New York City suspends five Uber hubs until they divulge trip info (update: reprieve)
Uber's longstanding battle to offer ridesharing in New York City on its own terms isn't over... if anything, the conflict just got a bit ugly. The city's Taxi & Limousine Tribunal has suspended five of Uber's six NYC hubs until they hand over trip records to the Taxi & Limousine Commission, which recently established a rule requiring that ridesharing companies regularly share their travel data. Uber has been holding out on the grounds that the TLC is asking for sensitive information that could hurt its competitiveness and violate drivers' privacy.
There aren't any signs that the deadlock will break in the immediate future. While Uber maintains that it's still negotiating with the TLC, that's apparently news to a Commission spokesman -- he says that there's "no open dialogue" that he knows about. Not that Uber may have much say in the matter, whoever's telling the truth. Although the company is known for flouting laws that hold it back, it'll likely have to acquiesce to the demands if it wants to serve New Yorkers as well as it has in the past.
Update: Uber is (not surprisingly) appealing the decision, which grants it a reprieve until everything's settled.
[Image credit: Victor J. Blue/Bloomberg via Getty Images]
