Ride-Share Drivers to Get 9% Raise that Uber Tried to Block

By Yehudit Garmaise

Uber and Lyft drivers cheered and proclaimed victory yesterday in a packed hearing room at the TLC’s Manhattan headquarters after the Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC) voted unanimously to increase ride-share drivers’ pay by 2.25%: starting Monday.

The inflated gas prices, car maintenance, car washes, and regulatory fees were taking huge chunks of ride-share drivers’ salaries, said the drivers.

Ride-share drivers’ minimum pay has now been bumped up by 8.78%, including TLC’s decision in February to adjust drivers’ salaries to offset their increased expenses, the NYdailynews reported.

The victory of ride-share drivers, who initiated three strikes for more minimum pay to cover their expenses, was especially sweet after Uber initiated a lawsuit to block drivers’ TLC-approved raise just ten days before it was supposed to take effect.

“After three successful strikes, we get to celebrate knowing we took back a raise that belonged to the drivers and did it by reminding the companies that drivers are organized and can defeat them,” said Bhairavi Desai, the head of the New York Taxi Workers’ Alliance.

Uber is also happy with the TLC’s unanimous vote.

“The roughly 2.25% one-time increase is more reasonable than what was previously proposed,” Uber spokeswoman Freddi Goldstein told the nydailynews.