UBER Petitions & Responses from the Mayors Office

So I signed that Uber petition the other day; basically telling New York City that I support the idea of them leaving Uber the fuck alone. Apparently everyone who signed got a response (probably automated) from Tony Shorris, the First Deputy Mayor (whatever that is).

After the jump is the Mayor's office's propaganda email, and my obviously hilarious response! Enjoy!


 Responding to Your Message re: Uber

 firstdeputymayor@cityhall.nyc.gov Jul 17 (4 days ago)

 

 

Thank you for your message.

 

Rest assured, despite the overheated rhetoric – Uber is welcome in New York City.  There are – and there will be going forward – more for-hire cars and drivers on our roads than ever before. 

 

The reality is that today in New York City, Uber – a $40 billion corporation – is spending millions on a misleading political campaign to convince New Yorkers that it doesn't need more oversight from the City. 

 

Meanwhile, there are serious questions about how Uber treats its customers, its workers, and whether it is flooding New York City's already heavily-crowded streets with thousands of more vehicles.

 

New Yorkers deserve a real examination of whether Uber drivers are treated fairly; whether customers are protected against discrimination; whether Uber and other for-hire services will provide accessibility for the disabled, which they don't do reliably today; and whether New York City streets will become even more clogged as tens of thousands of more vehicles enter the market.

 

The City has a responsibility to keep people safe, to ensure workers and customers are treated fairly, to keep our streets moving, and to keep our economy competitive. That is why the City is supporting a temporary growth limit on new for-hire vehicles added to our streets, including those operated by Uber, while it can study their real impact over a short period of time.  

 

Contrary to the misinformation out there, no one is banning Uber or ending it as you know it. The service you use today will continue to be there tomorrow, the day after, and in the months ahead.  We want passengers to continue to have access to the ever-improving service that companies like Uber are helping to provide.

 

But no company, no matter how big it is or how much it spends on ads, has a blank check to skirt vital protections and oversight for New Yorkers.  Protecting New Yorkers' health and safety remains our first priority, and the City's responsibility is to establish basic rules to do exactly that.

 

And all companies have to play by them.

 

Tony Shorris

First Deputy Mayor

 

Joseph Armao	6:29 PM (17 minutes ago)
Hahhahahhaahah. No seriously, HAHHAHAHAH. You could have wiped your backside with an email (if such a thing were possible) and sent that, and it would have had more merit than this nonsense propaganda. The only ones misleading anybody are you cronyist lawmakers. The last thing Uber, or anyone else for that matter, needs is "more oversight from the City". Let the free market do its job. All of your "concerns" - driver treatment, customer treatment/discrimination, and whether there are too many Uber vehicles - will be addressed by the marketplace, without the city "helping" (leaving aside the absurd illogic that more Uber vehicles will lead to more congestion - at least some of the passengers occupying those vehicles are, as a result of taking an Uber, NOT DRIVING THEMSELVES). In short, just stop. Stop stifling innovation and the free market in the guise of protecting people. Stop interfering where literally no one wants you to. And, stop cowtowing to lobbies at the expense of the taxpayer. Enough already. Sent from my iPhone