNCs cannot require riders to waive:
Legal protections under state law.
Colorado Consumer Protection Act rights.
Their right to a jury trial.
TNC Rating Manipulation is Banned:
TNCs cannot alter a rider’s rating of a driver or assign default ratings that riders did not input.
Biometric Data Protection:
Any biometric data (fingerprint, facial scan) collected by a TNC must comply with Colorado’s biometric privacy laws.
2. Impact of the Bill
Enhances rider safety by ensuring verified, qualified drivers. Reduces fraud by banning account sharing and requiring biometric verification. Increases transparency by requiring public safety reports and complaint disclosures. Strengthens consumer protections by prohibiting rating manipulation and unfair contract terms. Improves accountability by allowing lawsuits against TNCs for violations.
Summary
The bill prohibits a transportation network company (TNC) driver
from driving or offering to drive for more than 10 consecutive hours.
Current law requires that, before an individual is permitted to act
as a driver through the use of a TNC's digital network, the individual shall obtain a criminal history record check. The bill requires that the TNC procure a criminal history record check for the individual before the individual is permitted to act as a driver and at least once every 6 months after the initial criminal history record check. The bill requires that the criminal history record check be a fingerprint-based criminal history record check and eliminates the option for the individual to fulfill the requirement through a privately administered national criminal history record check.
Before each prearranged ride, a TNC shall verify that a driver
providing the prearranged ride is the same driver authorized by the TNC to provide the prearranged ride through one of the following methods:
•
An in-vehicle dash camera;
•
A live self-identification photograph or video;
•
Biometric verification by fingerprint or optical scan; or
•
Another method that effectively verifies that the driver providing the prearranged ride is the same driver authorized by the TNC for that prearranged ride.
If a person files a complaint with the public utilities commission
(commission) against a TNC or a driver, the TNC shall, upon request from the person filing the complaint, provide the person filing the complaint all known and available data, photographs, and video related to the prearranged ride that is the subject of the complaint. After a person files a complaint against a TNC or a driver, the TNC is required to respond to a request for information from the person, the commission, a court, a district attorney, the attorney general, or a law enforcement agency no later than 24 hours after the request is made.
In addition to enforcement by the commission, the bill authorizes
the attorney general or a person injured or harmed by an alleged violation of the bill to initiate a civil proceeding in a district court against a TNC or a driver that violates the bill.
The bill requires a TNC to ensure that each prearranged ride is
continuously audio and video recorded from when the driver picks up the rider until when the rider departs from the driver's vehicle. A rider or driver may opt out of the continuous audio and video recording.
The bill requires that, on or before February 1, 2026, and on or
before February 1 each year thereafter, a TNC shall submit specified data to the commission, the attorney general, the house of representatives judiciary committee, and the senate judiciary committee.
A provision in a contract between a TNC and a rider is declared
void as against public policy if the provision attempts or purports to waive specified rights.
The bill requires a TNC to develop policies to: •
Prevent imposter accounts, account sharing, and account renting;
•
Prevent sexual assault, physical assault, and homicide against or committed by the TNC's drivers; and
•
Allow drivers and riders to opt out of continuous audio and video recording during a prearranged ride.
The following actions are made a deceptive trade practice in
violation of the Colorado Consumer Protection Act:
•
A violation of the Transportation Network Company Act; and
•
Altering the rating that a rider assigned a driver on a TNC's digital network or assigning an automatic or default driver rating that the rider did not assign.
