MANHATTAN (CN) - The New York City Council passed a package of bills Wednesday that made it the first major city in the U.S. to put a temporary cap on new vehicles for hire, like Uber and Lyft.
A few hours before a council vote where the primary cap bill passed 39-6, four members of the New York City Council hosted a press conference in City Hall this afternoon touting the legislation package that calls for a year-long study on the city’s ride-for-hire industry before companies can add new drivers to the city’s already congested roads. The Taxi and Limousine Commission will conduct the study.
The number of Uber, Lyft, Via and similar vehicles on the city’s streets has exploded in recent years, from 12,600 in 2015 to more than 80,000 now, according to data from the Taxi and Limousine Commission cited in Bloomberg. More cars mean more of them drive around empty, increasing congestion and emissions.
“This is about supporting and uplifting drivers,” said City Council Speaker Corey Johnson at a press conference before Wednesday’s vote. “In my heart, I believe that it is the best path forward. It represents the broad outlines of what we think our next step should be in this industry.”
The bills make some exceptions: for example, companies could continue to add wheelchair-accessible vehicles without a cap during the study. During Wednesday’s meeting, one councilmember likened the cap instead to a “requirement for accessibility.” Currently, according to Councilmember Brad Lander, just 0.5 percent of for-hire vehicles in the city are accessible to people with wheelchairs.
The bills also call for reducing the fines on vehicles caught picking up passengers outside so-called “hail-exclusionary zones,” a measure which passed 42-3, and requiring minimum payments to drivers, which also passed 42-3. Two more bills, which both passed unanimously, waive licensing fees for accessible vehicles and add a new two-year license for vehicles regulated by the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission.
There were five bills in all, introduced by Councilmembers Ruben Diaz, Sr. (South Bronx), Steve Levin (Brooklyn) and Brad Lander (Brooklyn). Diaz is the council’s chairman of the Committee on For-Hire Vehicles. The bills are intended to regulate the for-hire vehicle industry in the city, primarily the companies Uber, Lyft, Juno and Via.
Speaker Johnson explained that the city will get quarterly reports on the study as it is carried out by the Taxi and Limousine Commission.
New Yorkers are split on the issue, with some saying the city should instead address other causes of its traffic-congestion crisis, such as by implementing congestion pricing in midtown Manhattan. The city’s residents are also widely frustrated with the crumbling subway system, which sometimes forces people to find alternate methods of transportation.
New York Mayor Bill de Blasio released a statement in support of the legislation.
“Our city is directly confronting a crisis that is driving working New Yorkers into poverty and our streets into gridlock. The unchecked growth of app-based for-hire vehicle companies has demanded action – and now we have it. More than 100,000 workers and their families will see an immediate benefit from this legislation,” he said.