New York City is trying to restrict the number of Uber and Lyft cars allowed on the road to contain the explosive growth of the ride-sharing industry, and if successful will be the first major US municipality to do so.
The crackdown has sparked a tsunami of protest on Friday from Uber, Lyft and Via, warning that residents of far out neighborhoods will suffer if constraints on the ride-sharing cars are set.
The move by the City Council seeks to tackle growing congestion on New York streets and declining driver wages as well as respond to a rash of suicides and protests from yellow taxi drivers in the wake of plunging business.
The council is considering five bills aimed at reducing congestion and increasing paychecks.
One bill would freeze new for-hire vehicle licenses for 12 months, according to The Verge. Another would create a new category and licensing framework for Lyft and Uber where the city could limit business by geography and potentially decline to renew a permit if there is no 'need' for the service.
'We are pausing the issuance of new licenses in an industry that has been operating without checks,' Council Speaker Corey Johnson told reporters on Friday.
The council may vote on the proposed measures as soon as August 8, according to the New York Times.
It will by New York City's second attempt to restrain the burgeoning ride-sharing industry.
In 2015, Mayor Bill de Blasio tried and failed to set constraints on the driving business.
Uber sent notice to nearly 5million New Yorkers on Friday saying that The New York City Council's series of bills could make the app more expensive and less reliable with longer wait times and less service to hard-to-reach neighborhoods.
Included in Uber's email was a tweet that thousands of New Yorkers sent out saying: '@NYCCouncil I'm a New Yorker, and I rely on @Uber to get around the city, especially when public transit isn't available. Don't leave me stranded and #DontStrandNYC.'
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