New York City reaches agreements with Uber and Lyft to reduce lockouts

New York City Mayor Eric Adams and New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission Commissioner David Do announced that the city has secured agreements from Uber (UBER) and Lyft (LYFT) to “drastically reduce access restrictions,” known as “lockouts.” Under the agreement, Uber will immediately begin phasing out access restrictions for drivers using its platform, with the goal of ending them entirely by Labor Day if Lyft maintains an annual company utilization rate of at least 50%. As part of the agreement, both companies will also pause onboarding for new drivers. Lyft will minimize lockouts as the onboarding pause continues, New York City added. “This agreement will allow us to immediately reduce and aim to soon eliminate platform access restrictions for existing drivers,” said Josh Gold, senior director of policy and communications, Uber. “Lyft supports an environment that allows New York City drivers to earn whenever and however they want while driving on the Lyft platform,” said Megan Sirjane-Samples, director of public policy, Lyft. “We never want to enact supply controls, and we will continue to work with TLC in the best interest of drivers.”