In a possible precedent for other cities, the New York City Council voted Wednesday to cap the number of licenses it issues to ride-hailing vehicles for one year as part of a broader investigation into the market.

New York is unique among many but not all cities in that it regulates ride-hailing vehicles through licensing but has been liberal in the issue of those licenses until now. The move to cap the number of licenses is claimed to be part of an investigation into how ride-hailing services operate in the city, including the consideration of implementing a minimum wage for drivers, despite the fact that the drivers operate as independent contractors.

There are some exceptions to the cap, including the ability for the Taxi & Limousine Commission to issue new licenses if there’s a drop in availability in the city’s outer boroughs. There’s also no cap on granting new licenses for wheelchair-accessible vehicles.

Uber Technologies Inc. was not happy with the ruling, saying in a statement that “the city’s 12-month pause on new vehicle licenses will threaten one of the few reliable transportation options while doing nothing to fix the subways or ease congestion.”

Lyft Inc. went as far as using the race card, saying that “these sweeping cuts to transportation will bring New Yorkers back to an era of struggling to get a ride, particularly for communities of color and in the outer boroughs.”

The cap, which still has to be signed off on by New York Mayor Bill de Blasio, applies only to New York City. But there’s a bigger danger for Uber and Lyft.

“The real trouble is that this may set a precedent for other cities looking to regulate Uber,” Johana Bhuiyan at Recode noted. “While Uber and Lyft may be able to stomach a pause in what is Uber’s largest market in the U.S., attempts to replicate these bills in other places may prove to be much more overbearing or sweeping than those passed today in New York.”

That’s a real risk in the marketplace, but it does ignore the fact that Uber and Lyft could simply ignore any caps or regulations put in place and continue operating as normal. Uber, in particular, has a history of simply ignoring local laws in many places it operates.

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