Uber growth unhampered in surprise deal with NYC
by Newsmediaon July 26, 2015
After a fierce public battle between Uber and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, the two sides announced Wednesday that they’ve come to a mutual agreement. That made a recent plan by New York City’s mayor to cap the number of Uber cars on the road at any given time a problem, and after backlash the plan has been temporarily halted.
Uber will share information for the study “above and beyond what has previously been provided, with safeguards to protect privacy”. For Uber, this would mean adding just 201 new drivers for the next year.
The company also added a “de Blasio feature” to the Uber app, which displayed that fewer available cars and longer wait times would be likely under the proposed growth limits.
The company had depicted Mr.de Blasio as a protector of the yellow taxi industry, whose leaders have been significant campaign contributors. The company had denied suggestions by the city council that it had slowed traffic in Manhattan.
Uber NYC General Manager Josh Mohrer, in a statement, called the agreement great news.
“Today the administration, City Council and Uber have agreed to a framework that will advance the city’s vital policy goals for passengers, drivers and the public”, said Deputy Mayor Anthony Shorris, in a statement.
The city council had been considering whether to put this cap into practice while undertaking a four-month study on transportation in New York.
Meanwhile, activists were expected to gather at City Hall late Wednesday to amplify some of the administration’s other talking points, including Uber’s lack of benefits for its drivers, its lack of a surcharge to help fund transit projects and its lack of widespread handicap accessibility. As temperatures rose past 90 degrees on subway platforms in the summer heat, New Yorkers groaned about the proposed bill on Facebook.
A cap in New York City – one of Uber’s biggest markets in the U.S – would have been a major hit to the company, which is valued at $50 billion. Since then, the number of for-hire vehicles has grown to more than 63,000 – of which about 20,000 are connected to Uber, according to Taxi and Limousine Commission figures quoted by the New York Times. They said a cap could still be imposed if Uber reneges on the agreement.
The councilman said this week’s accord was important, but pointed out “whether or not this is a positive or negative agreement for the city will depend on whether the mayor reshapes how the 1970s for-hire vehicle industry is now structured”. And the company’s seemingly ubiquitous ads its service to minority riders in outer boroughs – de Blasio’s political base.
http://www.dispatchtimes.com/uber-growth-unhampered-in-surprise-deal-with-nyc/19402/
