Uber’s critics in the city tried to throw up roadblocks to a bill that would let the app-based car service giant roll into the rest of New York.
At a roundtable talk with cab industry officials and state Assembly lawmakers on Monday, Uber faced pushback from its taxi and livery car competition over a bill they argue would allow less stringent driver background checks, rider safety standards and insurance coverage than the city requires for the app’s drivers.
Avik Kabessa, founder of the Livery Roundtable, a group representing community car companies, argued the bill falls short on safety rules like background checks and vehicle inspections compared to New York City’s requirements.
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“I would hate to be the one that explains to anybody’s daughter that was raped, that (in) upstate, we cannot enforce,” Kabessa said. “If you think that the driver, any driver, should be less regulated, put it on everybody.”
Bhairavi Desai, director of the New York Taxi Workers Alliance, fiercely slammed Uber’s operations for offering cheaper insurance coverage that could leave drivers and riders vulnerable in case of an accident.
“It’s not about new economics, it’s actually as old as economics gets,” Desai said. “It’s about cutting expenses from consumer protection and labor protection so these corporations can basically make an extra buck.”
Disability advocates present at the meeting also said there needs to be a requirement for these app-based car providers to require the use of cars that are accessible to people who use wheelchairs.
Uber is revving for the upstate market.
The app’s New York City manager, Josh Mohrer, on Tuesday will join upstate lawmakers and business groups to build support for a statewide expansion.
Nicole Benincasa, an Uber policy official, said that upstate New York is “our last frontier.”
Uber is pushing a statewide bill for New York to let the company operate as a true “ride share” company the way it does elsewhere in the country, with people using their personal cars with commercial insurance to pick up passengers and make cash on the side. The bill would leave New York City’s regulations untouched.
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A statewide bill is needed, Benincasa said, because “we can’t function under those regulatory regimes” in cities and towns around New York.
She pointed to 25 other states where regulations authorizing transportation network companies passed, allowing Uber to hit the road there.
“We should be looking at that as a model,” she said.
After the discussion, Uber spokeswoman Alix Anfang said the tech-fueled car service app would be a boon to the upstate economy and provide better transportation.
“It is hardly new or surprising that big taxi and other special interests resist any change to the status quo, even when it’s better for riders and drivers,” she said. “In communities across the nation, Uber has created new and better economic opportunities for drivers and offered riders the ability to get a safe, affordable and reliable way around their communities.”
