Lyft Inc. sued New York City to invalidate a new rule regarding the time Lyft drivers are allowed to pass Manhattan without any passengers. This was announced Saturday and was a move similar to its rival Uber.
The San Francisco-based company filed the lawsuit on the basis that the cruising regulation is arbitrary and may cause a shift of business from ride-hailing services to local taxis. Campbell Matthews, Lyft spokesman, said that this cruising cap rule is not going to address problems of congestion but will only affect riders and drivers in NYC.
The rule executed by NYC’s Taxi and Limousine Commission places a 31% limit on the number of Lyft drivers may drive without any passengers in Manhattan. This means that the vehicles must have passengers at least 69% of the time.
Allan Fromberg, TLC spokesman, stated that they would defend against this lawsuit, and they will remain in support for safer, less-congested roads and for proper rights among drivers. He also said that TLC had received the suit yet.
The cruising cap rule is one of the other rules introduced recently. These aimed to solve congestion in the city, especially in Manhattan, where ride-share cars compose a third of the traffic during peak time hours.
In September, Uber also challenged this rule as well as another one that bans the release of new licenses to for-hire cars through August next year. This year, Uber and Lyft have also disconnected drivers from their service to comply with the city’s rule during times of low demand.
Uber and Lyft are against these new rules stating that these only prevent drivers from making a living. They also noted that these laws also deprive low-income riders located in remote areas where taxis are unavailable. NYC denies these statements.
