NYC wages upped for drivers for app-hails like Uber which says fares will also rise

Wages are going up for New York City’s drivers of app-hail services like Uber — and so is the cost of a fare.

The higher pay is a result of a rule passed Wednesday by the city’s Taxi and Limousine Commission, which regulates the industry.

A lawsuit by Uber last year led to a judge blocking parts of similar regulations that had called for increasing wages even more, and the regulations were tweaked accordingly.

The company had said in court documents that the pay raise would cost the company an additional $21 million to $23 million per month.

In the meantime, drivers got a previous raise — amounting to about 6% — and the rule passed Wednesday raises their pay even more, to about 9%.

According to the rule passed Wednesday, the minimum driver pay is set at $26.76 for a sample trip of 7½ miles and 30 minutes. That’s an increase of $2.16, or 8.78%, from the rates that were in effect from March 2022 through January 2023, and an increase of $3.76, or 16.35%, from the original rates effective in 2019, the rule says.

The latest wage increase goes into effect Monday, a TLC spokesman said.

Uber spokeswoman Freddi Goldstein said the latest fare increase amounts to 2.25%.

In late February, app-hail drivers staged a 12-hour work stoppage at LaGuardia Airport, calling for higher wages, citing operating costs and inflation. It was at least the third since December; the latest came in advance of the hearing at which pay was ultimately raised.

Since coming to New York City in 2011, Uber and other app-hail companies have taken most of the taxi industry’s one-time monopoly.

Lyft, an Uber competitor, didn’t respond to an inquiry for comment.

By Matthew Chayes

matthew.chayes@newsday.comchayesmatthew

Matthew Chayes, a Newsday reporter since 2007, covers New York City.