Congress Calls Uber And Lyft To Ride-Hailing Hearing

The head of the U.S. House of Representatives Transportation and Infrastructure Committee wrote letters to the CEO’s of both Lyft and Uber asking them to participate in a hearing about issues facing the ridesharing industry.

Nasdaq reported the letter “strongly urged” the two companies to participate in the hearing, which is set for Oct. 15. Rep. Peter DeFazio said both companies said they didn’t want to participate.

DeFazio said he was going “to pursue legislative solutions to address numerous issues plaguing the ride hailing industry, many of which will be raised at this hearing. … If you do not send a representative to testify at the hearing, you leave the committee little choice but to make these policy decisions without your input.”

In other ride hailing news, Lyft has filed a lawsuit against New York City over a mandate limiting the time its drivers are allowed to spend cruising in Manhattan without passengers, following a similar lawsuit by Uber last month.

The suit asks that the city’s Taxi and Limousine Commission’s (TLC) cruising rule be invalidated. The law imposes a 31 percent cap on cruising time for most vehicles before 11 p.m. Lyft said the mandate is based on old, inaccurate TLC data and doesn’t hold taxis to any caps.

“Lyft supports comprehensive congestion pricing, which is the most effective way to reduce traffic,” Lyft spokeswoman Campbell Matthews said in a statement to Cnet. “But the TLC’s rushed, arbitrary approach would be a significant step backward for transportation in New York City, which for years has suffered from an inefficient taxi medallion system created by the TLC. This rule is not a serious attempt to address congestion, and would hurt riders and drivers in New York.”

The firm called the rule “highly damaging” and said it was based on “outdated, unreliable data.”