UBER USA, LLC

636 W. 28th St., 3rd Floor

New York, NY 10001
UBER.COM

February 11, 2016

VIA ELECTRONIC MAIL
Meera Joshi
Commissioner, Taxi & Limousine Commission
33 Beaver Street, 22nd Floor
New York, NY 10004
Re: Limits on consecutive hours of driving for for-hire drivers
Dear Commissioner Joshi:
In response to several articles published by the New York Post on February 7, 2016 and
February 9, 2016, I write to share a policy recently adopted by the Uber bases.1
The Uber bases are deeply committed to the safety of the riders and drivers using the Uber
platform. Overall, Uber driver-partners spend far less time on the road than most other members of the
for-hire industry. Specifically, our driver-partners spend an average of 30 hours per week using the Uber
app in New York City.
However, Uber supports the Taxi & Limousine Commissions and Mayors commitment to Vision
Zero and any effort to ensure every driver and passenger on the road is safe. To that end, the Uber
bases want to help ensure that licensed For-Hire Drivers using the Uber app to receive ride requests are
abiding by the current rule that prohibits medallion taxicab and street hail livery drivers from driving for
more than 12 consecutive hours.2
Though this rule does not currently apply to For-Hire Drivers, we want to do our part to ensure
that drivers are being safe on our city streets. We will be notifying all driver-partners that it is unsafe to
use the Uber app for more than 12 hours at a time. We will, on a daily basis, be using our technology to
identify a driver-partner who has been using the Uber app for more than 12 consecutive hours. Our New
York City-based team will follow up with any driver that goes over this limit to notify them of the hours
limit policy and take other appropriate steps. These measures will include temporary, and possibly
permanent, deactivation from the Uber platform if repeated violations occur and warnings are
ignored. These actions will be put in place starting today.
Sincerely,
Josh Mohrer
General Manager, Uber NYC
1
Achtzehn-NY, LLC; Danach-NY, LLC; Dreist-NY, LLC; Dreizehn-NY, LLC; Drinnen-NY, LLC; Eins-NY, LLC; Einundzwanzig-NY,
LLC; Elf-NY, LLC; Funf-NY, LLC; Funfzehn-NY, LLC; Grun, LLC; Neun-NY, LLC; Neunzehn-NY, LLC; Schmecken, LLC; Sechs-NY,
LLC; Sechzehn-NY, LLC; Siebzehn-NY, LLC; Unter LLC, Vier-NY, LLC; Vierzehn-NY, LLC; Weiter, LLC; Zehn-NY, LLC; ZwanzigNY, LLC; Zwei-NY, LLC; and Zwolf-NY LLC.
2
Specifically, subdivision (d) of section 54-14 of Title 35 of the Rules of the City of New York limits the consecutive hours of drivers
for medallion taxicab and street hail livery drivers by stating, A Driver must not operate a Vehicle for more than 12 consecutive
hours.