Tensions ran high between taxicab drivers and those who drive for Uber and Lyft last week, when Massachusetts lawmakers analyzed proposals intending to regulate for-hire transportation services in the Commonwealth.

For hours, panel after panel of industry professionals presented opposing positions in front of the Finance Services Committee, where two of four bills dominated the conversation. The bill from Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker has the support of Uber and Lyft. Another, from Senator Linda Dorcena Forry (D-Dorchester) and Representative Michael Moran (D-Brighton), has the strong endorsement of the taxi and limousine industry. Uber supporters in blue T-shirts, Lyft supporters in pink and the taxi industry supporters in yellow provided a colorful audience responding with applause or boos throughout testimony that could have a major impact on their livelihoods.

The true showdown came when Boston Police Commissioners, past and present, contested in a Wild West ‘public safety’ standoff. Current Commissioner William Evans testified in favor of the stricter background check proposal while former Commissioner Edward Davis presented as part of Uber Technologies’ advisory committee.

Commissioner Evans called on state lawmakers to pass legislation that would require all ride for-hire drivers (Uber, Lyft, taxi, limousine) to undergo background checks—including fingerprinting and periodic vehicle inspection –to ensure passenger safety. “Standards must be developed for these vehicles, and inspections done periodically to ensure the public’s safety,” said Evans.

Services who conduct background checks going back only seven years are “clearly not enough,” he continued. “I can attest that there are cases being investigated by the BPD where individuals were driving for a TNC and had open, active criminal cases.”

By contrast, Mr. Davis who was Boston Commissioner from 2006 to 2013, testified that he felt Uber’s private company background checks were sufficient enough. “Uber has brought a new transparency and accountability to the transportation sector,” said Davis, who added his father was a taxi driver. “Current taxi laws” he said, “were not written with modern technology in mind.”

It still remains to be seen what regulatory bill will be passed in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, but perhaps the best commentary came from Finance Committee member Representative Shawn Dooley (R-Norfolk), who wasn’t so inclined to play the odds regarding public safety: “I don’t care if it’s a one-in-a-million chance, I don’t want that guy [i.e. driver with a troubled background] picking up my daughter from college.”