🔓 Uber Lockouts Unlikely, TLC Drops Utilization Floor Before Vote

TLC has revised its driver pay rules, decreasing utilization rate floor to 53%. Uber Exec made clear that "no concern" at 53%. Delayed minimum pay increase is also set to pass after TLC revisions

Mar 07, 2023

Reduced utilization rate “floor” of 53% means Uber unlikely to “lockout” NYC TLC drivers
Change comes after public hearing where TLC drivers and Uber criticized rules that could see “lockouts” return
Delayed driver pay increase for TLC drivers who work on the Uber/Lyft apps was also revised and is set to be implemented
TLC Commission Board will vote tomorrow on proposals

The New York City Taxi & Limousine Commission (TLC) released revised driver pay proposals ahead of tomorrow’s TLC Commission Board vote (March 8th, 2023 at 10am).

No Lockouts

The long story short, TLC driver “lockouts” 🔒 on the Uber (& presumably Lyft) app are now HIGHLY UNLIKELY 🔓 as the TLC revised the utilization rate floor to 53%, down from 56%. Our conclusion is based on Uber’s testimony at last week’s hearing. This will come as very welcome news to many TLC drivers, based on the impassioned testimony at last week’s hearing.

In addition, language was added clarifying that if a TLC driver is logged onto both the Uber & Lyft Apps, while they are waiting for a trip the “time will be divided evenly” in the utilization rate calculation (we aren’t sure how the TLC collects this information, but interesting nonetheless!) [NOTE: The TLC removed this language during the official vote, saying it was added in error]

“There is no concern about falling below 53% [utilization rate]”

- Uber Executive Josh Gold implying if utilization rate “floor” went from 56% to 53%, there would not be a need to institute NYC “lockouts”

Pay Increase & CPI-W Inflation

In addition to the change in utilization rate, the proposed TLC rules will, CRITICALLY, also push through a TLC driver pay increase (for trips on Uber/Lyft) that was halted in December and further delayed when a Judge ruled the TLC needed to further justify its methodology.

While there a lot of numbers involved, if we compare TLC’s driver pay proposal from November/December last year for drivers working for Uber/ Lyft, it appears the net result is a slightly lower pay raise. TLC has consistently used a sample trip of 7.5 miles & 30 minutes to illustrate the impact of its proposed pay raise.

Last year the proposal would have resulted in that sample trip having a minimum driver pay of $27.15. Under the revised proposal it results in $26.76. This is still up 16.4% from the original 2019 rates and 8.8% from rates between March 2022 to January 2023.

Finally, the TLC also made clear that they will use the CPI-W inflation index for the NY-NJ-PA metro area moving forward. This index relates to Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers for the NYC metro area.

“CPI-W is designed to measure price changes faced by urban wage earners and clerical workers. Population coverage is the only difference between the CPI-U and CPI-W.”
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)

For those who want track the CPI-W index for New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA click here.

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