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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Uber, Lyft get court order blocking release of Spokane County reports

Ride-sharing juggernauts Lyft and Uber are fighting – and winning – a legal battle to keep ridership numbers and other data about their business in Spokane under wraps.

A judge on Friday approved the extension of a restraining order that bars the city from releasing company reports for the last quarter of 2014. The Transportation Network Company Ride Reports include details about the 10-cent-per-ride fees the companies are required to pay to the city under terms of their contracts.

A request for those reports was made by the Spokane Journal of Business last month under the state’s Public Records Act. The Spokesman-Review has filed a similar request with the city of Spokane, which notified Uber and Lyft that the documents would be released unless they sought a restraining order.

The companies did just that a week later, saying the release of the information in those reports would amount to revealing trade secrets and would put Lyft and Uber at a competitive disadvantage with other ride-sharing companies. At a hearing Friday before Spokane County Superior Court Judge John Cooney, attorneys for the two companies said damage resulting from release of the reports outweighs the public’s interest in the data.

Uber and Lyft, the two largest companies in a growing market of services that allow drivers to hire out their personal cars using a mobile phone application, received approval from the Spokane City Council in October to operate within city limits. According to the terms of their contracts, the companies are required to pay the city 10 cents for every ride to cover “administrative and regulatory costs.”

There are also restrictions on the types of vehicles that may be hired out and a requirement that each company take out a $1 million insurance policy.

Spokane County has not entered into an agreement with the companies, and the city’s agreement does not cover service to Spokane International Airport.

City attorneys have not taken a side in the legal fight for public release of Uber and Lyft’s information.

Michael Kipling, an attorney from Seattle representing Uber’s parent corporation, Rasier, asked Cooney also to bar public release of any future quarterly reports. But Cooney declined to make that ruling Friday.

Cooney’s order lasts if and until a trial takes place in the case. That was tentatively scheduled for October at last week’s hearing.