Fortune reported that a sea change may be coming to the ridesharing industry, with NYC at the epicenter of the first wave.
The city’s Taxi and Limousine Commission said last week that it had put requirements in place mandating that Uber and other ridesharing companies offer up data on their city-based operations. Those rules had been in effect to govern fatigue and overwork-related events and now will embrace not just licensed taxis but for-hire vehicles as well.
As noted by Fortune, the new rules have given rise to a counter-campaign by Uber, where privacy concerns have dominated. The company has argued that the data gleaned on fatigue and other items would be “reverse engineered” to pinpoint gender and race. The article noted that the state public advocate has also come out against the rules. But the user data has value for the ridesharing companies, said Fortune, as it can be used for competitive advantage or even calculating better routes. The newest shot across Uber’s bow, said Fortune, comes as a “rare defeat for ridesharing companies, which have vigorously pushed back against city regulations that treat its cars the same way as taxis.”
