Uber believes the NYC TLC used misleading inflation calculations to unlawfully push through an abnormal driver pay increase. Do they have a point or are they illegally delaying a driver pay raise?
What a hoot! Uber is now the child who killed his parents and is now crying he’s an orphan. Where do we begin. Let’s start with inflation. Whoever hasn’t seen or noticed an increase in prices of everything is either very wealthy or clueless. Yes, the TLC may be vague on what index it chose to base its fare increase but no one can deny prices haven’t increased. So, if Uber wants to split hairs over this data source or that data source the fact remains that NO index from the Department of Labor even comes close to the actual inflation that is occurring. Those governmental statistics are designed to benefit the government and they have been underestimating actual inflation for decades now. The Department of Labor has played and played with those statistics for so long that today’s CPI is not your parents’ CPI nor your grandparents. We, including those wealthy folks at Uber, can all agree prices have risen and risen fast. Drivers deserve an increase and, quite frankly, the increase we’re supposedly getting will not be enough in short time. If Uber and the TLC want to split hairs over which numbers are right, then they’ll both be wrong. The inflation is HIGHER than the data they’re arguing over. The scalp where those splitting hairs come from is swelling by the day.
Uber has a lot of nerve to call an entity uncooperative. I will not go into Uber’s magnificent history around the world of plopping themselves into markets without barely a discussion with government officials or regulators. They would invade markets more fiercely than a January 6 coup and make government regulators bend to their will. Look, no one is crazy about the TLC but in this case they are trying to do right by drivers. Don’t ever expect Uber to do that.
I drove this past Saturday night and, excluding tolls, these were my percentages of what I kept of the upfront fare for five trips while driving mostly in a red surge zone: 58%, 48%, 57%, 43%, and 48%. I used to get 80%. Others used to get 75%. Meaning, Uber used to make a decent living on 20-25%. Uber can decide not raise passenger fare prices and they will be fine. Their profit margins may squeeze a bit but they’re not going out of business. They can also pass on the increase to their customers. That’s their choice and these are the decisions ALL BUSINESSES are now faced in this tough inflationary environment. This is a three legged stool: Uber, customer, and driver. Who should absorb this inflation? Well, that’s a philosophical question but as a driver I believe it’s wholly unfair that not only are my costs going up but Uber is giving me painfully much less per fare than what I used to make. Needless to say, Uber can cry me a river. They’ve been ripping off drivers for years now.
How Uber decides to absorb these increases is their business. I am 100% confident this will do little damage to their NYC business. Sure, passengers may at first balk at increases if Uber decides to pass them on but this is not the first time this has happened and the increases are modest. By my calculations the increases are 10-11%. Drivers have also compromised on the increases as well. It was proposed drivers get a 34% increase in distance and we settled for 24% instead. Had the 34% gone into effect drivers would have seen average increases per ride of 15-19%, which is realistically where inflation actually is. So, it can be argued drivers left money on the table and this increase will not suffice soon if inflation continues at this pace.
We are all working together to try to get over this inflation hump. Uber needs to do their part as well. Attempting a legal action that is surely going nowhere and just before the holidays is extremely Grinch-like and will only further sour that already threadbare relationship Uber has with their driver “partners” in NYC, their flagship market no less. This is not good for Uber’s brand and I plead with them to withdraw this petition.
“A rate increase of this magnitude may very likely result in higher rider fares…Those higher fares, in turn, will depress the number of rides requested through the Uber platform. Fewer requested rides translates into fewer opportunities for Drivers to earn fees. The Challenged Rule could very well have the effect of harming Driver earnings, undermining the purpose of these regulations.”
- excerpt from Uber legal petition against NYC Taxi & Limousine Commission (Dec 9 2022)
This is coming from the same company that used to slash rates across NYC and said you could make more money that way. Then they did upfront pricing and kept more of the increases in fares they passed on to their passengers. Uber knows exactly where the numbers are to shoo away price conscious passengers. They could care less how much drivers make. Their reputation is renowned for this around the world. Uber loves a driver that doesn’t understand basic business principles nor math.
this site is pro uber, it is absolutely within the rights of the tlc to set it rules for licensing and rate criteria as it chooses , it must not allow Uber to undercut taxis by letting taxi rates go higher while Uber’s stay low and gain ridership
The bottom line
Uber hasn’t got a chance , uber is a for profit and cannot ask for government help in order to increase their profits
The courts will conclude that if uber doesnt like it they can leave and not ask the tlc for a license
What a hoot! Uber is now the child who killed his parents and is now crying he’s an orphan. Where do we begin. Let’s start with inflation. Whoever hasn’t seen or noticed an increase in prices of everything is either very wealthy or clueless. Yes, the TLC may be vague on what index it chose to base its fare increase but no one can deny prices haven’t increased. So, if Uber wants to split hairs over this data source or that data source the fact remains that NO index from the Department of Labor even comes close to the actual inflation that is occurring. Those governmental statistics are designed to benefit the government and they have been underestimating actual inflation for decades now. The Department of Labor has played and played with those statistics for so long that today’s CPI is not your parents’ CPI nor your grandparents. We, including those wealthy folks at Uber, can all agree prices have risen and risen fast. Drivers deserve an increase and, quite frankly, the increase we’re supposedly getting will not be enough in short time. If Uber and the TLC want to split hairs over which numbers are right, then they’ll both be wrong. The inflation is HIGHER than the data they’re arguing over. The scalp where those splitting hairs come from is swelling by the day.
Uber has a lot of nerve to call an entity uncooperative. I will not go into Uber’s magnificent history around the world of plopping themselves into markets without barely a discussion with government officials or regulators. They would invade markets more fiercely than a January 6 coup and make government regulators bend to their will. Look, no one is crazy about the TLC but in this case they are trying to do right by drivers. Don’t ever expect Uber to do that.
I drove this past Saturday night and, excluding tolls, these were my percentages of what I kept of the upfront fare for five trips while driving mostly in a red surge zone: 58%, 48%, 57%, 43%, and 48%. I used to get 80%. Others used to get 75%. Meaning, Uber used to make a decent living on 20-25%. Uber can decide not raise passenger fare prices and they will be fine. Their profit margins may squeeze a bit but they’re not going out of business. They can also pass on the increase to their customers. That’s their choice and these are the decisions ALL BUSINESSES are now faced in this tough inflationary environment. This is a three legged stool: Uber, customer, and driver. Who should absorb this inflation? Well, that’s a philosophical question but as a driver I believe it’s wholly unfair that not only are my costs going up but Uber is giving me painfully much less per fare than what I used to make. Needless to say, Uber can cry me a river. They’ve been ripping off drivers for years now.
How Uber decides to absorb these increases is their business. I am 100% confident this will do little damage to their NYC business. Sure, passengers may at first balk at increases if Uber decides to pass them on but this is not the first time this has happened and the increases are modest. By my calculations the increases are 10-11%. Drivers have also compromised on the increases as well. It was proposed drivers get a 34% increase in distance and we settled for 24% instead. Had the 34% gone into effect drivers would have seen average increases per ride of 15-19%, which is realistically where inflation actually is. So, it can be argued drivers left money on the table and this increase will not suffice soon if inflation continues at this pace.
We are all working together to try to get over this inflation hump. Uber needs to do their part as well. Attempting a legal action that is surely going nowhere and just before the holidays is extremely Grinch-like and will only further sour that already threadbare relationship Uber has with their driver “partners” in NYC, their flagship market no less. This is not good for Uber’s brand and I plead with them to withdraw this petition.
Happy Holidays.
“A rate increase of this magnitude may very likely result in higher rider fares…Those higher fares, in turn, will depress the number of rides requested through the Uber platform. Fewer requested rides translates into fewer opportunities for Drivers to earn fees. The Challenged Rule could very well have the effect of harming Driver earnings, undermining the purpose of these regulations.”
- excerpt from Uber legal petition against NYC Taxi & Limousine Commission (Dec 9 2022)
This is coming from the same company that used to slash rates across NYC and said you could make more money that way. Then they did upfront pricing and kept more of the increases in fares they passed on to their passengers. Uber knows exactly where the numbers are to shoo away price conscious passengers. They could care less how much drivers make. Their reputation is renowned for this around the world. Uber loves a driver that doesn’t understand basic business principles nor math.
this site is pro uber, it is absolutely within the rights of the tlc to set it rules for licensing and rate criteria as it chooses , it must not allow Uber to undercut taxis by letting taxi rates go higher while Uber’s stay low and gain ridership
The bottom line
Uber hasn’t got a chance , uber is a for profit and cannot ask for government help in order to increase their profits
The courts will conclude that if uber doesnt like it they can leave and not ask the tlc for a license