Uber debuts 'de Blasio' feature with extortionate wait times on app in scathing attack on NYC mayor's bid to cap their number of drivers
- Taxi service has added a 'de Blasio' tab to its app with long wait times
- It ranks below all other services, features the words 'see what happens'
- The tab is a campaign against a bill to cap their licenses at 200
- Uber claims they add more than 200 drivers a week to their fleet
- Firm also issued an emotional TV ad with testimonies from drivers
Uber has launched a scathing campaign against Mayor Bill de Blasio's license-capping bill with a new feature on the app that mocks epic delays in New York City.
The mayor has backed a bill that would mean Uber can only issue 200 new licenses this year - less than their weekly employment rate.
Hitting back, the firm has debuted a new feature on their app titled 'DE BLASIO'.
When selected, it brings up an extortionate wait time of 25 minutes, with the message: 'This is what Uber will look like in NYC if Mayor de Blasio's Uber cap bill passes.'
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Scathing: Uber has created this tab on the app in a campaign to stop Bill de Blasio from capping the number of licenses they can hand out. The measure would mean they can only issue 200 new licenses until 2016
Usually wait times do not exceed 10 minutes, regardless of the rank of car.
Users have five options of vehicle - from ride-sharing Uber Pool to luxury vehicle service Uber Black. There is also the option of Uber T, which hails a standard yellow cab.
The new tab ranks below Uber T and Uber Pool.
Bolstering their message, the firm also debuted a TV ad on Wednesday night with emotional testimonies from drivers who say 'Uber is the best thing that has ever happened to me'.
The campaign is a desperate bid to block a bill tabled by councilman Stephen Levin that would limit the number of licenses Uber can hand out.
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If it passes, the firm will be given a 200-license limit. That is less than the number they add to their fleet each week.
According to Uber, 25,000 New Yorkers join the app every week.
Their fleet dwarfs yellow taxis, with more than 15,000 vehicles compared to around 13,000.
Slamming the proposal, Uber spokesman David Plouffe - a former campaign manager for President Obama - said in a statement: 'Mayor de Blasio's plan to stop Uber will cost 10,000 jobs, hurt underserved areas and make wait times for Uber cars skyrocket.
Under fire: It is not the first time de Blasio has targeted Uber and received personal attacks in response
'With this view, New York City riders can see for themselves how much time this political payback to big taxi owners will cost them.'
Mayor de Blasio's spokesman Wiley Norvell told the New York Post: 'No company's political war chest or tactics entitles it to shake off rules meant to protect the public.
'We have a job to do to keep this city safe, keep it moving and look out for the public interest.'
It is not the first time de Blasio has come after Uber - and Uber has hit back with vigor.
He backed plans in May to change the way the app is presented to users as a means of regulation.
In response, he received a personal letter signed by executives at prominent firms including Google, Twitter and Yahoo!.
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