New York City again flexible, widening course on Uber and Lyft

New York stands out in many ways from other US cities. There are yellow cabs and Broadway and these goofy things called boroughs. It has a sprawling metro system. The city is also different: New York regulates more in-depth travel. The city licenses Uber and Lyft vehicles and collects information about their driving location. (In places like Los Angeles, Boston, and Austin, the state, not the city, regulates.) Thus, New York became the country's first regulatory laboratory in the field of grimace regulation, often to the chagrin of companies of the same name.

New York is again weakening its control. On Thursday, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that the city would seek to maintain its almost-obsolete car rental registration status, which includes black cars, livery taxis, limousines and vehicles hailed by application. . About 80,000 of these vehicles – two-thirds of them – are driven by drivers working for companies such as Uber, Lyft, Via and Juno. (There are 13,500 traditional taxis in the city.) De Blasio also said that New York would force taxi companies to reduce the time their drivers spend on "cruising", ie wait for their next trip or drive. their next pbadengers.

Officials in New York and elsewhere have said that the "ride-hail" business model depends on the density of drivers on the street, the maintenance of waiting times and the salaries of drivers. It's not fair for workers, nor for other New Yorkers stuck in traffic jams, Blasio said Thursday.

Other cities have observed similar phenomena. According to a recent study, most congestion has become widespread in San Francisco between 2010 and 2016, although the study does not take into account other factors, such as the growth of home delivery services.

According to a report published this week by the Taxi and Limousine Commission of New York, 29% of all traffic in Manhattan is now rental vehicles, and these cars spend 41% of their time empty (and do not earn money to their drivers) or wait for rates. (The report badumes that cars spend a lot of time in double, double or indirect parking, which would also affect traffic.) New York would like to force companies to reduce this "cruise" to 31% by August 2020.

As to how New York would virtually limit cruises – this remains to be determined. The city is expected to publish a more specific proposal next week. These two new regulations will be subject to public hearings and a vote by the nine-member Taxi and Limousine Commission.

In a statement, Uber spokesman Harry Hartfield said the ceiling extension "would create another system of medallions", referring to the 80-year-old New York system, forcing a taxi owner to buy a special license to operate in the city. The company suggests that owners of licensed vehicles may sell or lease these licenses, and that future Uber drivers may be required to lease more expensive licensed cars instead of using theirs. In other words: Uber says the city is recreating the system that has been so successful at "disrupting" – and that the city has left it disturbing.

In fact, in February, Uber filed a lawsuit against the city because of the vehicle's cap, noting that it unfairly affected bikers in outlying boroughs. A state judge will hear the latest news on this case on July 15.

At Lyft, a spokesman said in a statement that congestion pricing would be a better solution to traffic problems in New York. The New York State Legislature adopted in March an initial congestion tax plan in the busiest neighborhoods of Manhattan. But we do not yet know how the new road tax could apply to personal watercraft vehicles. Via, which operates a fleet of minivans, qualifies as "counterproductive" the caps on rental vehicles, but the company said it supported the rules to reduce the cruise.

During the past year, New York has put in place other rules that affect Uber and Lyft. A surcharge of $ 2.75 is added to any round trip that starts, pbades or ends under 96th Street in Manhattan, the most congested part of the city. (Taxis have been charged $ 2.50.) The city has also pbaded a law requiring companies that pay a minimum wage to pay drivers at least $ 17.22 a day, which has reported an additional salary estimated at $ 172 million since the entry into force of this rule. February. Lyft and another local company, Juno, argued that the city's justification for his salary was biased in favor of Uber and sued. A judge filed the case last month.

There's a reason why grimaces are so picky about the rules in New York. This is one of their most important global markets. Uber's S-1 public depot shows that New York is one of its top five markets in the world, which together account for almost a quarter of all its bookings. As one guy has already said, "If I can do it, I'll do it anywhere." The Ride-Grel companies hope this will also be their business model.

More great cable stories