Boston Police to Fingerprint All Licensed Cab Drivers in City

The Boston Police Department has begun fingerprinting all of the licensed cab drivers in the city.

This is being done as a background check measure.

There are currently over 6,000 active licensees that will undergo the fingerprinting process.

Commissioner Evans says of the initiative: "The cab drivers in this city are hardworking men and women who welcomed this new safety requirement. When the citizens of Boston get into cab, they trust that operator to get them to their destination safely every single time. Fingerprinting is another step we can take as a police department to help make sure that happens."

Fingerprinting has been a point in the debate over how to best regulate taxi competitor services like Uber and Lyft.

The ride-hailing companies say their drivers should not be fingerprinted because they already conduct third-party background checks.  Currently. Boston Police does not have any authority to fingerprint Uber drivers.

Police say it only takes about eight minutes for the fingerprinting.  However, cab drivers must now go throught the process every year.

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