New York strikes Uber deal: No cap during study

Despite Uber placing a “de Blasio” tab in its app, showing users potential wait times for rides if the mayor’s bill passed, de Blasio stood his ground, saying, “No company’s multi-billion-dollar political war chest gives it a blank check to skirt vital protections and oversight for New Yorkers”.

Uber has experienced massive growth in New York since its launch in 2011, growing to around 60,000 Uber cars in the city, up by 60 percent from when it launched. Uber has also agreed to maintain its approximate current rate of growth and not flood the streets with new licenses and vehicles.

The council proposal was designed to limit the growth of for-hire vehicle companies such as Uber to 1 per cent, pending a study of city traffic patterns.

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 wheelchair-accessible vehicles.

The move comes the day before a City council vote, which could have seen the cap imposed.

Ride accessibility has also attracted interest in Massachusetts and California, both of which are seeking data from Uber.

New York City Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, publicly known for criticizing de Blasio’s decisions, has fiercely supported the Uber industry and declared it “one of the great inventions of the new economy”. Ashton Kutcher, an Uber investor, has been among the loudest critics, but others, like actor Neil Patrick Harris and supermodel Kate Upton have also weighed in. Uber steadfastly opposed any cap, and unleashed a $3 million ad campaign against de Blasio, accusing him of being in the back pocket of the yellow taxi industry and ignoring minority riders in the outerboroughs who struggle to find taxis.

The Times reports that the city will now be conducting a four-month study about congestion, traffic, and pollution, which it said Uber may be contributing to.

A call to Uber for comment was not immediately returned.

Bhairavi Desai, the head of the New York Taxi Workers Alliance, a group represents drivers (not an official union), said she did not even hear about the Uber deal until it was publicly announced by the mayor’s office on Wednesday afternoon.

During the study period, Uber will share information “above and beyond what has previously been provided” with the city about its customers and usage – “with safeguards to protect privacy”.

NYC Uber operation will continue under a new agreement.

Earlier today, Transportation Committee Chair Ydanis Rodriguez told reporters that the Council had the necessary number of votes to pass the cap.