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On November 4, 2016, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf signed into law Senate Bill 954, which legalized ridesharing companies, or “Transportation Network Companies,†like Uber and Lyft, and placed certain consumer safety requirements on those companies.  Part I of this article will provide an overview of Senate Bill 954, including the law’s main provisions and their effects. Part II of the article will compare Senate Bill 954 with: (a) the Transportation Network Company (“TNCâ€) Insurance Compromise Model Bill developed and promoted directly by the ridesharing industry; and (b) the National Conference of Insurance Legislators (“NCOILâ€) Model Act to Regulate Insurance Requirements for Transportation Network Companies and Transportation Network Drivers.  Part II’s focus will be upon how much of Senate Bill 954 was taken directly from the above-referenced Model Bill and Model Act, and thus the degree to which the Pennsylvania legislature has essentially allowed the ridesharing industry to regulate itself. Finally, Part III of the article will provide a survey of recent Pennsylvania cases related to the ridesharing industry.

law, transportation, ridesharing, Uber, Lyft, regulation