What's happening
This bill requires all accessible taxicabs and livery vehicles in New York to have side entry and meet safety standards.
Why it matters
Ensures true accessibility. By requiring all accessible taxicabs and livery vehicles to have side entry built by the original equipment manufacturer (OEM), the bill aims to guarantee that these vehicles are designed from the ground up for wheelchair access, reducing makeshift or substandard retrofits.
Strengthens safety oversight. Vehicles that are converted or modified post-manufacture to become wheelchair accessible must undergo crash testing and submit safety data for approval by the Department of Transportation, raising the safety bar for converted vehicles.
Prevents use of unsafe modifications. No converted, altered, or modified vehicle can be used as an accessible taxi or livery vehicle unless it has been crash-tested and certified, closing loopholes that may have allowed unsafe vehicles to operate.
Standardizes approval processes. The Department of Transportation is mandated to develop and implement clear rules for evaluating and approving modified accessible vehicles, which will bring consistency and transparency to how such vehicles are regulated.
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Who cares
Passengers with disabilities and wheelchair users
Taxicabs and liveries required to be accessible or advertised as accessible would have to allow all passengers to enter through a passenger compartment side door.
Taxicab and livery operators
Covered vehicles would have to be built wheelchair-accessible by the original manufacturer or receive state Department of Transportation approval for an accessibility conversion.
Wheelchair-accessible vehicle converters
Converted vehicles would need crash testing and submission of crash-test and safety data before they could be certified for taxicab or livery use.
New York State Department of Transportation
The department would have to establish approval rules and review safety data for converted vehicles, with no approvals allowed until those rules are issued.
Headline styles
Require Safe Taxi Access
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
No co-sponsors yet.
History
- Referred to transportation
- Referred to transportation
Full text
2 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
1531
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
January 15, 2019
Introduced by Sen. KENNEDY -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Transportation
AN ACT to amend the vehicle and traffic law, in relation to requiring safe passenger access to all for-hire vehicles
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Section 375 of the vehicle and traffic law is amended by adding a new subdivision 53 to read as follows:
53. Accessible side entry for taxicab and livery vehicles. (a) Every taxicab and livery registered in this state that is required by local, state, or federal law or regulation to be handicap accessible, or in any way advertises its services as accessible to individuals with disabilities and individuals who use wheelchairs, must be: (i) built as wheelchair accessible by the vehicle's original equipment manufacturer (OEM), except as provided in paragraph (b) of this subdivision and (ii) equipped to allow all passengers to enter the vehicle through a passenger compartment side door.
(b) A taxicab or livery vehicle not built as wheelchair accessible by the OEM, and subsequently converted, modified or altered to be wheelchair accessible, may only be used as a taxicab or livery vehicle with the approval of the department of transportation. The department of transportation shall require submission of crash test and safety data for the model of converted, altered, or modified vehicle and consider this data in making a determination to certify the vehicle for use as a taxicab or livery vehicle, except that, no converted, altered or modified vehicle may be certified that has not been crash-tested and the results submitted to the department of transportation. The department of transportation shall issue rules to govern the approval process set out in this paragraph and no converted, modified or altered vehicle may be approved for use as a transportation taxicab or livery vehicle until such rules have been issued.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD02062-02-9
S. 1531 2
§ 2. This act shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth day after it shall have become a law, provided that this act shall apply to taxicab and livery vehicles registered with a state or local authority on and after such effective date.
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the vehicle and traffic law, in relation to requiring safe passenger access to all for-hire vehicles
Purpose or general idea of bill
This bill would require all taxicabs and other for-hire vehicles that are required to be handicap accessible or advertises as accessible to individuals with disabilities and individuals who use wheelchairs to provide side-entry capabilities for those passengers.
Summary of specific provisions
Section 1 amends the vehicle and traffic law to require all taxicabs and livery vehicles in the state that are required by local, state, or federal law or regulation to be handicap accessible, or in any way advertise its services as accessible to individuals with disabilities and individuals who use wheelchairs, to be built as wheelchair accessi- ble by the vehicle's original equipment manufacturer (OEM) and provide side-entry for all passengers.
Paragraph (b) allows converted vehicles to be used as a taxicab or livery vehicle with the approval of the Department of Transportation. The paragraph also requires the submission of crash test and safety data for converted vehicles before the Department can certify a vehicle for use.
Section 2 establishes the effective date and provides that taxicab and livery vehicles already registered with a state or local authority are not affected.
Justification
Wheelchair accessibility in for-hire vehicles is a major issue across the state, and for-hire operators are purchasing and utilizing more "accessible" vehicles to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act. However, many of these "accessible" vehicles are non-accessible vehicles converted to include a rear-loading ramp for passengers who use wheelchairs. These rear-entry vehicles present a number of problems for individuals with disabilities.
Rear-entry vehicles require the passenger to get out into the middle of the street to board the vehicle. This puts the passenger in harm's way by exposing them to traffic on the street. Requiring loading in the street can also be difficult for passengers in a wheelchair who may have to navigate high curbs.
Rear-entry vehicles pose a safety issue once the passenger is in the car as well. The ramp is usually installed after-market, which means the safety precautions built into the car at manufacture are compromised. A rear-end collision could be catastrophic in one of these vehicles. The ramp used to load the passenger is also often folded in such a way as to place the hard, metal ramp directly behind the passenger's head, which could be extremely dangerous in the event of a crash.
Finally, rear-entry vehicles can be demoralizing for individuals with disabilities, who must enter through a separate door from their peers, and often must sit physically separated from everyone else in the trunk of the vehicle. This physical separation stigmatizes disability and actively works against the principles of the federal Americans with Disabilities Act.
This bill would require all for-hire vehicles and taxicabs to provide side-entry access for individuals with disabilities and passengers who use wheelchairs. Side-entry allows passengers to safely board the vehi- cle the same way as everyone else and allows all passengers to sit together safely.
Prior legislative history
2017-18: S.674 Referred to Transportation
2015-16: S.5591A Referred to Transportation.
Fiscal implications for state and local governments
To be determined.
Effective date
This act shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth day after it shall have become a law.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.