Yellow Taxi Group Lawsuit Claims NYC Is Letting Uber Operate Illegally
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) - A yellow taxi industry group is suing New York City, accusing it of letting Uber operate illegally.
The group of yellow taxi cab garages and medallion owners claims the city's embrace of Uber has taken millions from their pockets.
"Only yellow medallion taxis may pick up hails," the group's lawyer Eric Hecker told WCBS 880's Alex Silverman.
This raises the legal question if an e-hail is really a hail, which Hecker says it is.
The suit also claims the city is giving Uber special, illegal treatment in other ways, too.
"They don't have to have meters. They're allowed to use the very same inaccurate, crude iPhone GPS technology that yellow taxis are barred from using," Hecker said.
"The TLC consistently welcomes new ways of using technology to improve the passenger experience, and we are confident that we have always done so within the agency's legal authority," a statement from a Taxi and Limousine Commission spokesman reads.
"Well, they're wrong," Hecker said.
A spokesman for Uber declined to comment.
According to figures released by the TLC in March, Uber cars now outnumber yellow taxis. There are currently 14,088 registered Uber cars compared with 13,587 yellow cabs.
However, there are about 440,000 yellow cab rides a day, compared to just 20,000 to 30,000 Uber rides. That's because Uber drivers often own their own cars and work less than 40 hours a week, while most yellow taxis are owned by cab companies, have more than one driver and are on the road close to 24 hours a day.