New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio may have reached an agreement with Uber to delay any cap on growth until at least Apr. 2016, when studies are conducted. But many voters believe de Blasio’s initiative was motivated by political donations from the taxi industry, says a new poll.
According to a Quinnipiac University survey, 65 percent of voters believe generous political donations were the reason for the mayor’s attempt at curbing Uber’s growth. They also don’t believe the mayor’s initial argument that the proposal was meant to limit traffic congestion.
The poll further suggests that many voters oppose the cap, even if they prefer yellow taxis and livery cars over Uber.
Mayor de Blasio and his staffers claim the donations did not affect his decision to establish the proposal in the first place.
The city ended its proposed cap on Uber after the ride-sharing app spent millions of dollars going after the mayor and other city bureaucrats. The proposal had been delayed in the meantime as congestion studies are conducted by city hall.
“Mayor Bill de Blasio was forced to back-track on his plan to limit the number of cars Uber could use, probably a good idea since more voters oppose the cap,” said Quinnipiac University Poll Assistant Director Maurice Carroll.
This isn’t the first time that a big city politician has gone after Uber.
In the city of Toronto, the fourth largest city in North America, City Councillor Jim Karygiannis has been going after Uber because he believes the company doesn’t incorporate a sales tax in its fares and it isn’t regulated by the city. In other words, City Hall isn’t getting its share of the Uber pie.
Moreover, during the 2015 Pan Am Games, he even warned tourists that passengers could face a $20,000 fine if they’re found in an Uber car, which is untrue. It was discovered that Karygiannis receives about 10 percent of its political donations from the taxi industry.
The Quinnipiac survey was conducted with 1,108 registered voters between Jul. 30 and Aug. 4. It contains a margin of error of 2.9 percent.
Uber has agreed to turn over ride data to city officials, who also want the company to contribute funds to the transit network, in exchange for taking off the cap during a four-month study of the company impact on traffic.
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