Public Advocate: TLC Demand For Black Car Pickup, Dropoff Locations Could Be Abused
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- The Taxi and Limousine Commission will vote Thursday on new rules for black cars.
As WCBS 880's Alex Silverman reported, a city official said the Trump administration could exploit the new rules to surveil New Yorkers.
The TLC wants black car services such as Uber and Lyft to submit pickup and dropoff locations to help measure how long drivers are on the road.
But Public Advocate Letitia James said it is a privacy issue for both drivers and passengers.
"And particularly at a time when we've got a federal administration which has demonstrated itself to be hostile, particularly towards immigrants and Muslims," she said.
But transportation analyst and safety advocate Charles Komanoff said we are only talking about approximate locations, and green cabs have been submitting such data for years.
"You know it's kind of last minute. You have to wonder what's motivating a really good public servant like the public advocate," Komanoff said. "The people in the traffic safety community think that she should back off and let the TLC do what they know how to do very well."