Comptroller Lander & Taxi Workers Alliance Demand an End to Uber & Lyft’s Cruel “Locking Out” of Drivers...

Comptroller Lander & Taxi Workers Alliance Demand an End to Uber & Lyft's Cruel "Locking Out" of Drivers to Skirt Pay Rules

New York City Comptroller Brad Lander and New York Taxi Workers Alliance (TWA) are demanding an end to Uber and Lyft's cruel practice of "locking out" drivers, arbitrarily barring drivers from accessing their apps to work. Uber and Lyft implemented these lock-outs to exploit a loophole in New York City's driver minimum pay law, which requires the apps to pay drivers for their time in-between trips.

An investigationby Bloomberg found that Uber and Lyft lockouts already significantly reduced income for drivers, leading to longer hours for less pay, inability to pay rent and bills, increased credit card debt, and worsening mental health. In addition, by artificially inflating their "utilization rate" through lock-outs, the rideshare apps could cheat drivers collectively out of over $1 billion dollars annually going forward.

"I was proud to sponsor New York City's first-in-the-country minimum pay legislation to make sure for-hire vehicle drivers can earn a living wage - and we won't stand by as Uber and Lyft dodge our regulations with cruel, arbitrary lock-outs that exploit drivers and pad their profits," said Comptroller Brad Lander.

"Uber/Lyft left drivers in anxiety, insecurity, on the brink of evictions, debt and despair from lockouts - and low pay - since this summer," said Bhairavi Desai, Executive Director & Co-Founder of NYTWA. "And they're using lockouts to rob drivers of $5K-$8K in income next year. We won't stand for it and after months of protests we are no longer alone. We have the Comptroller to demand accountability by the TLC and do right by the drivers."

New York City's minimum pay rates for Uber and Lyft drivers were the first in the country and established in legislation sponsored by then-Council Member Brad Lander in 2018. Prior to passage of the law, drivers were earning as little as $6 per hour, largely as a result of the failure of the app companies to pay them for time spent waiting for rides. The law led to significant increases in driver paywithout discouraging customers by significantly increasing prices or wait times.

The arbitrary lock-outs, which have increased over the past year, cheat drivers both individually and collectively. By locking drivers out of their apps after they complete a trip, or for arbitrary periods of several hours, Uber and Lyft make it impossible for their workers to conduct stable shifts, get paid in full for the hours they are working, and earn a living.

At a broader level, the lock-outs are part of a strategy by Uber and Lyft to cheat New York City's law and reduce driver pay by artificially increasing their official "utilization rate," the percentage of time Uber and Lyft drivers are busy with passengers, that the NYC Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC) uses to insure that drivers are paid in full for the hours they work. The TLC looks at data provided by Uber and Lyft on drivers' work hours and trips to determine the year's utilization rate and applies it to the pay rates the following year, to ensure that the rate drivers earn for each trip covers the average time they are waiting for trips. By locking drivers out, Uber and Lyft are manipulating how many drivers appear to be waiting for a ride, in order to artificially increase the utilization rate and reduce pay rates for next year.

Lander and the TWA are committed to working together to win changes to TLC rules and City Council legislation that will close this loophole. A few weeks ago, Comptroller Lander sent a letterto the TLC asking for raw trip data, income data, compliance, and communications between the Adams Administration and the apps regarding lock outs, in order to provide the data needed to develop such policies.

"As the Council Member representing Brooklyn's Little Bangladesh in Kensington, a community with hundreds of working-class immigrant taxi workers, I am outraged by Uber and Lyft's blatant efforts to undermine fair pay through unjust lockouts and deactivations," said Council Member Shahana Hanif. "These tactics are exploitative, aimed at cheating drivers out of their hard-earned wages. We must hold these companies accountable and ensure that drivers, who are the backbone of these platforms, are protected from such manipulation. I thank Comptroller Brad Lander and NYTWA for shining a light on this issue and calling it out as it deserves."

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