Uber is forcing drivers off the app even in the middle of a shift to keep wages down
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Ride-hailing platform Uber is reportedly taking steps to ban drivers from its app during periods of low demand in order to comply with wage rules enacted in New York in 2019.
Uber Locks Out New York Drivers Mid-Shift to Lower Minimum Pay - Bloomberg
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-06-24/uber-is-locking-out-new-york-city-drivers-mid-shift-to-lower-minimum-pay
Uber is locking New York drivers out of its apps and blaming a city pay rule
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https://www.pymnts.com/gig-economy/2024/uber-responds-to-nyc-minimum-pay-rule-with-driver-lockouts/
In New York, the New York Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC) enacted rules in 2019 that require car-hailing platforms, including Uber and Lyft, to pay drivers for the time they spend waiting for customers ( PDF file) .
To combat this rule, Uber has begun temporarily banning some drivers from the app if demand falls far short of supply starting in May 2024. Nikoloz Turkitze, an Uber driver, reports that he is 'banned from the app four to five times a day.'
Drivers' income has dropped significantly because they are no longer paid for the time they spend waiting for customers. 'Before, I could earn $300 to $350 for 10 hours of work. But now, I can only earn $170 for 10 hours of work. On top of that, I have to pay for gas, so I can barely earn any money,' Tsurkidze said.
Wesley Dolsanville, another Uber driver, said, 'I used to make $300 to $400 a shift, but now I make about $170 to $200 a shift.'
Lyft has also signaled its intention to join in, with Uber and Lyft blaming each other and TLC for the move to ban them from the app. Uber says that New York's rules are oddly making Uber responsible for Lyft's failures, while Lyft says that New York's current pay formula is broken, and Uber wants the rules changed to work against Lyft.
Meanwhile, Bhairavi Desai, president of the New York Taxi Union, said, 'Uber's hiring of too many drivers is the root cause of these hardships for drivers. Uber is using TCL's rules to game the system by locking drivers out of the app while they're waiting for customers, thus avoiding paying them. Our union will consider strike action if necessary.'
Foreign media outlet PYMNTS speculates that 'this move will not only make Uber, a popular service among users around the world, more expensive, but also make it less accessible.'
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