Uber Is Locking Out NYC Drivers Mid-Shift to Lower Minimum Pay
- Company locks drivers out of its app at unpredictable times
- Uber blames Lyft, which is now threatening its own lockouts
An Uber sticker displayed on a vehicle in the Time Square neighborhood of New York.
Photographer: Jeenah Moon/BloombergUber Technologies Inc. has begun locking New York City drivers out of its app during periods of low demand in an attempt to fight a minimum wage rule, and Lyft Inc. is threatening to do the same. As a result, some drivers say their wages have fallen by as much as 50%.
At the heart of the move, say the two companies, is a six-year-old pay rule in New York that, among other things, requires firms like Uber and Lyft to pay drivers for the idle time they rack up between rides. The lockouts, which began last month, are aimed at limiting how much non-passenger time drivers are able to log and be paid for. Drivers, meanwhile, say they need to work longer hours to earn the same amount as before.