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History
- Referred to transportation
Companion bill
The same bill in the other chamber. A bill becomes law when one version passes both houses and the governor signs it, so either number can carry it.
Relates to taxi and limousine services equipped with wheelchair accessible vehicles
In Assembly Committee · Transportation · Sponsor Victor M. Pichardo
Full text
The text isn't available here yet. Check nysenate.gov.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the transportation law, in relation to taxi and limousine services equipped with wheelchair accessible vehicles
Purpose
To create an efficient model for the provision of transportation services to people with disability that requires the use of a wheelchair.
Summary of provisions
Section one of this bill authorizes The Department to promulgate such rules and regulations as it shall deem necessary to implement the provisions of this title.
Read the full memo (682 words)
Section two of this bill requires that The New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission shall provide a for-hire wheelchair accessible transportation and dispatch service.
Section three of this bill states that the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC) should stop its practice of penalizing for-hire bases for a rule the TLC itself admits the industry cannot comply with, and that the for-hire vehicle industry shall not be subject to the responsibilities provided in this chapter.
Section four of this bill provides this act shall take effect immediately.
Justification
Under New York City Rules and Regulations, For-Hire Bases are required to provide "equivalent service" to wheelchair users and non-wheelchair users. While these For-Hire Bases currently service thousands of disabled non-wheelchair users on a daily basis, For-Hire Bases could never, nor will they ever be able to provide wheelchair users with the service required by the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC). The inability of the For-Hire Industry to comply with the TLC's rule has been conceded to by both the current and previous TLC commissioners. However, rather than seeking a model that works, the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission is treating the rule as a revenue raiser by levying heavy fines against For-Hire Bases which as a business matter have neither the business model capability of providing wheelchair accessible vehicles, nor the legal authority of conditioning affiliated drivers to purchase a wheelchair accessible vehicle (affiliated drivers or vehicle owners purchase the vehicles, not the for hire bases).
From a regulatory perspective, the TLC clearly distinguishes between a For-Hire Vehicle owner and the For-Hire Base. As provided by TLC Rule 59(A)-03e, a For-Hire Base is defined as "the commission-licensed business for dispatching for hire vehicles and the physical location from which For-Hire Vehicle are dispatched". The TLC rules do not define the Bases as the owner of For-Hire vehicles and as stated by the many TLC commissioners, affiliated for-hire drivers/owners are independent operators that choose the vehicle they wish to purchase and time that they wish to work. All of the TLC rules regarding for-hire vehicles' type, insurance, inspection, etc' only pertain to the for-hire vehicle owner, not the For-Hire Base. The concept of placing such responsibility on For-Hire Bases is inconsistent with the reality of the industry as Bases do not own cars, garages or employ drivers. To create a system that may provide "equivalent service" would require an entity to own vehicles and employ drivers, something 99% of the For-Hire Bases don't do. From a public policy standpoint, repeated waves of heavy fines levied against For-Hire Bases may have helped the City's coffers, but it has failed to benefit the disabled community which is not being properly serviced. Therefore, it is important that a program be created that efficiently and equitably provide wheelchair users with transportation service. Such an outcome will be accomplished by creating a central dispatch, controlled by the city, which will dispatch wheelchair accessible vehicles throughout the City of New York. The described program ensures that wheelchair users actually receive their transportation services.
Lastly, the legislation precludes the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission from continuing, its practice of capriciously fining For-Hire Bases. This policy is consistent with the practice of all other US municipalities in regards to For-Hire Vehicles as well as follows the nationwide solution used with wheelchair accessible rental car, whereby all rental cars companies refer a wheelchair user to a special wheelchair accessible rental company.
Prior legislative history
New bill.
Fiscal impact
To be determined.
Effective date
This act shall take effect immediately.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.