Pull over! Council curbs speeding Uber
The Big Apple became the first major city in the country to slam the brakes on Uber’s breakneck expansion when the City Council voted Wednesday to put a freeze on new for-hire vehicles.
The regulation — part of a sweeping package of bills aimed at improving driver pay while stanching the flood of new e-hail cars on city streets — is seen as a victory for medallion owners and anti-congestion warriors who have decried the lack of regulation on e-hail companies.
The council, in a 39-6 vote, approved a one-year moratorium on the issuance of new for-hire-vehicle licenses while it studies the impact the rapidly growing industry is having on the city.
Mayor de Blasio said he would sign the bills into law.
The number of licensed for-hire vehicles has tripled since 2011, from 38,600 to 112,000 as of last month, with 77,571 driving for Uber, according to the Taxi and Limousine Commission. It has caused the value of a taxi medallion to plummet.
“The market is, in fact, oversaturated and drivers are struggling to make ends meet . . . The one-year cap prevents further saturation of the industry,” said Councilman and bill sponsor Steven Levin (D-Brooklyn).
The new regulations come following the suicides of six financially strapped taxi and livery drivers who blamed a lack of regulation on e-hail cars for their situation.
The bills exempt new wheelchairaccessible cars, and there is no limit on the number of licensed drivers — only the number of cars.
Uber has cautioned that the move would hurt New Yorkers in transitstarved neighborhoods.
“The city’s 12-month pause on new vehicle licenses will threaten one of the few reliable transportation options while doing nothing to fix the subways or ease congestion,” said Uber rep Alix Anfang.
Uber officials said the company would try to convert the drivers of roughly 40,000 for-hire vehicles who currently don’t work for the company but could switch over at any time because their vehicles are already licensed with the TLC and thus not subject to the cap.
Councilwoman Inez Barron (DBrooklyn) said she voted against the bill because she believes services such as Uber discriminate less against people of color and outerborough residents.
“I think my community will be hindered, suffer, and not have the services they need,” she said.
A second bill requires the TLC to set minimum pay rates for drivers at companies like Uber, although not for yellow-cab drivers. The agency has floated a $17.22-an-hour wage. The TLC could set a minimum as early as October, said sponsor Brad Lander (DBrooklyn).
Three bills introduced by Councilman Ruben Diaz Sr. (D-Bronx) create new licensing requirements for app-hail vehicles to bring them on par with yellow cabs, waives a $250-a-year licensing fee for wheelchair-accessible vehicles including yellow taxis, and lowers fines for refusing service or picking up unauthorized street hails.