Tens of thousands of New York City drivers for Uber and Lyft are in for a raise next month, even as drivers in other cities go on strike over insufficient wages.
The city’s Taxi & Limousine Commission (TLC) said Wednesday that the city’s 84,000 rideshare drivers will get a 3.49% raise in their minimum per-trip pay starting March 1, part of a bid to keep wages consistent with inflation. The increase brings pay for a sample 30-minute, 7.5-mile trip to about $27.70, nearly a dollar more than current rates.
“Our minimum pay standard ensures that our hardworking drivers aren’t just spinning their wheels and going nowhere because of inflation,” said TLC Commissioner David Do. “The adjustment can mean the difference between falling behind on rent or food due to rising costs and keeping up with the economic times. I’m proud to be part of the agency that first required this and it’s a pleasure to be able to let drivers know that they’ll be getting an increase.”
Per the city’s first-in-the-nation minimum pay rules for app-based drivers, rates per mile and minute are adjusted each year based on the Consumer Price Index.
“An annual CPI adjustment is something every working person should have, and especially meaningful for Uber and Lyft drivers who bear the costs of operations while the companies take the lion’s share of the revenue,” said Bhairavi Desai, head of the 28,000-member driver union New York Taxi Workers Alliance. “We are proud today to celebrate as Uber and Lyft drivers get their 2024 CPI adjustment. New York City’s minimum pay standard is a model for the rest of the country. Next up for us, is to get the same income protection for other taxi and FHV drivers.”
The TLC made the announcement the same day thousands of Uber and Lyft drivers across the country are engaging in a work stoppage, refusing to pick up passengers at airports in 10 cities on Valentine’s Day, one of the busiest days of the year for rideshare apps, according to an industry source.
In a release last week, the group Justice for App Workers said drivers are “sick of working 80 hours/week just to make ends meet, being constantly scared for our safety, and worrying about being deactivated with the click of a button.”
Airports included in the one-day strike include several close to the Big Apple, like Newark Liberty International in New Jersey, Bradley International in Connecticut, and Philadelphia International.
In late 2022, Uber successfully sued the TLC to block a rate hike that would have substantially increased driver pay, calling the pay boost “dramatic, unprecedented, and unsupported.” Smaller increases were then approved by the TLC and went into effect last March.
Last year, Uber and Lyft reached separate settlements where they agreed to pay a total of $328 million in back pay to drivers, who had successfully argued the companies committed wage theft on a massive scale. The settlement also entitled New York drivers outside the five boroughs to a minimum pay standard and all drivers to paid sick leave.
