TLC to Uber: Pay fair

Bid to up drivers’ wages

The city Taxi and Limousine Commission is proposing a $17.22 hourly minimum wage for apphail drivers to increase their pay — but the move would likely come at a price for riders.

The proposal, part of an agencycommissioned study released Monday, suggests that companies Uber, Lyft, Via and Juno ramp up drivers’ earnings by ensuring them the minimum hourly rate.

The move would provide the bonus of decreasing the overload of app-based drivers on the streets, because the companies would cut back on the number of employees, the agency said.

But reducing drivers’ ranks would fund only about half of the pro- posal. The rest would have to come from riders’ pockets or app companies’ bottom lines, the study said.

The TLC does not require minimum wage for yellow-cab drivers and will not under this plan.

The agency proposal calls for a higher gross hourly wage of around $26 for non-yellow-cab drivers, which it says would net them $17.22 after taxes and vehicle-upkeep costs. That means an average $6,345 more per year in drivers’ pockets, the study said.

Those drivers’ current median net earnings are $14.25 an hour. The state’s general minimum-wage rate is between $13.50 and $15 an hour.

TLC Commissioner Meera Joshi says the agency wants to work with City Council as part of a larger package of app-hail regulations.

The companies could either take less of a cut from the drivers’ fares or hike rider costs up to 5 percent, according to the study, conducted by researchers at The New School and University of California, Berkeley, and funded by the TLC.

Study co-author Michael Reich thinks app firms could do the former without feeling much of a pinch.

“Their commissions are quite high and they could easily absorb the remaining costs through reductions in commissions,” he said.

But Uber contends that its financial picture is not so rosy. Spokeswoman Alix Anfang said the plan would lead to “substantially increased prices and reduced service,” but could not say how much Uber would have to hike fares to make sure its drivers get the minimum wage.

Researchers estimate wait times would increase by 12 to 15 seconds if app-hail companies cut drivers.

Uber and Lyft both said the proposal creates the incentive for drivers to slack off, because they would be guaranteed an income.

“This would be a bad outcome for all New Yorkers,” said Lyft rep Campbell Matthews.

A rep for council Speaker Corey Johnson said legislators are reviewing the proposal. And the Mayor’s Office is examining it, too, with an eye toward a “comprehensive package” of reforms to the industry, said City Hall spokesman Seth Stein.