> Researchers from The New School and University of California, Berkeley, in a city-commissioned study, determined that drivers make about $9.73 per hour after expenses.

> However, Uber points to a study from Cornell University’s Industry Labor Relations School that found the median driver made about $23 an hour after expenses. That study uses a different definition of working time and makes different assumptions about driver expenses, among other differences.

> Under the new rules, drivers will earn a gross hourly pay of about $30.30 per hour, before expenses. The legislation will set new per-mile and per-minute rates for drivers while they’re carrying passengers, which are meant to be high enough to compensate for job-related expenses, time spent waiting for rides and time driving to pick up passengers.

The city found it to be just under $10, hence the 50% raise. Uber did their own math and found it to be $23. I haven't read either study but I don't trust Uber one bit with their calculation. Either way, they have to meet the standards of the law, not their own number they can define however they want.