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New York City Just Voted To Cap Uber and Lyft Vehicles and Require Drivers To Be Paid a Minimum Wage (cnbc.com)

Posted by msmash on from the taking-a-stand dept.

New York City Council passed regulations on ride-hail companies on Wednesday, capping the number of vehicles on the road for one year and requiring that drivers to be paid a minimum wage. From a report: Council Speaker Corey Johnson said earlier that the regulations are intended to protect drivers, fairly regulate the industry and reduce congestion. The year-long cap on new licenses for ride-hailing vehicles will take place while the Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC) studies the effects of ride-hail service in the city. The cap would not apply to new wheelchair-accessible vehicles or new vehicles serving an area demonstrating need in a way that does not increase congestion. App-based ride services account for 80,000 vehicles in New York City, and provide 17 million rides per month, according to a study by The New School for the TLC. The surge in ridership coincided with increased resident frustration with the local subway system. With the move on Wednesday, New York City, the largest American market for Uber, has become the first major American city to restrict the number of ride-hail vehicles and to establish pay rules for drivers. In a statement issued moments ago, New York Mayor Bill de Blasio said," Our city is directly confronting a crisis that is driving working New Yorkers into poverty and our streets into gridlock. The unchecked growth of app-based for-hire vehicle companies has demanded action -- and now we have it."

15 of 247 comments (clear)

  1. Sounds fair by WillAffleckUW · · Score: 4, Interesting

    According to statistics, a reasonable minimum wage adjusted from 1971 for NYC would be $40 an hour.

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    1. Re:Sounds fair by Archangel+Michael · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Why pick 1971? Why not pick 1938 when Min wage was first enacted into national law. That wage was $.25 / hr. Adjusted for Inflation that is just under $5 / hr. Thus proving that cherry picking is fun.

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      Agent K: A *person* is smart. People are dumb, stupid, panicky animals, and you know it.
    2. Re:Sounds fair by Cederic · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Allowing desperate people to hurt themselves is poor governance.

      I'm not a fan of the nanny state but I do recognise that many people have poor judgement and need some protection from those that would exploit them.

      Uber exploit people.

  2. Drivers will use wheelchair accessible vehicles by xack · · Score: 4, Insightful

    So the number of vehicles will still increase. Plus Uber will add more “administrative” fees to cover the wage increase.

    1. Re:Drivers will use wheelchair accessible vehicles by Actually,+I+do+RTFA · · Score: 5, Insightful

      So, what your saying is that Uber riders have to pay more, and my taxes no longer subsidize their drivers (through food stamps, etc.)? The free market gets to work?

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    2. Re:Drivers will use wheelchair accessible vehicles by CanHasDIY · · Score: 4, Insightful

      So, what your saying is that Uber riders have to pay more, and my taxes no longer subsidize their drivers (through food stamps, etc.)? The free market gets to work?

      My kingdom for a mod point.

      --
      An enigma, wrapped in a riddle, shrouded in bacon and cheese
  3. A study shows ... by WoodstockJeff · · Score: 4, Interesting

    ... that studies cause problems.

    Last week we had the story that said Uber was keeping people off the subways.

    Now a new ordinance that blames people's increasing frustration with subway problems with the rise of Uber.

    So it is imperative to force people back onto the subways they're frustrated with...

    THAT will fix it!

    1. Re:A study shows ... by originalGMC · · Score: 5, Informative

      Subways in Japan are very nearly perfect, for the modern man. For the future man, who knows? Why would any city try to reinvent the wheel when something so near perfection exists? Emulate!

  4. 54.5 cents per mile + NY MINWAGE + full insurance by Joe_Dragon · · Score: 4, Insightful

    54.5 cents per mile + NY MINWAGE + full insurance will hurt them big time.

  5. Fix the god damn trains! by SumDog · · Score: 5, Insightful

    New York is one of like 2 to 3 US cities with an actual train system and it's falling apart.

    I'm fine with capping Uber and requiring minimum wage, but for god sake fix Penn Station, dump a shit ton of money into the degrading subway system and invest in that critical infrastructure!

    1. Re:Fix the god damn trains! by Ichijo · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Are roads any different? Texas couldn't find even one road that pays for itself. How can you expect transit to compete with that?

      Yes, roads benefit people who don't use them, but so does transit by making room for more cars on the road. (People say that transit reduces traffic congestion but this is just as false as the idea that road projects reduce traffic congestion.)

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      Any sufficiently unpopular but cohesive argument is indistinguishable from trolling.
  6. The real minimum wage is zero by SuperKendall · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I wonder how all of the drivers no longer able to drive because of the car cap will feel about being paid more per hour for driving 0 hours.

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    "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
  7. Re:54.5 cents per mile + NY MINWAGE + full insuran by bobbied · · Score: 4, Insightful

    54.5 cents per mile + NY MINWAGE + full insurance will hurt them big time.

    Which is why the Taxi Companies pushed so hard for this.

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    "File to fit, pound to insert, paint to match" - Aircraft Maintenance 101
  8. Re:The tighter your grip... by DRJlaw · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Go ahead New York, go and regulate these services. All that means is another one will come in to take their place.

    And be identically regulated, because these regulations are not specific to Lyft and Uber.

    They might structure their business plan to avoid the rules, or simply ignore them because enforcement is impossible.

    Enforcement is quite possible. Summon driver through the app. Ticket driver. Enough tickets, impound vehicle. Heck, ticket the service that sent the request to the driver while you're at it. Hard to be anonymous publishing an app. Hard to run a service like this without an app.

    You want to tell people that they can't drive a friend to the airport? Good luck with that.

    Because that is what is happening. I remember just last week when I wrote an app so that my friend could ask me for a ride to the airport... Oh wait... they call or text me, specifically.

    I hate the whole concept of a minimum wage. The minimum wage has been and always will be zero dollars. No law will change that.

    Ah yes, I see. You're a denizen of libertarian fantasyland. I'll be moving on now...

  9. Wrong as usual by SuperKendall · · Score: 4, Insightful

    You are a very confused man, because I am talking about the fact that NYC has specifically eliminated driving jobs, not arguing about the minimum wage per se (though actually you are also wrong there).

    Reality has a bias towards reality, not myth.

    It sure does, which is why I post about reality, not the mythical fairyland your mind inhabits. I mean if you can't even distinguish between an abstract concept like minimum wage and a specific cap on a class of jobs - how can you seriously claim to be grounded in reality?

    I'll let you have the last response as I can only do so much to try and introduce the deluded to reality, and I have given you as much help as is warranted. The rest is up to you, good luck!

    --
    "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley