Lawmakers took the next step Wednesday to enact a one-year moratorium on new for-hire vehicle licenses — a move that Uber, Lyft and other car services warned would reduce service and increase the cost of a ride.
The City Council committee overseeing for-hire vehicles voted to pass the measure.
It goes to the full Council later Wednesday and is expected to pass easily.
Council members argued that the temporary halt is needed while the city studies the impact of the growth in e-hail vehicles, both on traffic congestion and on wages in the rapidly-changing industry.
The number of licensed for-hire vehicles has more than doubled since 2013 — from 47,058 to 102,536 last year, Council documents show.
Council member Stephen Levin (D-Brooklyn) said the moratorium was needed because the industry has been adding an average of 2,000 new licenses each month.
“It’s time we bring some balance to the system where we’re seeing our streets flooded with more and more vehicles each month,” he said.
The legislation, among a package of FHV proposals, carves out an exception to the moratorium for wheelchair-accessible vehicles.
The other measures introduce new regulations on large firms that dispatch more than 10,000 trips per day, such as Uber.
One provision requires companies to provide detailed trip and revenue data to the Taxi and Limousine Commission, as well as descriptions of all deductions assessed against vehicle owners and drivers.
Another measure requires the commission to set minimum pay rates for drivers at large firms, and grants the TLC the right to do the same for smaller firms.
Since December, at least six drivers have committed suicide, partly because of financial hardships that have hit the taxi industry and greatly reduced the value of yellow cab medallions.
“It’s just no secret that the rapid, spectacular growth of Uber, Lyft and Via.. has made it impossible for drivers to earn a living and feed their families. And the data on that is overwhelming,” said Brad Lander (D-Brooklyn), who sponsored the legislation on setting minimum driver pay. “The package of legislation that we are passing today gets the balance right.”
