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On Wednesday, July 17th, 2024, over 2,000 Uber and Lyft drivers rallied at City Hall, then marched to Uber’s New York City headquarters to demand an immediate end to the companies’ practice of locking drivers out of their apps mid-shift, leaving them desperate to get back online so they can continue earning a living. It is believed to be the largest demonstration of Uber and Lyft drivers to date anywhere in the country.
“Over 80,000 families in New York City are now in the midst of a financial crisis because Uber and Lyft are locking drivers out of their apps mid-shift in order to avoid paying them a fair income,” said Bhairavi Desai, co-founder and executive director of the New York Taxi Workers’ Alliance. “This is an outrageous attack on the workers who make New York City move. Uber and Lyft must immediately end the lockouts, and the Taxi and Limousine Commission must institute stronger protections for drivers to ensure they get paid for every minute they spend on the job. If they don’t, our union is prepared to strike.”
The drivers were joined by City Councilman Shekar Krishnan of Jackson Heights, who has introduced legislation that would ban unfair lockouts, among other driver demands. They were also joined by State Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani of Astoria, who participated in NYTWA’s historic hunger strike in 2021 that won a major relief package for taxi cab drivers suffering under crippling medallion debt.
Background:
In March 2023, the Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC) adjusted the pay formula that Uber and Lyft are required to use when calculating driver earnings on each trip. Specifically, they adjusted the component of the formula related to drivers’ “empty time” - that is, the amount of time that they spend on duty waiting for a dispatch, without a passenger in their vehicle. City regulations require drivers to be compensated for this time, but the March 2023 change to the pay formula effectively lowered this compensation by around $5,000 per year. At the time, Uber testified that they were satisfied with the change and that it would prevent them from resorting to more dramatic actions - like lockouts - to protect their bottom line.
But in June 2024, Uber began locking drivers out of their apps mid-shift anyway to make it appear like the drivers have less empty time than they really do. They’re doing this in order to manipulate the pay formula and avoid paying drivers for the full time they spend on the job. While locked out of the app, drivers are unable to pick up new fares and earn a living. The length and timing of the lockouts is unpredictable, and some have lasted for as long as eight hours. Drivers are suffering loss of income now, and they face a future of low wages if Uber and Lyft are allowed to continue to manipulate the pay formula.
Uber and Lyft drivers demand an immediate end to this egregious practice, as well as the adoption of new rules that will ensure fair compensation for all the time they spend on the job. If their demands are not met, the drivers are prepared to escalate their campaign, up to and including a full-blown strike. For a more detailed explanation of the pay formula issue and how Uber is manipulating it to stiff drivers, see the attached policy memo and demand letter.
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