By Mariana Alfaro
In
the pouring rain, hundreds of people lined up outside a building in
Queens on Monday, clutching umbrellas and paperwork. The frenzy was not
driven by a buzzy new restaurant or a new Apple store. Instead the line
led to an Uber office and was prompted by the City Council’s recent
decision to limit ride-hail apps by imposing a cap on new vehicle
licenses.
For hours, drivers waited
outside the building in Long Island City for Uber workers to let them in
and to register their cars as for-hire vehicles before the legislation
goes into effect. Mayor Bill de Blasio has said he is planning to sign
the bill into law on Tuesday.
Mohammed
Kabir, 47, a driver from Queens, said he spent four hours before
emerging from Uber’s office with his paperwork in order. He said he had
arrived at 7 a.m., hoping to beat the crowd, and despite the long wait
he said he was content that he now had what he needed to beat the
deadline.
Since the Council’s vote on
the new regulations, which includes establishing a minimum pay rate,
Uber had been encouraging existing drivers and others who wanted to
become drivers for the tech giant to make sure they applied for the
special license plates needed to register private cars as ride-hail
vehicles. Once the legislation becomes law, no new licenses, with the
exception of wheelchair accessible vehicles, will be granted for a year
while the city studies the impact of the ride-hail industry.
Some
drivers waited for almost two hours before being shepherded inside. Red
Ferhani, 32, said he had been driving for Uber for almost three years
by renting cars from other Uber drivers. Tired of losing part of his
profit to rental fees, Mr. Ferhani said he wanted to register his own
vehicle while he still could.
“I
guess everybody’s doing this last minute,” said Mr. Ferhani as he
approached the front of the line. Despite the hassle, Mr. Ferhani said
he supported the cap.
“I think there’s enough Uber cars out there, it’s already enough,” he said.
Some
drivers at Uber’s offices said they had not had enough time to get
their documents and licensing fees in order. To register a car as a
for-hire vehicle, owners must complete an online application with the
city’s Taxi and Limousine Commission, have commercial insurance for
their car and pay a $550 to $625 fee, depending on their car’s mileage.
Deniz
Osor, 37, was in line only because his friend had warned him days
before that the window to apply was closing. Mr. Osor scrambled to get
his paperwork in order.
“They should’ve actually extended the time for at least another two weeks,” Mr. Osor said.
Alix
Anfang, a spokeswoman for Uber, said the City Council and Mr. de Blasio
had rushed the cap through “without stopping to think about the
consequences for hard-working drivers who have been saving up to get out
of a rental and into a car they own.”
Jose
Reyes, an Uber driver from Brooklyn, said he knew people who bought
cars in order to register them before the cap was passed.
Uber
had prepared for the surge of drivers to its New York offices by
shifting employees from New Jersey and Connecticut and opening their
doors an hour early. Despite the extra hands, applicants said they were
expecting the process to take two to three hours. The usual wait time in
the Queens office, according to an Uber worker, is usually 20 minutes.
Frustrated with how slow the line was on Sunday, Syed Hassan, an Uber driver, left after an hour.
The
line, he said, went around the building. “There were more than 1,000”
drivers waiting, he estimated. Still, he returned on Monday with a
friend to keep him company.
The crowd
on Monday was smaller, but that did not make it any less hectic. Uber
workers admonished drivers to stay in an orderly line. Once inside,
drivers were directed to the second floor where they were given
instructions, depending on the stage of their applications.
Some
drivers, after seeing the long list of requirements, decided to wait
until the cap is lifted before registering their car. Diakanke Bah, 28,
was on her way out after being told that she would probably not meet the
deadline since she still had to get a for-hire driver’s license.
“If
I do get my license, I will have to probably rent out someone who has
already registered with the T.L.C., but it won’t be with my car,” she
said.
Copyright 2018 The New York Times Company. All rights reserved.
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