Phony Uber drivers are picking up tourists outside the US Open in Queens and charging them illegally high fares, the New York Post reported.
The drivers stand next to their cars and lure tourists with printed signs of the Uber logo, according to the report. They then offer a ride for more than double what it normally costs.
After the report, an Uber spokesperson said the New York City Parks Department is to blame for the scammers.
The spokesperson said Uber was blocked from using a parking lot adjacent to Arthur Ashe Stadium, which would have stopped illegal drivers from luring tourists.
“Our law-abiding drivers are losing business and riders are being ripped off by these illegal scammers in part because the Parks Department refused to let us rent the Queens Museum lot," an Uber spokesperson told NBC 4 New York. "The NYPD and the Queens Museum had been working productively with us to help prevent exactly this type of problem, yet the Parks Department never responded to us when we asked why they were standing in the way.”
However, a mayoral spokesman said the lot Uber requested would have interfered with event security.
"Safety being our utmost priority at the U.S. Open, NYPD and NYC Parks determined that the special area Uber requested would impede necessary security operations during the event," Austin Finan, a spokesman for Mayor de Blasio said.
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The Taxi and Limousine Commission urges anyone who has been overcharged by an illegal driver to call 311 and file a report.
