PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Alfa Bari, Member of New York Taxi Workers Alliance (TWA)
4:12:50
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123 sec
Alfa Bari, a member of the New York Taxi Workers Alliance (TWA) and former Uber and Lyft driver, testified about his experiences with account deactivation and lockouts from ride-hailing platforms. He expressed frustration with the lack of explanation and recourse for these actions, which have severely impacted his ability to earn a living.
- Bari has been a TLC driver for over 20 years but can now only drive for Lyft due to Uber deactivating his account
- He described being locked out of the Lyft platform as well, preventing him from going online to work
- Attempts to appeal his Uber deactivation through the company and the Independent Drivers Guild (IDG) were unsuccessful
- Bari criticized the IDG, stating it was created by Uber and Lyft and likening it to "going from one enemy to another enemy"
Alfa Bari
4:12:50
First, I want to thank the council member for having us here.
4:12:55
My name is Alfred Barry.
4:12:57
I'm a member of MITWA.
4:13:01
I used to drive for Lyft and Uber.
4:13:05
But I yeah.
4:13:08
And now I I only I only drive for for for left because nobody activate my account.
4:13:17
Have been a TLC driver for over 2020 years.
4:13:22
What I'm going to do right now is a disgrace, not only who but deactivate my account, LIFT also is locking locking me out.
4:13:35
For a while now, I was not able to go online to make a living.
4:13:41
I have family to feed and bills to pay.
4:13:45
From my house bill, car insurance, and other expenses.
4:13:52
How am I going to survive like this?
4:13:56
Who would deactivate my account and Lyft?
4:13:59
Is locking me out.
4:14:01
Up to today, I don't know why Uber deactivated my account.
4:14:06
When I when you call, they say it is a safety reason.
4:14:12
I went to their office, They told me they cannot do anything about it.
4:14:19
I went to IDG, one of the one of them looked into my account and and filed an appeal.
4:14:32
They sent me a text saying that saying that my reactivation was denied.
4:14:39
After that, I land IDG was created by Uber and Lyft, This is like coming from an enemy and go to another enemy, which was created by the same enemy.