The New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission is proposing to force Uber, Lyft and other ride-hailing companies to guarantee that their drivers earn a minimum net wage as competition increases for customers.
The move follows a study of driver wages released by the commission this summer, which determined drivers earnings had decreased by more than 10 percent between September 2016 and October 2017.
The commission has outlined a complex formula that would set the minimum amount the car service companies would have to pay their drivers per ride in order for them to earn $17.22 an hour, up from the current average of $14.06. The study determined that $17.22 an hour for independent contractors like drivers is the equivalent to $15 an hour for full-time employees whose payroll taxes and vacation time are covered by their employer.
Still, drivers say it's too little too late.
"Yesterday I checked Uber its worth $72.5 billion and I can't even pay my rent tomorrow to my landlord, that is not right. Something has to be done," Uber driver Javier Amable, 57, said at a public hearing Wednesday.
Amable said the TLC should do more to regulate the ride hailing apps and ensure drivers earn a living wage.
Other drivers complained that the city should do more to lift the hourly wages of yellow cab drivers too.
"We have to fight, we have to survive together, if one of die, we all die," Bourema Niambele, a Via driver who used to drive a yellow taxi said.
The amount that drivers receive per ride would vary from one app-based company to another, based on how much time their drivers spend waiting for the next fare, the size of its fleet, and how much their drivers pay in expenses like insurance, gas and maintenance.
Uber and Lyft put out statements in praise of the effort, but disagreed with how the city calculated the wages increases, and were concerned about unintended consequences.
“We support efforts to raise driver earnings while ensuring that any new rules do not negatively impact service levels for riders, especially those outside of Manhattan," a spokesperson for Uber said in a statement.
During the hearing, Joseph Okpaku, Lyft's vice president of public policy, said the company would prefer a minimum payment be based on weekly wages, not per ride. He argued the city's proposal would encourage drivers to make more frequent and shorter trips in the most congested parts of the city. "Because drivers will be incentivized to spend their time in places like the Central Business District, they will be less likely to service communities of color and low-income neighborhoods," Okpaku said.