Uber Has Put A Hold On Pay Raises For NYC Drivers

On Tuesday, a Supreme Court judge approved a request from Uber to hold on to the rate increases scheduled to take effect on December 19. Last week the company filed a lawsuit against NYC Taxi & Limousine Commission over the pay rate hikes approved by the TLC in November. Describing the increases as “dramatic, unprecedented, and unsupported.”

“Such a significant fare hike, right before the holidays, would irreparably damage Uber’s reputation, impair goodwill, and risk permanent loss of business and customers,” the suit reads.

App drivers were disappointed as the decision put a hold on their pay rate increase of 7.8% for rides.

“This raise, which we fought really hard for, was really meant to help drivers who’ve been struggling between paying for food and gasoline,” as told to the Gothamist by Bhairavi Desai, executive director at the New York Taxi Workers Alliance. “And that’s the raise that Grinch Uber, in a very petty way, fought to take away from the drivers.”

According to the TLC, they will be appealing the decision.

“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 multibillion-dollar company they work under” TLC Commissioner David Do said. “We will aggressively defend this important standard for our drivers.”

Uber initially wanted to raise fares due to inflation and high gas prices earlier in the year. However, now that gas prices have “dropped substantially since their high,” a few months now.

“Drivers do critical work and deserve to be paid fairly, but rates should be calculated in a way that is transparent, consistent and predictable,” spokesperson Josh Gold said. “Existing TLC rules continue to provide for an annual review tied to the rate of inflation; the for-hire vehicle industry is the only industry in New York State with this mandate.”

The next hearing has been scheduled for January 31 between Uber and the city of New York.