BNN Bloomberg — By Natalie Lung | October 17, 2024 at 4:07 PM EDT

(Bloomberg) — New York City Comptroller Brad Lander called for changes to city regulations that would end app lockouts, a practice that Uber Technologies Inc. and Lyft Inc. have used to game the city’s minimum wage law, saving tens if not hundreds of millions in future driver pay.

Lander, a former city councilor who sponsored the minimum-wage bill when it was introduced in 2018 and is running for mayor, said Uber and Lyft have found a way “to exploit a loophole in the law and to go back to their old habit of exploiting drivers to pad their billion-dollar profits.” He cited a Bloomberg investigation published last week that found the lockouts — which temporarily prevent drivers from logging into the apps so they can’t work — are unpredictable and widespread, and have inflicted significant financial and mental strain on workers.

“I am committed to working together with the Taxi Workers Alliance, with council members, with drivers, and with other advocates to change the Taxi and Limousine Commission rules and pass any city council legislation that will close this loophole,” said Lander, who was flanked by representatives from a drivers union, the New York Taxi Workers Alliance, and council member Shahana Hanif.

At the heart of the issue is a six-year-old minimum pay rule — the first in the nation designed for rideshare drivers. The policy was designed so that drivers could make a living wage for the time they’re available for work, even if that’s without a passenger in their car. 

Instead of increasing the amount of time drivers spend with passengers by managing driver onboarding, which Lander said the law had intended to encourage, Uber and Lyft locked out drivers instead. That effectively erased some of their working time from the record before the citywide minimum pay for drivers is expected to be recalculated early next year. 

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[Read More: Bloomberg — NYC Comptroller Urges New Rules to End Rideshare Lockouts]