IN UBER THEY TRUST

TLC eyes $elf-reporting

Come on, would Uber ever steer you wrong?

New York’s taxi regulators are putting their trust in the ridehail app — and other services, such as Lyft and regular black cars — to self-report how many rides they take through the new congestion-price zones in Manhattan, according to newly proposed rules from the TLC.

Yellow and green cabs will have their meters measure exactly how much they will have to pay per ride under a new plan to add surcharges to trips in parts of Manhattan to cover the cost of new MTA repairs.

But car services like Uber will have no surcharge software in their meters — and city officials would have to take the companies’ word for how much they owe to cover the new $2.75-perride congestion surcharge.

Some advocates of the congestion plan say the Taxi and Limousine Commission is getting taken for a ride.

“It’s remarkably unfair and potentially throws the whole surcharge program under a cloud,” said Charles Komanoff, who sat on Gov. Cuomo’s Fix NYC advisory panel.

“You can’t have hundreds of millions of dollars needed by the government dependent on the good graces of private business.”

Not only will the companies be able to self-report what they pay for the surcharge, they will also control the numbers on how big of an impact the cars make on congestion, critics say.

“The city gave the TLC wide authority to regulate Uber, and they have yet to move an inch on doing that,” said Richard Lipsky, a taxi-industry advocate.

There have been issues with Uber’s self-reporting in the past. It long battled over sharing detailed trip data with the city until bowing to a rule change last year that made it mandatory.

And the New York Taxi Workers Alliance is embroiled in a lawsuit against Uber for underpaying the app’s drivers. Uber pledged accurate tallies. “The TLC has the ability to audit Uber or any FHV [for-hire vehicle] base at anytime,” said company spokeswoman Alix Anfang.

The fees will begin in January 2019. It will cost an extra $2.75 to hail an Uber or other for-hire vehicle below 60th Street. Cabs will set riders back $2.50, and pooled-ride services, such as Via, will take another 75 cents.

The program is expected to add nearly half a billion dollars a year to the MTA’s coffers.

TLC officials say they will hold a hearing on the proposed rules in November. Transit Reporter