46.9 F
New York
Thursday, March 28, 2024

Uber Challenges New E-Hail Caps in Lawsuit Against NYC

Related Articles

-Advertisement-

Must read

By: Ilana Siyance

Uber is putting its foot down. The ride-sharing giant has slapped the New York City with a lawsuit over the new policy which limits the time drivers can spend cruising around Manhattan without passengers. The lawsuit says that the law “would threaten the viability of the ridesharing model as it currently exists”.

The transportation network company, founded in 2009, filed the lawsuit on Friday in Manhattan Supreme Court, against the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission. As reported by Patch, the suit challenges the new measure, which was unanimously approved in August by the TLC, to impose a “cruising cap” on Uber drivers, in an attempt to reduce congestion.

“Drivers’ flexibility is already being threatened by Mayor de Blasio’s regulations, and the cruising cap will only make that worse,” said Uber spokesperson Harry Hartfield on Friday. “This arbitrary rule used a flawed economic model, did not take into account how drivers are affected by previous regulations, is preempted by the state and was voted on despite the objection of City Councilmembers and community groups.”

The ehail cap, which is being challenged, places a 31 percent cap on the time for-hire vehicles may drive without a passenger below Manhattans’ 96th Street during peak-traffic time slots. The TLC contends that the ehail cars currently spend 41 percent of their time “cruising” in Manhattan’s core, crowding the streets. Proponents for the policy maintain it will help reduce congestion, for drivers who need to be on the road, buses, cyclists and pedestrians. “For too long, the status quo has been gamed by companies who flood our streets, depress driver incomes and make it harder for the rest of us to get around,” Mayor Bill de Blasio said in August while announcing the rule. “Those days are over.”

Uber argues that the 31 percent figure is not even based on conclusive data, and that the TLC has not provided modeling on the consequences of the policy for drivers or their income and did not sufficiently research the ramifications of the measure.

“The August 2019 Rule is the product of a rushed and unlawful process, including reliance on flawed and arbitrary economic modeling, which was designed to arrive at a predetermined result that is likely not even feasible,” the lawsuit reads. “No city in the country has implemented an FHV Cruising Cap setting cruising at any level, yet the City selected its Cruising Cap number arbitrarily without even considering less restrictive options, without consulting with the affected companies about its impact as it was determining what level Cap to adopt, and without even evaluating the impact of the TLC’s prior regulations.”

In the lawsuit, which is Uber’s second court clash with the de Blasio administration, the rideshare app also contends that the city is not authorized to make congestion-related policies, saying that the state has already implemented congestion pricing measures, which “preempt[s]” the city’s policy.

balance of natureDonate

Latest article

- Advertisement -