Uber/Lyft Contracts (Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority)

The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) has received your request for records. More information on the PARP/Privacy process is available on line at: https://www.wmata.com/about/records/
The COVID-19 virus has been declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization. Moreover, the President of the United States has recently declared a national emergency due to the virus, and the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Virginia, and the State of Maryland have also declared public health emergencies in response thereto. Given these emergency conditions and the need for WMATA staff to support urgent safety and mission critical operational issues, please note that effective immediately processing of PARP requests has been temporarily suspended until further notice.

Dear Ms. Gurley,

The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) acknowledges receipt of your August 17, 2020 Public Access to Records Policy (PARP) request regarding rideshare contracts. Specifically, you requested the following:

1. All rules, regulations, presentations, PowerPoint files, flyers, signs, and other guidance about the use of staging areas, bathrooms, monetary investments, or the subsidizing of rides, by rideshare and taxi drivers (Uber, Lyft, Via, black car companies, etc.);
2. Copies of all complaints, suggestions, emails, or other communication about your stations that mention "rideshare," "driver," "taxi," "Uber," "Lyft," "Via," "ride-hail," "dispatch," "TNC," "for-hire vehicles," and "black car";
3. Contracts with any Lyft, Uber, Via, other rideshare companies;
4. Any photos or videos taken by the authority or submitted to the authority of staging areas or restrooms intended to be used by rideshare drivers;
5. Cleaning records for bathrooms used by rideshare drivers and health inspections associated with these bathrooms;
6. Any communications related to promotional materials, discounts, "free rides," integration (API or otherwise) with Lyft, Uber, Via, other rideshare companies;
7. Any communications, including emails, text messages, formal and informal agreements, and contracts with employees or representatives of Uber, Lyft, Via, about staging areas, restroom and facility use by their employees, contractors, or rideshare partners; and
8. Any internal deliberations, emails, presentations, meeting notes about the above issues.

Please be advised that while your request references both the D.C. Freedom of Information Act (D.C. FOIA) and the Georgia Open Records Act, WMATA is an interstate compact agency of the Commonwealth of Virginia, State of Maryland, and the District of Columbia, and neither a D.C. nor Georgia agency. See Pub. L. No. 89-774, 80 Stat. 1324 (1966); Va. Code Ann. § 33.2-3100; Md. Code Ann., Transp. § 10-204; D.C. Code Ann. § 9-1107.1). Accordingly, WMATA is not subject to the D.C. FOIA or the Georgia Open Records Act. See D.C. Code § 9-1107.1 Section 77.

However, WMATA will process your request pursuant to the PARP, which is available online at https://www.wmata.com/about/records/public-records.cfm under the section marked "Legal Affairs."

Clarification Required

Please be advised that we are unable to process your request because you have not provided a timeframe for the search. Without a specific timeframe WMATA will be unable to conduct a targeted search for records. Furthermore, if you are specifically seeking email correspondence for any parts of your request, in addition to the timeframe, you must provide the exact keywords to be searched. PARP § 7.5 requires requesters to "describe the records that are being requested in sufficient detail to enable WMATA to locate them with a reasonable amount of effort." Accordingly, please provide a timeframe for all parts of your request and a list of keywords for any parts of your request seeking email correspondence by close of business Monday, September 14, 2020. If we do not receive a response by close of business Monday, September 14, 2020, your request will be closed.

GENERAL INFORMATION:

Although we are not yet able to provide any responsive records, we can impart the following general information regarding your request:

Time Period for Processing Requests

WMATA generally aims to respond to a request for records within 20 business days following receipt of the request. However, requests will generally be processed in the order they are received. In addition, please be advised that your records request may include records submitted to WMATA by a third party, which requires us to contact the third party to identify confidential and proprietary information. WMATA will not release any records until it has made a decision with respect to any such assertions made by the third party.)

Please be advised that PARP processing was suspended because of WMATA's need to address critical safety and operational issues due to the declared federal and local COVID-19 public health emergencies and stay at home orders. Although the public health emergencies are still in place, we are preparing to resume PARP processing in the coming weeks, but we anticipate processing times will be longer than usual. If you would like to limit the scope of your request to allow for faster processing, please contact us.

Exemptions

The PARP provides exemptions for certain types of data, including: (1) information that could compromise WMATA infrastructure or security; (2) information that is solely related to the internal personnel rules and practices; (3) information that is exempt by statute; (4) proprietary commercial or financial information; (5) intra-agency and inter-agency memoranda information which would not be made available by law to a party in litigation with WMATA; (6) information that, if released, would cause a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy; (7) certain information compiled for law enforcement purposes; (8) registered SmarTrip® information; and (9) customer financial information. Generally, WMATA's response will not include any exempt information.

Processing Fees

The PARP also provides for the assessment of fees associated with a request that requires more than two hours of staff time to process. These fees are calculated at the employees' basic rate of pay, plus an additional 50 percent to cover benefits. In general, a request is considered an agreement to pay all applicable fees. Advance payment is required where the fees are likely to exceed $250.

Your statement that your request is noncommercial does not allow WMATA to make its determination regarding fee categorization. Please provide an explanation of the purpose of your request and your intended use of the requested records by close of business Monday, September 14, 2020. If we do not receive additional information to allow us to independently determine the nature of your request, your request will be classified as commercial.

Future correspondence should reference the request number noted in the subject line of this correspondence. If you have any questions, please contact me at brashbaum@wmata.com<mailto:brashbaum@wmata.com> or 202-962-1926. If I am unavailable, you may contact Richard Noh at RDNoh@wmata.com<mailto:RDNoh@wmata.com> or 202-962-2569.

Sincerely,

Benjamin Rashbaum

Benjamin Rashbaum
Associate Counsel
WMATA
600 Fifth Street, NW
Washington, DC 20001
P: 202-962-1926
F: 202-962-2550
E: BRashbaum@wmata.com<mailto:BRashbaum@wmata.com>

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Dear Ms. Gurley,

As you did not respond as requested by the deadline provided below (September 14, 2020), your Public Access to Records Policy (PARP) request has been closed.

If you wish to appeal WMATA's decision, in accordance with PARP § 9.1, you may file a written appeal of the action with the Executive Vice President, External Relations, Barbara Richardson, at BRichardson@wmata.com<mailto:BRichardson@wmata.com>, within 30 business days of the date of this decision letter. Further details about our appeals process can be found on our website.

Sincerely,
Benjamin Rashbaum