New York City Council has imposed a one-year memorandum on ride-hailing services and capped the number of drivers who can sign onto them.<\/b>
\n( Reuters) \u2013 The New York City Council on Wednesday agreed to cap the number of licenses for ride-hailing services such as Uber for one year, dealing a blow to the companies that have relied on the largest U. S. metro area for a major source of their revenue.
The first such cap by any major U. S. city was part of a package of measures aimed at reducing traffic congestion and increasing driver paychecks in the wake of the explosive growth of for-hire vehicles and a rash of suicides among New York\u2019s \u201cYellow Cab\u201d drivers who have seen their incomes fall.
New York Mayor Bill de Blasio said he intended to sign the package into law.
\u201cThis action will stop the influx of cars contributing to the congestion grinding our streets to a halt,\u201d he said in a statement.
The number of ride-hailing vehicles operating in the city has jumped from about 12,600 in 2015 to about 80,000 this year, according to the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission. About 14,000 yellow cabs operate in the city.
The effort to cap the services in New York, Uber\u2019s largest U. S. market, was opposed by ride-hailing businesses, including Uber, Lyft and Via.
\u201cThe City\u2019s 12-month pause on new vehicle licenses will threaten one of the few reliable transportation options while doing nothing to fix the subways or ease congestion,\u201d Uber said in a statement.
Lyft said: \u201cThese sweeping cuts to transportation will bring New Yorkers back to an era of struggling to get a ride, particularly for communities of color and in the outer boroughs.\u201d
In emails to nearly 5 million New Yorkers last month, Uber said riders would be hurt most by the limit on numbers, and would face higher prices, longer wait times, and less service in the city\u2019s outer suburbs by drivers.
( Reporting by Jon Herskovitz in Texas and Heather Somerville in San Francisco; Editing by Bill Tarrant and Bill Rigby)<\/p>\n

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