NY Judge Blocks TLC Fare Hike

By Matis Glenn

A Manhattan judge issued a temporary injunction against fare hikes for app-based and yellow taxi cabs citywide, after a lawsuit was filed last week by rideshare giant Uber.

Justice Arthur Engoron ruled that the proposed rate hikes, passed in November by the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission would be shelved until a hearing on January 31. The changes were set to go into effect December 19.

The planned fare raises would include new mandatory driver pay rates in app-based rideshare platforms of 7 percent per minute, and 24 percent per mile. Base fares for yellow cabs will increase from $2.50 to $3.00, and every meter unit – 1/5 of a mile – will go from $.50 to $.70.

Uber said in its lawsuit that the driver rate increases are “arbitrary and capricious,” alleging that the TLC used skewed methods to adjust pay rates for inflation in favor of drivers, and that it refused to provide documentation of those figures. Uber further called the hikes “dramatic, unprecedented, and unsupported.” Uber also said that some of the figures used in the calculation, notably gas prices, have markedly trended down from earlier this year.

“Drivers do critical work and deserve to be paid fairly, but rates should be calculated in a way that is transparent, consistent, and predictable,” Uber spokesperson Josh Gold said in a statement to AM NY. “Existing TLC rules continue to provide for an annual review tied to the rate of inflation; the for-hire vehicle industry is the only industry in New York State with this mandate.”

TLC Commissioner David Do said that despite the setback, the agency will continue to fight for the increases, and will appeal the ruling.

“We are disappointed for the tens of thousands of drivers who are once again being made to bear the rising costs of inflation all on their own, with no help from the multibillion-dollar company they work under,” Do said in a statement. “We will aggressively defend this important standard for our drivers.”

Uber also said that the pay rate increases would force it to raise fares by 10 percent to make up the difference, a move which will “irreparably damage Uber’s reputation,” and “risk permanent loss of business and customers.”

Drivers’ unions, looking forward to the pay bump, were far from happy.

“While Uber has been recording record profits on its rideshare business, the drivers who make the service work have been stuck shouldering soaring expenses on their own,” Independent Drivers Guild President Brendan Sexton told AM NY. “We fought hard to win this desperately needed increase to the minimum pay — and we will not let a billion-dollar corporation snatch that victory from the 80,000 rideshare drivers who keep our city moving.”