In the Jimi Hendrix song, Crosstown Traffic, Jimi plays a nifty little riff with a makeshift kazoo constructed from a comb and tissue paper. The lyrics compare trying to get through to his lady friend with trying to get through Manhattan’s cross-town traffic, which was already bad in 1967. (Thanks Wikipedia!)

News Alert: New York City Has Bad Traffic!

So whose fault is that?

In a gut punch to the gig economy, New York City just passed an ordinance that will place a one-year ban on granting new licenses for ride hailing vehicles.

To drive using Uber or Lyft in NYC, you need a license from the Taxi and Limousine Commission (a different kind of TLC). During this one-year suspension period, the city will conduct a study on traffic and congestion and will examine driver compensation.

According to this Wall Street Journal article and nifty graph, since the emergence of Uber and Lyft as ride-share options, the value of NYC taxi medallions has plummetted from about $1 million to roughly $200,000; and since 2015, the number of TLC-licensed drivers (cabs and ride-sharing services) has more than doubled. The City points to increased congestion as the reason to suspend the issuance of new TLC licenses for a year.

The ride-share companies argue that the cap will limit the number of available drivers in outer boroughs, increasing New Yorkers’ wait times.

Is the City’s motivation really to address traffic congestion? Or is the idea instead intended to help the struggling taxi industry? Hmmmm.

Under the new law, licenses that have already been granted are not being taken away.

In case you were interested (or even if you are not), here are the general requirements for obtaining a license from TLC if you want to drive. [Uber, Lyft]

But for the next 12 months, the application process will be “just like crosstown traffic,
So hard to get through to you.”

© 2018 Todd Lebowitz, posted on WhoIsMyEmployee.com, Exploring Issues of Independent Contractor Misclassification and Joint Employment. All rights reserved.