NYC Trying to Clamp Down on Growth of Ride-Hailing Apps, Again

Members of the New York City Council have introduced a myriad of bills in an effort to slow down the growth of app-based ride hailing services like Uber and Lyft.

One bill introduced by Council member Stephen Levin would cap the number of licenses issued for new vehicles. Another bill introduced by Ruben Diaz Sr. would require each driver to pay a $2,000 annual fee. 

The last time the city tried to rein in ride-hailing apps was 2015, when Mayor Bill de Blasio backed a cap on the number of for-hire vehicles in New York, only to call off a vote in the City Council at the last minute. The reversal came after fierce lobbying and an aggressive media campaign from Uber and other ride-hailing companies.

At the time, Uber agreed to contribute its data to a study commissioned by the city that would crunch the numbers on congestion before any new limits on the ride-sharing industry. When the study was released in January 2016, it said ride-hailing apps like Uber did not contribute to increasing congestion and the slower traffic speeds measured in Manhattan.

But then came an independent report last year, which found the opposite. 

Mayor de Blasio remains lukewarm on the new legislation being proposed in the City Council.

“We welcome the conversation on how best to regulate app-based for-hire vehicles," Seth Stein, a spokesman wrote in a statement. "But have concerns about the financial burden and the limitation on sources of work that would be imposed on drivers."

Taxi and Limousine Commissioner Meera Joshi is less circumspect. She has lamented the decline in revenue for yellow cabs, and the recent suicides of four cab drivers, one of whom specifically blamed the financial hardships since Uber's rise. Speaking at New York Law School recently, Joshi said competition in the industry is at an all-time high. In 2010 the city had about 100,000 drivers and 50,000 vehicles. Now there are 180,000 drivers and 130,000 vehicles, and she squarely blames the ride-hailing apps.

"Without limits from this Council, we have every reason to believe this steady growth will continue and the challenges associated with this growth will get larger and more consequential," she testified at City Hall this week.

Uber has voiced support for a congestion pricing plan being pushed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo's administration. But the company has been critical of the various measures before the City Council that aim to cap its growth.

"This bill is a cynical attempt to force drivers out of the industry and deny riders the reliable service they have come to enjoy in all five boroughs," Danielle Filson, a spokesperson for Uber wrote in a statement. "This bill would make drivers pay the city $2,000 a year, take away their ability to earn money with multiple apps and car services, and restrict service to specific neighborhoods. New Yorkers who live in a neighborhood ignored by taxis and underserved by public transit would be hung out to dry.”