Q&A
Driver lockouts and TLC's utilization rule
3:25:47
·
3 min
Council Member Brooks-Powers expresses concern about driver lockouts, particularly in light of the TLC's fair wage efforts. Josh Gold explains the issues with the TLC's utilization rule and its impact on lockouts.
- Lockouts are a result of the TLC's utilization rule, which Uber has criticized since 2018
- The rule has been paused more than it's been in effect and is considered fundamentally flawed
- The current rule differs significantly from what was originally proposed in 2018
- Industry-wide utilization rates can lead to lockouts even when individual companies have high utilization
Selvena N. Brooks-Powers
3:25:47
No.
3:25:47
And I I appreciate that.
3:25:49
And as you know, the intro number 276 is sponsored by council member, Krishnan, and I'd know he'll have questions to go into that.
3:26:02
But I know where my concern mostly lies or has light is with the the lockouts and the reasons behind the lockouts, especially in light of the fair wage that the TLC has tried to put in place, and then now seeing and hearing from drivers about these lockouts and how it's impacting them.
3:26:27
So can we talk a little bit about the lockouts.
3:26:32
What causes because I know deactivation lockout has 2 different reasons, but just wanting to understand more the scope of the lockout dynamic with Uber.
Josh Gold
3:26:43
Yeah.
3:26:43
And and I appreciate it because I share those concerns.
3:26:46
Since 2018, we have repeatedly warned that the intended consequence of the utilization rule was to control access for drivers of the platform.
3:26:59
The study that the rule was based on is specific that drivers may be subject to limited access to the platform.
3:27:10
We have seen 5 different TLC commissioners since 2018.
3:27:15
The TLC has repeatedly tried to tweak the rule, to try to limit the lockouts.
3:27:22
If you don't know, the rule has been paused, the more than it's been a fact.
3:27:27
For 3 and a half years, the rule was not enforced.
3:27:30
The TLC stopped repurchasing the rules in in January of 2020, not not post pandemic, but before the pandemic in January of 2020, and then didn't start enforcing it again until last year.
3:27:41
The rule is fundamentally flawed.
3:27:44
There needs to be a minimum payroll.
3:27:45
There are dozens of jurisdictions that have implemented minimum payrolls that don't lean heavily on utilization.
3:27:57
That doesn't mean utilization shouldn't be measured.
3:27:59
That doesn't mean there can't be another rule that works with the utilization.
3:28:03
But the rule, what a former TLC commissioner told me is that lockouts are a future, not a bug of the rule.
3:28:12
And lockouts are horrible.
3:28:16
Lockouts are horrible.
3:28:17
The rule is a bad rule the TLC needs to revisit it, and the TLC doesn't revisit it, they implemented it because the council gave them the authority to do so in 2018.
3:28:27
The council gave them the authority to do so after a report that was published by James Barrett and Michael O'Reich.
3:28:33
And the rule that was proposed in that rule looks very, very different than the rule that exists today.
3:28:39
For example, that rule is based on company specific utilization.
3:28:43
The rule that's active today is industry wide utilization.
3:28:47
When one company's utilization rate drops below 45%, and the other company's utilization rate is above 53% or 54%, the company with a higher rate still has to lock drivers out in order to make sure that the industry wide utilization is above 53%.
3:29:02
That was not the rule envisioned in 2018 when the council passed the law allowing the TLC to create the utilization rule.
3:29:09
It's a totally different rule that TLC has stepped way out of where the rule was in 2018 when this council granted them the right to create that rule.