Uber drivers protest proposed regulations of car-hailing apps

Dozens of angry Uber drivers protested outside Taxi and Limousine Commission offices in lower Manhattan on Thursday as the agency weighed proposed new regulations aimed at reining in car-service apps.

The TLC said there are now 76 different apps, including Uber and Lyft, being used by black cars to pick up passengers, and they need to be regulated.

But the drivers said there’s clearly something more nefarious afoot with the planned rules.

“The TLC wants to shut down Uber,” said Queens Uber driver Shahin Bhuiyan, 36.

Under the proposed regulations, hacks using Uber and the other apps would have to use a voice-activated system or one that involves a single tap to accept a ride, to reduce potential distractions while driving.

The drivers also won’t be ­allowed to be working with more than two apps at a time, even though some are signed up for several different companies.

The app companies would have to give riders a price estimate ­before the trip, too, and the TLC would get the right to approve any significant app changes.

Uber blasted the new regulations as going too far and even ­violating federal law. It says car-service apps are run not by transportation companies but tech firms, so the TLC should not be regulating them.

“The impact of these rules, while detrimental for our quality of service and continued growth, will be crushing for our driver-partners,’’ added Uber’s New York policy ­director, Michael Allegretti, who works in policy for Uber.

But the Metropolitan Taxicab Board of Trade group ripped Uber’s gripes.

“It came as no surprise that Uber, which is allergic to regulation, is whining and crying like a spoiled child over rules that do nothing but protect consumer rights and public safety,” said spokesman Michael Woloz.

Bhairavi Desai, of the New York Taxi Workers Alliance, added about the protest, “The reality is, the majority of [Uber] drivers see through the scam’’ and most didn’t show up for the protest.

Uber took several steps to make sure its presence was known outside the hearing on the proposed regulations at the TLC’s downtown headquarters.

A text message was sent to drivers Wednesday and Thursday saying, “Tell the TLC to support you and NOT pass these rules which would put Uber at risk of being shut down citywide.”

The company offered free ­T-shirts and bagels to those who showed up outside the building. About 50 of the app’s 16,000 ­drivers showed up.

Drivers outside of TLC headquarters told the Post they came because they thought the city was shutting down Uber.

“The TLC wants to shut down Uber,” said Shahin Bhuiyan, a 36-year-old Uber driver from Queens. “Everyday we are moving in New York City, and giving good service. They want to shut it down.”

Some drivers said they were there because they were concerned they would be penalized for canceled trips under the proposed rules.

“We are here to let you know we support Uber,” said Moustar Diallo, 32, of Queens. “The driver has the right to cancel.”