A judge temporarily blocked wage increases for Uber and Lyft drivers imposed by the New York City Taxi & Limousine Commission, dealing a blow to workers ahead of the holidays.
(Bloomberg) — A judge temporarily blocked wage increases for Uber and Lyft drivers imposed by the New York City Taxi & Limousine Commission, dealing a blow to workers ahead of the holidays.
The increase was supposed to go into effect on Dec. 19 but will be put on hold until a Jan. 31 hearing on Uber’s bid to suspend the rule while the case is being litigated, according to a filing.
The decision is a partial victory for Uber Technologies Inc., which sued the NYC TLC last week to block an increase in rates per-mile and per-minute that the agency approved in November. Uber called the increase “dramatic, unprecedented and unsupported,” and said the rate hike would result in additional expenses of $21 million to $23 million a month and higher fares for customers.
“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 multi-billion-dollar company they work under,” TLC Commissioner David Do said in a statement. “We will aggressively defend this important standard for our drivers.”
The TLC regulates all ride-sharing in the city, across taxis and app-based platforms. Wage increases for taxi drivers will kick in as planned.
Pay rates for Uber and Lyft Inc. drivers were set to increase by 7% per minute and 24% per mile, according to the TLC, with a sample trip of 30 minutes and 7.5 miles requiring a minimum payment of $27.15. Uber said the city’s calculation of the per mile rate increase is misleading and is actually 16%, taking into account mandated annual adjustments implemented in 2020 and 2022.
“Drivers do critical work and deserve to be paid fairly, but rates should be calculated in a way that is transparent, consistent and predictable,” an Uber spokesman said in a statement.
The latest decision is a disappointment for the more than 85,000 ride-share drivers in New York who have grappled with soaring inflation and higher gas prices this year.
“This is a nasty stunt for Uber to pull on its drivers— especially right before the holidays,” said Brendan Sexton, president of the Independent Drivers Guild, in a statement. “Even this would make Scrooge blush.”
–With assistance from Chris Dolmetsch and Skylar Woodhouse.
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