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πΊπ TLC Hearing Highlights: "Uber TV" Should Allow Tipping, Rules Too Complex, Illegal Airport Rides, Flex Fare Approved
We summarize and highlight key moments during the public NYC TLC hearing on August 14th. Hearing focused on in-vehicle advertising. TLC set to revise rules and hold second public hearing.
NYC TLC will revise in-vehicle advertising rules, public testimony focused on simplifying regulations and letting passengers tip through a tablet
TLC will hold second public hearing on in-vehicle ad tablets, before final vote
Illegal hustling at NYC airports is a core focus of the TLC police
Flex Fare regulations pass, beginning new era for NYC taxis
In todayβs article weβll share highlights from the TLC Board of Commissioners public hearing held on Wednesday, August 14th at 10am.
The ~1.5 hour meeting can be divided into five parts, with the public hearing portion (~1 hour) focused on proposed in-vehicle (βtabletβ) advertising rules.
Introductory remarks
Approving new base applications
Presentation on illegal for-hire vehicle operations at NYC airports by Deputy Commissioner for Uniformed Services Bureau (USB), Ira Goldapper
Commission vote on proposed Flex Fare rules
Public hearing on proposed rules related to interior FHV advertising
The TLC uploaded the public hearing in three parts that are hard to exactly match up, but weβve tried our best. The goal of this article is to summarize the over 90 minute hearing into an easy to understand series of highlighted clips.
1. Introductory Remarks
In his introductory remarks, TLC Chair & Commissioner David Do briefly addressed Uber and Lyft NYC driver "lockoutsβ, or the inability of drivers to log onto the popular rideshare apps when and where they want.
βIf Uber and Lyft properly managed their onboarding of drivers they shouldnβt have had trouble meeting the utilization rates. Onboarding drivers, only to lock them out on the backend, is a harmful and frankly heartless way to manage drivers.β
- David Do, NYC TLC Chair & Commissioner
2. Three Base applications were approved β
by TLC Board
3. Illegal For-Hire Vehicle Operations At NYC Airports
Ira Goldapper, Deputy Commissioner for Uniformed Services Bureau (USB), presented (please see attached slide deck below) on TLCβs Enforcement Division operations at NYC airports. Mr. Goldapper focuses on:
Unlicensed for-hire trips (e.g., hustling, soliciting)
Illegal street hails (e.g., pickup is not pre-arranged )
Line cutting (e.g., skipping Central Taxi Hold Lot)
Drivers refusing to engage a taximeter (e.g., βoff the gridβ flat fare)
4. Flex Fare rules were approved β
by TLC Board
Yellow Cabs and Green Taxis can now officially offer upfront pricing on βe-hailedβ trips (e.g., yellow taxi can receive Uber trips). This is a big moment for the NYC taxi medallion π sector and can be seen as Uber and the taxi industry officially becoming partners. A public hearing about Flex Fare rule proposals was held on May 8th.
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5. In-Vehicle Advertising π£οΈ Public Hearing
During the nearly one hour of public testimony, it was clear (TLC Chair Do also acknowledged) that TLCβs proposed rules around in-vehicle advertising need to be significantly revised. At the end of the hearing Chair Do stated the regulator would hold a second public hearing before the TLC Board of Commissioners voted on a final rules package.
The main areas of public feedback revolved around:
Allowing passengers to tip via the tablet
Simplifying the proposed rules
Reassessing mandates around 15% of content needing to be TLC-provided
City Council Majority Leader Amanda FarΓas testifies
NYC Council Member and City Council Majority Leader Amanda FarΓas was the primary sponsor of the City Council Bill that became the law which allows for ad tablets in for-hire vehicles (FHVs). Remember, the TLC was against in-vehicle ad tablets being allowed, which is important context.
Ms. FarΓas appeared in person to give her testimony, which can be summarized as critical of TLCβs proposed rules which she views as not following the original intent of her legislation. Her criticism can be summarized as follows.
Concern about not allowing tipping on in-vehicle ad tablets
Mandating 15% of all content to be TLC-provided
The need to simplify reporting requirements
βIβm concerned that the proposed [TLC] rules on the agenda today stray from the original intent of my legislation. I want to make it clear that the intention of my legislation was not a suggestion and regulations set forth by the TLC must support our drivers and the industry as a whole.β
- Amanda FarΓas, NYC Council Member & City Council Majority Leader
Why canβt passengers tip through an in-vehicle ad tablet?
Bradford (Brad) Sayler, the Co-Founder of Octopus and current Head of Rideshare Media at T-Mobile, testified at the public hearing. His testimony was broken up into two parts when the TLC uploaded the public hearing video files, so weβve done our best to share his full testimony. Itβs confusing why the TLC uploaded the video like this and we wanted to flag it π©, in case this was done by mistake.
Mr. Saylerβs testimony combined with the testimony of Independent Driver Guild (IDG) Executive Director Andrew Greenblatt and the interactions with the TLC Board, were notable. Several interesting points were made.
Octopus / T-Mobile does not believe an ad tablet should be required (or be regulated) to take payments (i.e., payment processor).
Without a direct connection to Uber, Lyft or any base, it is impractical to facilitate trip-linked tipping on an in-vehicle tablet. For example, a passenger wants to give a 15% tip on a $30 Uber trip, but Octopus has no insight into the trip cost.
Passengers currently give trip-linked tips within a rideshare app. The pushback is if the tipping option is visually presented to a passenger on a larger tablet screen at the end of a trip (i.e., similar to a yellow cab), driver tips would increase.
Octopus / T-Mobile aims to generate money via passenger interaction and ads. Currently, there is no direct connection to a driverβs Uber or Lyft account.
βNYC TLC Chair David Do: Hypothetically, we write a ruleβ¦that tipping must be required within interior advertising [tablets], what happens?
Brad Sayler, T-Mobile Executive: We would be unable to do business in New York.β
- Interaction between NYC TLC Chair David Do and Brad Sayler, Co-Founder of Octopus and current Head of Rideshare Media at T-Mobile
βWhat [Uber & Lyft] informed us is thatβ¦the increase in [the driver] tip amount is greater than the amount of money [drivers] get from the ads.β
- Andrew Greenblatt, Independent Drivers Guild (IDG) Executive Director
One takeaway from the combined testimony above is that Uber and Lyft-supported ad tablets might be at a technical advantage vs. a third party ad tablet provider, such as T-Mobileβs Octopus. Octopus canβt easily link to passenger trip details or payment information. For example, a Lyft-supported ad tablet is probably easily linked to a Lyft driver and passenger(s) app during a trip. The Lyft passenger app would already have customer payment information, so showing trip-linked tipping options on a Lyft-supported ad tablet is likely easier.
It appears Octopusβ vision for the in-vehicle ad tablet market is one based on earning and sharing ad revenue. Frankly, Uber and Lyft-supported tablets could also do that, in addition to using their tablets to facilitate tipping.
The testimony raises some questions to whether Octopusβ (or other third party ad tablet providers) business model would maximize the financial benefits of in-vehicle advertising (i.e., mechanism to increase driver tips). TLC Chair David Do understood this point and his questions around how ad tablet providers like Octopus could facilitate trip-linked tips were intelligent.
Facilitating tipping via an in-vehicle ad tablet is a very complex topic. The TLC seems to understand it might unintentionally create winners and losers, based on whether a company has direct access to trip and passenger payment information.
We understand why the TLC is having difficulty creating rules around this topic.
How much do NYC passengers interact with in-vehicle ad tablets?
TLC Board Commissioner Sarah Kaufman asked Sayler (please see clip above) about how much passengers engaged with Octopus tablets in NYC. Technically these tablets are currently illegally installed π€, so itβs a bit of an odd question to ask.
We also mention this point because we know of several drivers who, very recently, got TLC summonses for having Octopus tablets in their vehicles.
T-Mobileβs Sayler revealed (not sure if NYC specific) that:
~1/3 of passengers touched an in-vehicle Octopus tablet
~1/3 of passengers passively watched the tablet
~1/3 of passengers didnβt engage the tablet
How much are drivers making off in-vehicle tablets?
There was some testimony around how much NYC TLC drivers are currently earning (technically illegally because TLC has not officially passed rules π€) from popular in-vehicle tablets (e.g., T-Mobileβs Octopus). Some insight was provided by a driver who said he made about $80 per month and another who said the amount varied based on how much someone drove.
Why canβt TLC rental companies make money on ad tablets?
Jeremy Moskovitz from Voyager Global Mobility (VGM), the owner of well known TLC rental companies Buggy and Fast Track Mobility, testified that the proposed rules seem to prohibit leasing companies from making any money from in-vehicle advertising.
He asked that the TLC amend (clarify) the rules to allow for rental companies, like VGM, to directly make deals with TLC-licensed advertisers. Mr. Moskovitz also clarified that any deal(s) would not impact drivers earning the minimum 25% of gross ad revenue.
TLC should amend ad rules & 15% TLC-provided content requirement
Michael Chow, Founder & CEO of Dart Technologies, which is involved in the in-vehicle ad market, gave testimony calling for the TLC to simplify its proposed rules. Mr. Chowβs discussion with the TLC Board of Commissioners on the proposal that 15% of in-vehicle advertising content be TLC-provided (e.g., NYC public service announcements (PSAs)), was noteworthy.
I watched the public hearing live and the connection got interrupted like 3 times, I wouldnβt be surprised of thats the reason TLC didnβt uploaded it in one piece, the platform they use for doesnβt seem to be the best one out there.
3- I really donβt know if the TLC has ever been this serious about enforcing any kind of what they define as Illegal activities at airports but it can contribute to a fair game for everybody if it is done the right away, Terminal 5 its like a whole other taxi industry in there π , it would be good if they also keep an eye at Hotels in the city.
4- Ironic right? Now yellow cabs can officially say the work or partner with Uber, while Uber continue to benefit from it UR wise.
5- I can understand why the whole tipping through the tablets itβs important at least from a drivers perspective, drivers have always have always been skeptical about whether Uber keeps some of the tips or not, and of course some marketing can be used through the tablets to encourage passengers to tip, on the other hand, you can correct me if I am wrong but it does complicates business for other providers more than what the rules proposed do already and make things easier for most likely Uber and Lyft since they can simply decide not to partner with these providers in order to allow THEIR customers to tip on someone elseβs tablet and as a consequence leverage their tablets as the only ones where passengers can tip. Tipping through the tablets will definitely give some automatic power to the apps across the interior advertising which its something the TLC needs to prevent.
I think letting the leasing companies make money on interior advertising is what seems fair (as long as drivers make the specified percentage just like VGM said), but can also understand why this matter can be complicated as well since the tablet providers will be put in a situation where later on they will complain about leasing companies not cutting a fair deal with them, causing them not being able to profit from it, or simply earning way less considering other factors along their deal with the leasing companies such as -25% for drivers, -15% (TBD) TLC provided content, minus operating costs, etc.
Hope rules proposed get amended to something thatβs fair and beneficial for everybody, specially if that can bring new tablet providers that will enter the business allowing drivers to earn more than the 25% as a way of gaining market share.