What's happening
This bill allows licensed commuter vans in New York City to pick up street-hailing passengers.
Why it matters
Citywide change. Adds licensed commuter vans to the vehicles allowed to accept street hails in New York City.
More pickup options. Prospective passengers could flag down a commuter van rather than arrange a ride beforehand.
Licensing stays required. Vans would still need a valid vehicle license and authorization to operate as part of a commuter van service.
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Who cares
Commuter van operators
Licensed operators could accept passengers who hail them on the street.
New York City passengers
Riders would gain a legal street-hail option beyond taxicabs.
Taxicab operators
Commuter vans would join them among vehicles permitted to accept street hails.
New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission
The bill would change the street-hail restrictions it enforces for commuter vans.
Headline styles
Allow Commuter Van Street Hails
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
No co-sponsors yet.
History
- Referred to cities
- Referred to cities
Full text
2 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
2781
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
January 29, 2019
Introduced by Sen. LANZA -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Cities
AN ACT to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to allowing commuter vans to accept hails from prospective passengers in the street; and to repeal certain provisions of such law relating thereto
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Subdivision p of section 19-502 of the administrative code of the city of New York, as amended by local law number 197 of the city of New York for the year 2018, is amended to read as follows:
p. "Commuter van" means a commuter van service having a seating capacity of at least nine passengers but not more than twenty passengers or such greater capacity as the commission may establish by rule and carrying passengers for hire in the city duly licensed as a commuter van by the commission [and not permitted to accept hails from prospective passengers in the street]. For purposes of the provisions of this chapter relating to prohibitions against the operation of an unauthorized commuter van service or an unlicensed commuter van and to the enforcement of such prohibitions and to the imposition of penalties for violations of such prohibitions and to the seizure and forfeiture of commuter vans, the term shall also include any common carrier of passengers by motor vehicle not subject to licensure as a taxicab, for-hire vehicle, or wheelchair accessible van and not operating as an authorized bus line pursuant to applicable provisions of law regardless of the seating capacity of any such vehicle. The commission shall submit to the council the text of any proposed rule relating to the maximum capacity of commuter vans at the time such proposed rule is published in the City Record.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD07204-02-9
S. 2781 2
§ 2. Paragraph 1 of subdivision a of section 19-504 of the administrative code of the city of New York, as amended by local law number 115 of the city of New York for the year 1993, is amended to read as follows:
(1) A taxi-cab, coach, wheelchair accessible van, commuter van or for-hire vehicle shall operate within the city of New York only if the owner shall first have obtained from the commission a taxicab, coach, wheelchair accessible van, commuter van or for-hire vehicle license for such vehicle and only while such license is in full force and effect. Vehicle licenses shall be issued for a term of not less than one nor more than two years and shall expire on the date set forth on the license unless sooner suspended or revoked by the commission. No motor vehicle other than a duly licensed taxicab or commuter van shall be permitted to accept hails from passengers in the street. No commuter van shall be operated within the city of New York unless it is operated as part of a current, valid authorization to operate a commuter van service duly issued by the commission pursuant to section 19-504.2 of this chapter.
§ 3. The section heading and subdivision a of section 19-516 of the administrative code of the city of New York, the section heading as amended by local law number 115 of the city of New York for the year 1993 and subdivision a as amended by chapter 9 of the laws of 2012, are amended to read as follows:
Acceptance of passengers by for-hire vehicles [and commuter vans]. [a.] For-hire vehicles that do not possess a valid HAIL license may accept passengers only on the basis of telephone contract or prearrangement. The commission or successor agency may establish such disciplinary actions as it deems appropriate for failure to abide by the provisions of this chapter.
§ 4. Subdivision b of section 19-516 of the administrative code of the city of New York is REPEALED.
§ 5. This act shall take effect immediately.
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to allowing commuter vans to accept hails from prospective passengers in the street; and to repeal certain provisions of such law relating thereto
Purpose
To provide consumers additional methods of transportation.
Summary of provisions
Section one of the bill amends subdivision p of § 19-502 of the adminis- trative code of the city of New York to alter the definition of commuter van by removing the provision which prohibits accepting hails from prospective passengers in the street.
Section two of the bill amends paragraph one of subdivision a of § 19-504 of the administrative code of the city of New York to add commu- ter vans as vehicles that are authorized to accept hails from passengers in the street.
Section three of the bill amends the section heading and subdivision a of 19516 of the administrative code of the city of New York to make technical changes.
Section four of the bill repeals subdivision b of § 19-516 of the admin- istrative code of the city of New York to eliminate the provision that limits commuter vans to providing transportation services only to passengers who contact them through the telephone or through some other pre-arranged method. This section also repeals the associated violation relating to this subdivision.
Section five of the bill provides the effective date.
Justification
Commuter vans provide a service to many individuals throughout New York State. Whether it is helping transport people to the airport, to work, or to an event, commuter vans offer a service which gets people to a location in a safe manner. However, potential passengers are limited in how they can utilize the commuter van service. Currently, commuter vans are not permitted to accept hails from prospective passengers in the street and consumers can only make use of the service if they have made arrangements with the company to employ the service beforehand. Elimi- nating the pre-arrangement element will legitimize how commuter vans operate along the roads and will provide additional methods of transpor- tation to passengers resulting in constituents getting to their desig- nated places faster and safer.
Prior legislative history
2018: S.6621- Referred to Cities/ A.7948 - Referred to Cities 2017: S.6621- Referred to Rules /A.7948 - Referred to Cities
Fiscal implications
None to the State.
Effective date
Immediately.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.