NEW YORK CITY — Mayor Bill de Blasio dropped a plan, for now, to cap the growth of for-hire vehicles such as Uber Wednesday after City Hall and the car service agreed on a plan to study traffic congestion for four months.
The mayor had strongly backed City Council legislation that would place a 1 percent cap on the growth of for-hire vehicles for a year while the city studied traffic and congestion.
Uber objected to the cap, saying de Blasio and the City Council were doing the bidding of the yellow cab taxi industry, which has been among the politicians' largest donors.
City officials said that under the deal Uber agreed to provide trip data to a consultant studying the environmental impact of the growth of the for-hire industry. In exchange, the legislation regarding the cap will be tabled.
Deputy Mayor Anthony Shorris said they hope to complete the congestion study by the end of November.
"Uber will share information for the study above and beyond what has previously been provided, with safeguards to protect privacy," Shorris said in a statement. "Uber has also agreed to maintain its approximate current rate of growth and not flood the streets with new licenses and vehicles."
Shorris added that the city and "transportation stakeholders" will review the entire taxi industry with an eye toward "revenue for public transit, consumer protections, driver and employee protections, and accessibility for people with disabilities."
The move comes after Gov. Andrew Cuomo said he spoke with Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito about the legislation, which he opposed.
"I don't think government should be in the business of restricting job growth," said Cuomo, speaking on "Capital Pressroom," where he called Uber "one of these great inventions" of the "new economy."
Mark-Viverito said a compromise was in the best interest of all.
"All along, the goal has been to thoughtfully address the impacts of the explosive growth in the for-hire vehicle industry and it has become clear that we can achieve this through cooperation between the city and the industry," Mark-Viverito said in a statement.
Uber also hailed the agreement.
"We are pleased new drivers will continue to be free to join the for-hire industry and partner with Uber. Together, we can build an even better, more reliable transportation system," Uber NYC General Josh Mohrer said in a statement.
The apparent truce comes after weeks of escalating talk and action on both sides. Uber had launched advertising campaigns against the proposed cap and challenged the mayor to a live stream debate over the issue.
Celebrities such as Kate Upton, Ashton Kutcher, Neil Patrick Harris and Bo Derek had been tweeting in favor of Uber Wednesday.
.@BilldeBlasio Why do you want to return to days when only those in Midtown & Lower Manhattan could get a ride? #UberMovesNYC
— Kate Upton (@KateUpton) July 22, 2015De Blasio had issued tough rhetoric criticizing Uber, saying it was a corporate giant that only cared about its own interests. He continued the fight overseas, during his speech Tuesday at the Vatican.
"I think it's clear that as a corporation – as a multi-billion dollar corporation – Uber thinks it can dictate to government," the mayor said. "I remind them that the government represents the people and the people's larger interests and that is more important than any one company's needs."
