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July 2, 2015- Bloomberg reports, “So many New Yorkers are signing up with Uber Technology Inc. that Mayor Bill de Blasio and City Council members blame the company and other ride-sharing services for clogging Manhattan’s streets and air.
The mayor and the City Council want to slow the growth of the upstart app-based industry for about a year, giving them a chance to study its environmental impact. The council held a hearing on the proposal Tuesday that featured heated exchanges between members and Uber officials who say the city is trying to quash competition in a business that has grown 66 percent since 2011.
It’s the latest salvo in a fight between the traditional taxi and limousine industry, which gave de Blasio’s 2013 mayoral campaign more than $500,000, and digital ride-hailing companies like Uber and Lyft. The taxi industry also donated more than $150,000 to council members, including more than $8,500 to Ydanis Rodriguez, chairman of the Transportation Committee, who said Tuesday that the growth limits would be imposed.”