Anxious about its future, Uber made itself heard on the steps of City Hall.
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The bill in question is backed by New York’s Taxi & Limousine Commission, and if it were to become law, it stands to severely kneecap Uber’s growth in New York, one of the company’s largest and more mature markets. Licenses would be limited through the completion of a study on the impact of growth in the taxicab and FHV industries on the environment, or until August 31st of 2016, whichever comes first. And in May, the TLC published a series of newly proposed rules for how for-hire vehicles like Uber can operate.
Gurpreet Singh was one of about a dozen taxi drivers counter-protesting Uber during the demonstration outside City Hall. De Blasio in particular received significant funding from the industry, and also moved to limit other increases in the number of cabs on the street; his office didn’t respond to a request for comment from Quartz.
Louis Lanzano/for New York Daily News Josh Mohrer, general manager of Uber NYC, said ‘the demand is strong enough to support the cars that we’re adding onto the system, ’ at the rally on Tuesday. “But, they [Uber] are misinforming customers and picking up fares illegally”, said Singh, who complained along with his fellow drivers that Uber was cannibalizing their business, particularly along the JFK-Manhattan route. The company offered free uberPOOL rides to and from City Hall between 10:30am and 2:30pm. “It’s about stifling competition for the taxi industry, putting the interests of medallion millionaires above those of New York riders and drivers”, said Mohrer. Today, New York is one of Uber’s biggest markets, generating hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue annually.
The primary sponsor of the proposal, council member Ydanis Rodriguez, says that just 23,000 for-hire cars have been added to the streets since 2011, but that due to all the hours they spend on the road, the increase is the equivalent to 920,000 New Yorkers buying a vehicle. “This reflects one of New York City’s best job opportunities at a time when city unemployment is higher than the state’s and the nation’s”.
In a statement released today, Uber claims that it’s actually “proactively working to reduce congestion”. Uber estimates they have around 27,000 cars in the city.
“Does it really make sense to say that Uber drivers and riders are the only cause for the age-old problem of congestion?”
Proponents of the bill say it’s an effort to cut down on congestion and traffic in New York, according to the New York Post.
But it’s not clear what the justification is for artificially limiting the number of cabs in a city other than to protect the earnings of cab drivers. Among the TLC’s proposals for companies like Uber is something that would prevent drivers from using Uber’s turn-by-turn directions while they’re driving a auto. His constituents were emailed by Uber and spotlighted in ads on Facebook.
According to Rodriguez’s testimony, the number of e-hail taxis, or black cars, on the city’s roads has almost tripled in the last 18 months. He joined about 15 drivers outside, but said there were over 150 inside the City Hall hearing supporting the bill.
Part of Uber’s argument is that old regulations are not in line with the dynamics of a changing vehicle service industry. This bill will put a cap on Uber, and right now, there is no cap.
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Yellow Cab Drivers. Gupreet Singh, center in blue.
