Taxi union blasts TLC for inaction on driver lockouts

The head of the city’s cab driver union rebuked the Taxi and Limousine Commission for not moving fast enough on a proposed rule change that would better reflect the time that Uber and Lyft drivers are working and able to accept passengers. 

A petition by the Taxi Workers Alliance, sent to the regulatory body in early September, among other stipulations calls for the TLC to clarify that drivers are considered “available” anytime they are behind the wheel. The appeal, submitted with support from city Comptroller Brad Lander, is in response to what the union says is the rideshare companies’ policy to log drivers off their apps, thereby manipulating the so-called “utilization rate” — the time drivers are considered to be working, which in large part determines how much they are paid.