Battle between NY mayor, Uber heats up on eve of vote

The arrangement requires Uber to release a trove of data which the city has been seeking for its analysis.

Deputy Mayor Anthony Shorris also had words of optimism for the deal between the mayor and Uber, saying it was a suitable and fair framework to ensure the growth of the city Uber and New York City is occurring in a safe and responsible manner.

“With all due respect to Mr. Plouffe, he always has a very strong financial interest here in the company and he’s speaking with that bias”, de Blasio said. There were also a number of people who came out in Uber’s defense, both in the form of phone calls and op-eds.

Mayor Bill de Blasio’s office announced Wednesday that the controversial proposal would take place only after a “comprehensive” study had been conducted into the car-sharing service’s impact on congestion in the city.

In a statement Wednesday, Josh Mohrer, general manager of Uber’s New York division, said the company looks forward to working “on ways to continue expanding economic opportunity, mobility and transportation access in the city”. Rather than proceed, the administration will be stepping back and silently studying the effects Uber has on NYC’s environment and traffic over the next four months.

But city officials point to a recent Uber promotion that encouraged drivers to hover in the “busiest areas of the city” – Manhattan below the north end of Central Park, plus a swath of Brooklyn from Greenpoint south to Park Slope – in order to receive a “guaranteed” $5,000 for their first full month of driving. Uber supporters pointed out that new jobs would be in jeopardy with the limit on drivers.

Some of them, including US Representative Hakeem Jeffries and the city comptroller, Scott M. Stringer, have rarely been shy about tweaking the mayor. The mayor and many on the City Council wanted time to study the industry’s impact on congestion, among other things, before allowing it to continue its explosive expansion.

Uber even launched a fightback against De Blasio with a slickly produced TV advert and a feature on their app which claimed that the availability of cars would slow if the cap had passed.

New York’s City Council is expected to vote on the bill limiting the growth of Uber and other for-hire vehicle services to 1 per cent in order for the city to study traffic and air quality. Since then, the number of for-hire vehicles has grown to more than 63,000 – of which about 20,000 are connected to Uber, according to Taxi and Limousine Commission figures quoted by the New York Times.

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The company’s seemingly ubiquitous ads also touted its benefits as a job creator and its service to minority riders in outer boroughs – de Blasio’s political base. But the presence is so strong that Cuomo added on the radio that the Uber debate will go well beyond New York City.