Why New York City could be a model for other cities regulating new for-hire vehicle licenses.
The largest market for Uber, Lyft, and other ride-hailing app companies—New York City—had its first successful attempt at regulating the growth of the nascent industry. On Aug. 8, the New York City Council passed a series of bills, notably one that places a one-year moratorium on the issue of new for-hire vehicle (FHV) licenses. Other bills establish minimum wage levels for ride-hailing service drivers; require FHVs to submit data on ridership with penalties for failure to do so; and create driver-assistance centers to provide counseling services.
New York City had little option to act, especially after a similar move by Mayor Bill de Blasio fell apart following intense lobbying by Uber. Increasing road congestion by cars was the biggest contributing factor to the passage of the bill capping new licenses, corroborated by a decline in subway ridership. The number of FHVs in the city had grown from 65,000 in 2015 to about 130,000 currently. Uber is the biggest gainer, as shown by its almost hockey-stick growth in ridership.
New York City took the right steps to regulate the FHV industry, according to Wharton professor of operations, information and decisions Senthil Veeraraghavan.
“This is the right way to go,” he says. “This is a great experiment that we’re [witnessing].”
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