Uber’s lawsuit challenging the city’s one-year cap on the number of app-based for-hire vehicles could be headed for a spin out.
Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Lyle Frank allowed four Uber and taxi drivers to intervene in the case last month, which allows them to argue that eliminating the cap would cripple their already troubled livelihoods.
They want New Yorkers to understand their side of the story before the lawsuit’s next scheduled hearing on July 15.
Amara Sangono, an Uber and Lyft driver who previously leased a taxi for 12 years, said his income has leveled off since the cap has been in place, but he still works 13-hour days to make ends meet.
“You have too many cars floating around right now,” said Sangono. “Allowing these cars to flood the city means the drivers are making less.
Uber has argued the city’s cap is unfair for New Yorkers outside of Manhattan, where it’s harder to hail a taxi. The company also claimed in the suit that the city did not have any evidence the cap would impact congestion, “the problem the city was ostensibly acting to solve.”
Allowing the plaintiffs to intervene throws a wrench in that argument, according to the drivers’ lawyer Zubin Soleimany. “Drivers were among the intended beneficiaries of the law,” he said. “The drivers now have equal footing with the city when it comes to defending this law moving forward.”
Uber spokesman Harry Hartfield argued that the city’s rules force many drivers to rent one the cars currently allowed to make app-based hails, which can be more costly than owning a car.
“The city’s current cap has effectively created a modern medallion system, locking many drivers into exorbitant rental fees that cost them thousands of dollars a year,” said Hartfield.
Bhairavi Desai, executive director of the New York Taxi Workers Alliance, thought Uber’s stance was disingenuous.
“The judge granting the intervention is an acknowledgement that drivers have a real stake in the cap as it’s meant to protect their livelihoods,” said Desai. “Drivers don’t survive economically without regulation on fares and expenses and the number of vehicles. If the biggest companies are let out of the formula, everybody suffers.”
