Lightfoot says Uber offered black ministers $54M to get her to ‘back off’ fee hike — which Uber disputes

Uber has proposed its own version of a tax increase on ride-hailing, saying its proposal raises more money, better addresses traffic congestion and treats the poor more fairly than the plan from Mayor Lori Lightfoot. | Associated Press

Mayor Lori Lightfoot on Wednesday shot down an alternative congestion fee floated by Uber and accused the ride-hailing giant of offering black ministers $54 million to carry the ride-hailing giant’s water.

Lightfoot dropped the political bombshell at a City Hall news conference when asked about the tax plan that, Uber claims, would raise $21 million more than Lightfoot’s congestion fee because it would apply to taxis as well as ride-hailing.

“Is this the one where they’re paying off black ministers by $54 million? That one? Or is this a new one?” the mayor said.

“They offered up black ministers $54 million — a one-time deal — if they would convince the mayor to do away with any other kind of regulation. And as we walked these ministers through the realities of what’s actually at stake here, I think they realized that, frankly, they’d been hoodwinked.”

Pressed for proof, Lightfoot said, “I’ve had a number of ministers who’ve met with us and said, `Uber promised us $54 million if you [convince the mayor to] back off.’ ... We’ll get those names to you.”

As for the congestion alternative itself, Lightfoot shot it down cold. She argued that the company’s plan “doesn’t hold any water and, tellingly, what it doesn’t do is address congestion.”

Mayor Lori Lightfoot on Wednesday said Uber is trying to buy support for its alternative fee plan.

“We’re gonna keep seeing Uber throwing lots of Hail Marys, because what they don’t want is to actually be regulated by the city of Chicago because they have had virtually free rein [since] the inception of this new industry,” the mayor said of Uber, whose investors include former Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s brother.

“I am determined to make sure that we get a handle on congestion. And they keep throwing all kinds of things against the wall, claiming that, somehow, this mayor is gonna be against black and brown communities — that we’re gonna do something that has an adverse impact on them. That’s complete nonsense — and that’s the most polite word I can say.”

Uber public relations manager Harry Hartfield denied the mayor’s charge, but in a temperate statement that did not respond in kind.

“After months of conversations with the Mayor’s office, we are making public our plan to raise the money the City needs in a way that is more equitable and doesn’t increase fees on South and West side residents by nearly 80%. The Mayor’s statement today is not accurate,” Hartfield was quoted as saying.

The company traced the mayor’s $54 million pay-off charge to a “counter-proposal” circulated by Uber a few weeks ago.

It raised $54 million in revenue for the city.

Earlier Wednesday, Uber had released its own tax proposal, saying that besides raising more money and better dealing with traffic congestion, it also would treat the poor more fairly than Lightfoot’s plan.

“This is a genuine good-faith effort to show the city there’s a better way to do this,” Uber public relations manager Hartfield had said at that time. He said the company discussed its proposal with the mayor’s staff Tuesday but didn’t get much support. Its next step is to bring it to aldermen, he said.

Uber proposed dividing the city into three tax zones and applying the tax to both the pickup and drop-off points for either a shared or solo trip. In the high-tax zone, covering downtown and the Near North and Northwest sides, the tax would be 85 cents. For medium and low-tax zones, it would be 50 cents and 30 cents, respectively.

Hartfield said the Uber version would raise $10 million more than Lightfoot’s plan, and $21 million more if it applied to taxis as well. Lightfoot has said her proposal would raise $40 million, of which $2 million would be set aside for mass transit improvements.

The additional money from the Uber plan could all go to mass transit, Hartfield said.

“We know that where mass transit works well, people will use it,” he said. Hartfield said the plan can be implemented using GPS and app technology that pinpoints locations.

The mayor’s proposal calls for a flat $3 tax in single rides ordered in congested areas during peak weekday travel times, increasing it from the current $1.25. A mayoral spokeswoman had no immediate comment.

In drafting its plan, Uber tried to apply the lowest taxes to poor communities that have little access to taxis, Hartfield said. “Our general thinking is this is a much more progressive plan. You pay more to go into areas of high demand,” he said.

Uber competitor Lyft supports the plan. “While we continue to believe universal congestion pricing is the only way to truly solve Chicago’s transportation challenges, our proposal is more equitable than the mayor’s plan, and we look forward to working with the mayor’s office and City Council to make it a reality,” Lyft spokeswoman Campbell Matthews said.

Uber provided examples that said the tax on a ride from River North to the West Loop would be $1.72 under its plan versus $3 under the city’s. From Lake View to Logan Square, riders would pay $1.72 under the Uber plan versus $1.25 under the city plan.

Hartfield said the proposed ride-hailing tax would still be the highest in the country.

Ride-hailing tax zones proposed by Uber.