NYC Comptroller Urges New Rules to End Rideshare Lockouts

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.