Mayor Bill de Blasio on Wednesday said the long lines of drivers trying to get last-minute Uber licenses a day earlier didn’t make him think twice about signing legislation instituting a one-year freeze on new for-hire vehicles.
The ban went into effect Tuesday as the city studies the impact of ride-sharing apps on congestion and driver wages.
“I do get that … and I care about every New Yorker and everyone who’s trying to make a living,” de Blasio told NY1 when asked about the 11th-hour license rush. “But the bottom line is what’s happened with the for-hire vehicles has been bad for everyone.”
The mayor said the “flood” of FHVs, particularly from Uber, had increased congestion and sent down driver pay to levels that sometimes dipped below minimum wage.
“We had to correct the situation,” de Blasio said. “We had to create a rebalancing of supply and demand … It will bring those wages back up. It will mean good jobs for people doing the work. It will help to reduce congestion — this is a smart action.”
The mayor later told WPIX-TV that he’s still not convinced on congestion pricing — a plan to charge drivers for entering high-traffic areas in lower and midtown Manhattan — despite his repeated gripes about the impact of for-hire vehicles congestion.
“There’s still real questions about making sure for working-class people that something like this would be fair, but I do think the ideas are being worked on in a productive way,” de Blasio said. “And if a new proposal comes forward, I’m ready to look at it.”
The mayor spoke to the news channels from a new ferry terminal in the Soundview neighborhood in the Bronx, where service launched at 6:30 a.m. Wednesday.
The route will take riders to East 90th Street, East 34th Street and Wall Street in Manhattan, and back.
Officials said the ferry will cut the commute for Bronx residents to lower Manhattan from 90 to 45 minutes.
They said ridership on the ferry system citywide has topped 5 million since launching last May, considerably exceeding early projections.
But it’s a heavily subsidized system that costs taxpayers an average of $6.60 per ride, while passengers pay $2.75 — same as a subway ride.