Actor Ashton Kutcher posted the following rant on Facebook on Monday, criticizing New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio's plan to severely restrict Uber in the city. Uber is a ridesharing service and a taxi alternative that allows customers to be connected with a ride via a smartphone app.
As Kutcher pointed out, Uber has helped to fill many gaps in the city's current cab industry, and de Blasio's proposals are stamping out innovation.
I am beside my self with the regulation that Mayor DeBlasio is trying to force upon Uber and the citizens of NYC. He...
Posted by Ashton Kutcher on Monday, July 20, 2015
Now, other celebrities (and plenty of normal, non-famous people) are chiming in with Kutcher and criticizing de Blasio's anti-Uber agenda, using the hashtag #UberMovesNYC:
.@BilldeBlasio Why do you want to return to days when only those in Midtown & Lower Manhattan could get a ride? #UberMovesNYC
— Kate Upton (@KateUpton) July 22, 2015
.@BilldeBlasio: 25K new residents use @Uber_NYC each week. How is a fixed # of cars supposed to serve this demand for rides? #UberMovesNYC
— Neil Patrick Harris (@ActuallyNPH) July 22, 2015Hey @BilldeBlasio - where is the forward thinking creative leader we all fell for? Don't. Kill. Progress. #UberMovesNYC
— JARED LETO (@JaredLeto) July 22, 2015.@BilldeBlasio 25% of Uber rides are in the outer boroughs vs 6% for taxi. Do you only care about riders in Manhattan? #UberMovesNYC
— Amanda Drury (@MandyCNBC) July 22, 2015Uber has been 1000x better to me in NY than the old taxi industry ???? @BilldeBlasio #UberMovesNYC
— BRENMAR (@BBRENMAR) July 22, 2015Uber, for its part, has taken aggressive action to inform New Yorkers about what would happen if de Blasio gets his wishes. De Blasio has argued that the cars contribute to congestion and pollution, a claim which Uber calls baseless.
De Blasio has received more than $350,000 in contributions from NYC's taxi industry.
