City to Uber and Lyft: Hand over your trip data

The city Taxi & Limousine Commission unanimously approved new regulations Thursday that include a controversial requirement that Uber and Lyft tell the agency where it drop its passengers off. Car services already provide pickup information, but the TLC...

City to Uber and Lyft: Hand over your trip data

The city Taxi & Limousine Commission unanimously approved new regulations Thursday that include a controversial requirement that Uber and Lyft tell the agency where it drop its passengers 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 address driver fatigue by keeping taxi, Uber and other for-hire-vehicle drivers from working more than 10 hours straight. Time spent cruising for passengers does not count toward the total.

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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 meeting, TLC Commissioner Meera Joshi said car services 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 regulations Thursday that include a controversial requirement that Uber and Lyft tell the agency where it drop its passengers 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 address driver fatigue by keeping taxi, Uber and other 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 meeting, TLC Commissioner Meera Joshi said car services 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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