New York City’s law from August 2018 limited the duration of allowed ‘cruising’ time for drivers without passengers, which resulted in a lawsuit from both Uber and Lyft.
Recent reports have revealed that another ride-hailing firm, Lyft, is suing New York City due to limitations regarding the amount of time that they are allowed to spend while roaming around the city without passengers. Lyft allegedly filed a lawsuit this Friday, calling for the withdrawal of this ‘highly-damaging’ cruising rule.
According to Lyft’s spokeswoman, Campbell Matthews, Lyft offers comprehensive congestion pricing, and that is the best way for the company to go about reducing traffic. However, a new approach that is enforced upon the company by the regulations represents a significant step backward, and it is actually damaging the NYC transportation.
The spokeswoman also pointed out that the new rule will not really help reduce traffic in the city, and that it doesn’t represent a serious attempt to do so. It would only hurt both riders, as well as drivers in New York.
The law was originally passed back in August 2018, and it limited the number of cars that companies such as Lyft and Uber can have driving around the city. New York’s Mayor, Bill de Blasio, stated that the rule was designed to fight congestion, as well as provide the drivers with higher wages. Originally, the law was supposed to expire by August 2019, but the city decided to extend it indefinitely earlier this year, in June.
Not only that, but the city also decided that cars can be passenger-less only for about 31% of the time. While this rule doesn’t apply after 11 pm, or for electric and wheelchair-enabled vehicles, it still represents a serious issued for Uber and Lyft.
As a result, Uber launched a lawsuit last month, and now — Lyft joined in. Lyft also claims that the rule is based on unreliable, outdated information and that it is unfair that it doesn’t apply to taxis, which are a bigger problem than Lyft itself. Meanwhile, a TLC spokesman responded by saying that the rule will be vigorously defended.
What do you think about this dilemma? Do you think that Uber and Lyft are wrong for wanting to eliminate this law? Let us know in the comments below.
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