They're fed up.
Taxi owners and lenders announced Tuesday, Nov. 17, that they're suing New York City and its Taxi Limousine Commission, alleging that the soaring popularity of Uber is destroying their business and threatening their livelihoods. They are seeking compensation and punitive damages, alleging their property and equal-protection rights are being violated.
According to Reuters, taxi owners and lenders are accusing the city and TLC of violating yellow-cab drivers' exclusive right to pick up passengers by enabling Uber drivers — who are free of regulations — to pick up millions of passengers via the company's ride-hailing smartphone app.
Their lawsuit specifically states that the number of Uber rides in the "core" of Manhattan — New York City's most-congested area — increased by 3.82 million from April to June. In comparison, medallion cab pickups slid by 3.83 million.
Furthermore, taxi owners contend that Uber has driven down the value of medallions by 40 percent. Medallions are what the city and TLC mandate that taxi drivers purchase to operate their vehicles and conduct pick ups and drop offs. Prior to Uber's skyrocketing popularity, medallions exceeded the price of $1 million each. Owners rely on them for resale value as well.
"Defendants' deliberate evisceration of medallion taxicab hail exclusivity, and their ongoing arbitrary, disparate regulatory treatment of the medallion taxicab industry, has and continues to inflict catastrophic harm on this once iconic industry, and the tens of thousands of hardworking men and women that depend on it for their livelihood," part of the lawsuit obtained by Reuters alleges.
If taxi owners are credited via this lawsuit, especially in New York City, it will stand as a landmark victory against Uber. The lawsuit was filed in Manhattan federal court by several credit unions, which said they have made more than 4,600 medallion loans worth over $2.4 billion, as well as some individual medallion owners, the Taxi Medallion Owner Driver Association and the League of Mutual Taxi Owners, which said that together they represent about 4,000 medallion owners.
