Uber’s airport business may get grounded at LaGuardia Airport under a Taxi and Limousine proposal.
The TLC rule would require Uber and other for-hire vehicles to be parked outside of the airport’s passenger pickup areas in order to pick upriders, a measure an Uber official said effectively blocks its drivers from getting a fare there. Uber drivers at Kennedy Airport would have to make pickups while parked in a designated lot for black cars, according to the TLC rules.
Matt Wing, a spokesman for Uber, criticized the TLC’s package of proposed rules, which would also encourage riders to complain to 311 about a bad driver, instead of just giving them a negative rating on the app.
“Unfortunately, this first draft of the TLC rules does not support the progressive and diverse transportation environment that NYC riders and drivers clearly value,” Wing said.
TLC spokesman Allan Fromberg said officials were meeting with Uber to hear its concerns, but defended the proposal, which will be discussed at a hearing in May.
“These proposed rules were designed to maximize accountability and consumer protections while leveling the market playing field and fully maintaining the creative flexibility that developers need to innovate,” Fromberg said in a statement.
