City approves new driver-fatigue rules, bucking Uber

The city Taxi & Limousine Commission unanimously approved new driver-fatigue regulations Thursday that include a controversial requirement that car services such as Uber and Lyft tell the agency where passengers have been dropped off. Car services already...

City approves new driver-fatigue rules, bucking Uber

The city Taxi & Limousine Commission unanimously approved new driver-fatigue regulations Thursday that include a controversial requirement that car services such as Uber and Lyft tell the agency where passengers have been dropped off. Car services already provide pickup information, but the TLC says drop-off information is also necessary to ascertain ride duration and to check the accuracy of what car services report.

The new rules, which were approved in a slightly different form in July, are designed to keep taxi and for-hire-vehicle drivers from working more than 10 hours straight. Time spent cruising for passengers does not count toward the total.

Yellow and green cabs already provide trip data through their automated payment system.

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The addition of the drop-off information from for-hire vehicles has become a flash point for privacy advocates, some of whom Uber has enlisted in its fight to block the rules from taking effect. The e-hail giant has waged a vigorous campaign against the drop-off requirement, arguing that it puts passenger privacy at risk and won't increase driver and passenger safety.

The TLC has maintained that it does not collect personal information about passengers and does not disclose exact pickup or drop-off locations to the public.

Uber and others, including Public Advocate Letitia James, say the TLC's data could be hacked.

At Thursday's TLC meeting, Commissioner Meera Joshi said providers can choose how detailed they want to make their drop-off information.

"We accept pinpoint addresses as well as intersections," she said. "And that practice will continue. For those people who want to give us intersections, that will be acceptable."

Uber seemed to regard the ability to provide intersections as a step toward compromise (although the TLC insists that option was always available).

"This new proposal reflects that the TLC is beginning to understand the concerns privacy experts have raised," a spokeswoman said. "We will continue to stand up to protect the privacy of our riders and drivers, especially in an age when data collected by government agencies can be hacked, shared, misused or otherwise made public."

The rules will be implemented over a period of six months.

The city Taxi & Limousine Commission unanimously approved new driver-fatigue regulations Thursday that include a controversial requirement that car services such as Uber and Lyft tell the agency where passengers have been dropped off. Car services already provide pickup information, but the TLC says drop-off information is also necessary to ascertain ride duration and to check the accuracy of what car services report.

The new rules, which were approved in a slightly different form in July, are designed to keep taxi and for-hire-vehicle drivers from working more than 10 hours straight. Time spent cruising for passengers does not count toward the total.

Yellow and green cabs already provide trip data through their automated payment system.

The addition of the drop-off information from for-hire vehicles has become a flash point for privacy advocates, some of whom Uber has enlisted in its fight to block the rules from taking effect. The e-hail giant has waged a vigorous campaign against the drop-off requirement, arguing that it puts passenger privacy at risk and won't increase driver and passenger safety.

The TLC has maintained that it does not collect personal information about passengers and does not disclose exact pickup or drop-off locations to the public.

Uber and others, including Public Advocate Letitia James, say the TLC's data could be hacked.

At Thursday's TLC meeting, Commissioner Meera Joshi said providers can choose how detailed they want to make their drop-off information.

"We accept pinpoint addresses as well as intersections," she said. "And that practice will continue. For those people who want to give us intersections, that will be acceptable."

Uber seemed to regard the ability to provide intersections as a step toward compromise (although the TLC insists that option was always available).

"This new proposal reflects that the TLC is beginning to understand the concerns privacy experts have raised," a spokeswoman said. "We will continue to stand up to protect the privacy of our riders and drivers, especially in an age when data collected by government agencies can be hacked, shared, misused or otherwise made public."

The rules will be implemented over a period of six months.

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