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Florida Questions How Uber, Lyft Would Fare During a Hurricane

Due to Uber's surge-pricing algorithm, when demand raises, so do prices. But in an emergency situation, price hiking is outlawed in the state, so the ride hailing service may have a problem.

(TNS) -- Florida's 10-years-and-counting gap between hurricanes has left regulation of companies such as Uber and Lyft unaddressed by emergency-management rules. That leaves an open question as to how emergency officials would respond — and how state laws would apply — to the cellphone-app companies offering rides to those looking to escape the path of a storm.

Tropical Storm Erika was inflicting casualties on the Caribbean when Gov. Rick Scott declared a statewide state of emergency last month. That kicked in Florida's anti-price-gouging laws, prohibiting retailers from hiking prices on basic goods and threatening them with fines of $1,000 per violation, up to $25,000 per day, and revocation of their business license if caught.

Would those laws apply to Uber's surge-pricing tactics, which raise fares during times of high demand? Traditional taxi companies' rates are set by local governments and cannot rise because of a storm or any other emergency.

Whitney Ray, spokesman for Attorney General Pam Bondi, said the office couldn't give a legal opinion on the matter, but noted the price-gouging law only applies to essential goods like "food, water, ice, chemicals, petroleum products, and lumber necessary for consumption or use as a direct result of the emergency."

Whether surge pricing for rides would fall under the "petroleum products" part of the statute is unclear.

Uber lobbyist Cesar Fernandez said the company places a cap on surge pricing during times of emergency. But emails with follow-up questions to an Uber spokesman about what triggers a cap being put in place and lifted were not returned.

When Erika threatened briefly, Lyft sent messages to its drivers alerting them to "only drive if they feel comfortable," and it tracked the storm closely, according to a company spokeswoman. A cap could be placed on surge pricing during an emergency situation, but there's no set protocol for when that happens.

"We consider taking such measures during storms and natural disasters. The level of our response depends on the severity of the storm, so we examine each situation closely on a case-by-case basis and react accordingly," Lyft spokeswoman Paige Thelen said in an email.

State emergency-management officials were in contact with local governments and putting out alerts ahead of Tropical Storm Erika before it fizzled, but their protocols for handling a storm don't include how to handle companies such as Uber and Lyft.

"We don't have anything specific relative to them that I'm aware of," Division of Emergency Management spokesman Aaron Gallaher said.

Gallaher said existing rules about when to suggest evacuations and prohibit nonemergency personnel to be on the roads would cover them, however.

"Each disaster is different. What we do have are the processes and procedures that are very similar" that would apply to Uber and Lyft, Gallaher said.

But for traditional taxicab and limousine companies, hurricane emergencies are just another blind spot for state and local regulations that don't apply to Uber and Lyft.

Roger Chapin, vice president of Mears Transportation in Orlando, said his company's vehicles don't get on the roads when sustained winds reach 50 mph. Because of the government regulations, they and other taxi companies have set fare rates, so surge pricing in an emergency wouldn't apply to them.

"At what point is it price surging and at what point is it price gouging? And encouraging drivers to get on the roads in unsafe conditions?" Chapin said.

But the app companies have other advantages over taxi companies regardless of whether new emergency-management rules are adapted to them. Because they contract with drivers who use their own vehicles, they don't have a fleet of cars to maintain and protect when a storm hits.

Chapin isn't counting on the laws and regulations to change to cover Uber or Lyft, in blue or gray skies.

"I wouldn't expect for anyone to try to put any rules on Uber and Lyft, and I wouldn't expect them to follow them if they did," he said.

©2015 The Orlando Sentinel (Orlando, Fla.) Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.