Uber, Lyft protest potential $2,000 fee for drivers as City Council considers bill
LOWER MANHATTAN, New York (WABC) -- The New York City Council is considering a bill that would make Uber and Lyft drivers pay a $2,000 yearly fee, and the drivers are not happy.
It is welcome news, however, to yellow cab drivers, who wore yellow cowboy hats in City Council chambers to show their support for the bill.
Yellow cab drivers feel that Uber and Lyft have had an unfair advantage, since the city charges them fees that Uber and Lyft drivers have been exempt from paying. They want to Uber and Lyft to pay or even get a medallion to follow the same rules they did.
Uber drivers, on the other hand, see it differently.
"The city caused that," said Michelle Dotin, an Uber driver for the past two years. "They inflated this medallion for their own benefit."
The gathered to protest the possible fees, chanting "kill the bill" and booing City Councilman Ruben Diaz. They are against a yearly fee to pick up passengers, explaining they are scraping by on barely minimum-wage incomes.
"You guys want $2,000 more per year, now coming to a total of $130 million per year for city from me, a poor driver," Uber driver Aziz Bah said.
The bill would also ban drivers from working for more than one app-based company, a move that some believe will hurt drivers and cause delays for riders.
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