In what the company is calling a "milestone agreement," Sidecar just became the first ride-share company to get a permit to operate at San Francisco International Airport. The service is expected to be allowed into SFO within 30 days. In a release, CEO Sunil Paul says, "We commend SFO for their forward thinking, and for developing a framework that will allow Sidecar to provide safe and affordable transportation to people who live in and visit our city." Executives at Uber and Lyft are smashing fists on desks right about now.
And in a move that proves that City Hall is still looking kindly on ride-share companies despite the fact that our District Attorney is going after Uber, Lyft, and Sidecar for a host of other offenses, Mayor Ed Lee congratulated Sidecar and SFO on the agreement. Says Lee, "San Francisco is at the forefront of the sharing economy and companies like Sidecar are creating real jobs for San Franciscans and making easier to get around our City."
Also, maybe this was a reward to Sidecar for not having any hammer-wielding drivers on their roster or run-ins with the law thus far?
As the DA's offices of San Francisco and Los Angeles indicated a few weeks ago, authorities are going to continue to crack down on the presence of Uber and Lyft drivers who don't have the proper licenses to pick up passengers at the airport.
Meanwhile, the DAs will still be going after all three companies for their seemingly illegal carpool services, and for their background-check processes for drivers. Sidecar's shared-ride/carpool service will still be outlawed at SFO.