French authorities say UberPop is illegal and have expressed frustration that Uber doesn’t pay the same taxes and social charges as traditional taxis.
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But the city’s proposal has sparked skepticism-stoked by Uber-because it resembles one put forth by the yellow taxi industry, and because anything the de Blasio administration does that helps yellow taxis (no matter how earnestly intentioned) requires the following footnote: the industry donated prolifically to his mayoral campaign even as he parroted their rhetoric on everything from borough taxis to the Taxi of Tomorrow. “That means 9,800 of those job opportunities will be lost”.
“Whether the City does, in fact, have legal grounds to restrict Uber from operating without a municipally issued licence is precisely the question to be determined by The Honourable Justice Dunphy”, Tracey Cook, executive director of municipal licensing and standards for Toronto, says in an emailed statement. Both were discussed this afternoon in a relatively fiery hearing of the transportation committee at New York’s council chambers.
“Our business has been ruined so badly that we are under debt right now”.
Uber said it was merely connecting passengers and is a communications, not cab or limousine, company.
Uber’s policy manager, Michael Allegretti, took issue with the city’s approach, saying that the focus shouldn’t be just on for-hire vehicles but the entire traffic picture of the city and that the study could be completed with existing models and data without capping the number of licenses. The current value of a medallion is estimated between $700,000 and $900,000. I can tell you with no uncertainty, Uber is not what it once was. Singh said. Opposite them: a black-shirted Uber-logoed mass handing out sandwiches and free t-shirts.
The fight mirrors a global debate over how to regulate San Francisco-based Uber, which has grown to include 160,000 drivers in 45 states.
The taxi commission’s chair, Meera Joshi, said at the hearing that city planners should be able to study congestion without adding to it in the meantime.
Traffic in New York City is famous and it has many causes.
“In my case, as a woman, I think we demand more security and respect”, said Bethzabe Zavala Martinez, an occasional rideshare user. Unlike a conventional call-taxi service; Uber acts as an aggregator online service that connects taxi owners with potential clients.
“So what is this really about?” It’s about stifling competition for the taxi industry.
“I believe very strongly from the outset… that the measures proposed here… are absolutely warranted, necessary and appropriate in order to address what’s an unprecedented increase in for hire vehicles in New York City over the last several years”, said Levin.
But the city’s Transportation Commissioner, Polly Trottenberg, is on board with the bills-particularly with the goal of reducing congestion in Manhattan. And in May, the TLC published a series of newly proposed rules for how for-hire vehicles like Uber can operate. “DOT has an obligation to manage our street network so as to maximize safety and mobility”, she said in her testimony.
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Pressed by Uber and its backers, the city amended the proposal to reflect the company’s objections and adopted it. The company appears ready to employ a similar battle plan against the legislation limiting new licenses for a year, which the company fears would become a permanent cap on the industry.
