UPDATE: Liberty Yellow Cab has called off the planned boycott in downtown Buffalo on New Years Eve in the interest of public safety, according to a spokesperson for the cab company.
On Friday, Senator Chris Jacobs urged Liberty owner Bill Yuhnke to reconsider saying, “continued dialogue with city leadership without placing peoples’ lives at risk through this boycott.”
Yuhnke says he will continue his efforts to "level the playing field with the ride sharing companies and plans to pursue efforts with the city to get them to address that unfair environment."
ORIGINAL STORY: Liberty Cab announced today that they will be boycotting New Years Eve in Buffalo. This means no Liberty Cabs throughout the City of Buffalo during New Years.
Liberty Cab is boycotting due to the fact that they believe ride sharing is given an advantage over taxis.
"'We' have to go to city hall, get a background check, go to the police station. All these things you have to do that with ride sharing you don't have to" Liberty Cab driver Joseph Carter said.
Uber drivers do have to go through background checks, just not ones that are done through the government, making the taxi company believe that they are at a disadvantage.
"It's almost a slap in the face to all the hard work you put in to become a driver."
Liberty Cab is asking the City of Buffalo to step in and "even the playing field". According to City Councilman Joe Golombek, this is not as easy as it sounds.
"It's (not up to the buffalo government) because this was a decision made in Albany not by the city council."
Liberty Cab will not be picking anyone up in the City of Buffalo on January 31st however they will be dropping people off in the city.
7 Eyewitness News reached out to the mayors office who responded saying "The mayor agreed to meet with taxi officials in the early part of the new year (January 16th). If they choose to boycott that is their right however the city believes there are other taxi cabs that are able to provide services on New Years Eve."
Designated Drivers of Buffalo will be offering free rides on New Years Eve to discourage drunk driving. You can find all of that information at their website here.
