The trips Uber and Lyft have become more expensive in New York. Here's why.

Ordering an Uber or Lyft in New York has become much more expensive.

In August, the city council voted on a minimum rate for independent contractors driving for applications such as Uber, Lyft, Via and Juno. The new city law is supposed to guarantee drivers a rate of $ 17.22 an hour after spending, which, according to their supporters, is a living wage.

Now is the time for these new rates. With rising wages, Uber believes that bikers should expect higher fares. A new supplement to fund the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) will make some trips even more expensive.

Without giving any specific price increases, Uber said "to take into account the implications of this new rule, we will increase the price of Uber trips to New York".

Lyft and Juno are suing separately for the launch of the new pay raise by the New York Taxi and Limousine Commission, saying it favors Uber.

A judge ruled in favor of Lyft on Friday and offered to stick to that expectation – but Lyft (and all other leisure applications who do not want to pay the minimum wage) will have to pay in a escrow account from here. The next hearing will be held on March 18th.

Lyft will not comply with the taxi commission's new rules on pay, but explained that it would further increase driver pay in New York, with its own formula. For customers, this also means that fares for trips in Lyft will increase.

In a statement, Mr. Lyft said, "Drivers should not suffer while we work to correct TLC errors, so we immediately increase drivers' wages while we continue our fight in court."

Via, a New York-based carpool app, said she was not affected by the new rules regarding driver compensation.

"The vast majority of drivers of the Via platform already earn more than the new minimum wage of the city," the company said in a statement.

The Independent Drivers Guild, a union representing application-based drivers in New York, is outraged by the lawsuits. "It would be a nightmare for pilots who are desperately waiting for this increase," said a spokesman for the group in a statement Friday.

To further complicate matters, a separate congestion charge in the state of New York came into effect on Friday. This represents an additional $ 2.75 for trips to Manhattan (75 cents for a shared trip). This overload goes entirely to the MTA, not to the drivers of Uber and other companies.

For a company like Via, this means that motorcyclists will still have to pay more for trips to Manhattan.

Uber did the math and with all the city and state fees, taxes and surcharges, the UberX trip to New York will cost an average of $ 22. More than 20% of this amount, or about $ 4.50, will go to the specific costs in New York.

This makes the subway deteriorating more attractive.