Uber sues NYC to challenge driver limitation – TechCrunch

Uber filed suit against New York, reports The Verge. The company wants to overturn the city of New York rule that limits the number of new drivers. Last summer, the city approved a law that prohibits the issuance of new driver's licenses for 12 months.

It was a multi-year fight between Uber and New York. New York Mayor Bill de Blasio has for years been in favor of new legislation to regulate hail companies. And the New York Council finally voted in favor of this new rule in August 2018.

Uber strongly opposes the new regulatory framework. Before the vote, the company even called loyal customers to ask them to call the local council members and support Uber.

There are a few reasons why policy makers have been in favor of stopping. First, taxi medal holders have suffered sudden market changes caused by Uber, Lyft and other such companies. The value of their driver's licenses has dropped significantly, which has created financial problems for drivers who have been granted credit for these licenses.

Secondly, mobile phone services have fostered congestion throughout the city. This seems a little paradoxical, as some Uber users have given up their personal cars to switch to Uber. But Uber also replaces many other means of transport, such as the subway, buses, bicycles, etc.

In addition to this change of use pattern, many drivers are still driving into New York City, waiting for the next ride. These empty cars clutter the streets.

Thirdly, there are also economic reasons for this change. Uber is a market that badociates drivers with runners. The company takes advantage of the fact that the rules are not as strict for taxi drivers as for taxi drivers. In this way, Uber can accept a ton of drivers even if the demand does not necessarily match. Uber can then exploit this imbalance of the market to bring down wages.

As part of the vote, New York City also agreed to a minimum wage for drivers. Ultimately, this could lead to an increase in the price for customers. But so many customers have turned their back on the public transport sector, which is now generating too many problems in terms of infrastructure investment and traffic congestion.

It's a chicken and egg situation. You can not expect a better subway system if no one wants to take the subway. And you can not expect customers to rely on the metro if there has not been enough investment to make it reliable.