New York’s Taxis Need to be Accessible
September 26, 2011
I’m grateful Governor Cuomo has recognized that making the taxi and livery fleet accessible to wheelchair users is not an impossible feat. The Assembly has already taken the first step by passing my legislation, A.4406, which will make every new taxi accessible starting in 2014. Additionally, two U.S. companies are currently building purpose-built wheelchair accessible taxis, one of which, the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission has already approved. There is even a tax credit I sponsored, A.966-B, waiting to be signed by the Governor that would incentivize the purchase of these vehicles.
While I would like to eventually see every taxi be accessible, I’ve proposed a plan, the Access-for-All Taxi and Livery Plan (A4ATL), which modifies the current bill and will increase the number of accessible taxis and liveries from roughly 300 to 3,000 over the next three years. I hope the Governor will use this as a template and build upon it so that wheelchair users have a real opportunity to use this iconic mode of transportation.
VPG MV-1 Accessible Taxi
Assembly Takes Giant Step Towards a Taxi for All
June 13, 2011
I am thrilled to report that the New York State Assembly has just passed my legislation (A.4406) which requires that after October 1, 2014, all new taxicabs put into service in New York City must be accessible to riders with disabilities.
Hailing a cab is an iconic New York experience, but people with disabilities have been locked out of this crucial mode of transportation for far too long. While I am proud to champion this cause, I’m disappointed that the City continues to deny the civil rights of people with disabilities.
Right now, there are an estimated 60,000 wheelchair users, 300,000 individuals with low-vision or who are blind, and almost one million people who have hearing loss or are deaf, that live in New York City. These people need to be able to move about the City just as everyone else does, yet only 231 of the 13,237 medallion yellow cabs (1.7%) are wheelchair-accessible or provide other accommodations to people with disabilities.
Under my legislation, all new taxis must be wheelchair-accessible for the transport of wheelchairs and scooters, use consistent internal design, have enough space to accommodate a service animal, make as much noise as a conventional gasoline-powered car so that they can be heard by the vision-impaired, include Braille signage and text in large-sized fonts, and be equipped with an assistive listening system so that riders with hearing aids can communicate with the driver. Additionally, my legislation does not require any medallion owner to take a vehicle already in service off the road; it only applies to new vehicles being placed into service for the first time.
The Assembly has shown once again that they stand with New Yorkers with disabilities. I would hope the City Council will take their cue from us. City Council Member G. Oliver Koppell has introduced legislation which mandates that any new taxi design approved by the TLC must be wheelchair accessible. Surely, with 40 sponsors and a veto-proof majority, they can pass legislation that merely makes taxis wheelchair accessible.
You can access my bill here.
You can view my full press release below:
[scribd id=57291870 key=key-23c9ypdp2utv2hz4dvp3 mode=list
Department of Justice Opens Investigation of TLC
May 24, 2011
As many of you are aware, on March 29th I lodged a formal complaint with the United States Department of Justice that centered on whether or not the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC) has been willfully disregarding the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). In the time since, the City has continued to leave riders with disabilities stranded. Most recently, the City chose the Nissan NV-200, a vehicle that is not accessible, as the’ Taxi of Tomorrow’.
The City responded to my complaint by stating that taxi officials were planning a program that meets ADA guidelines through a system that dispatches accessible taxis for people with disabilities. This program is reminiscent of the City’s pilot dispatch program which was proved to be ineffective in my report Stranded. On Monday, I sent a second letter to the Justice Department outlining how this program still fails to meet ADA requirements.
I am pleased to report that the Department of Justice has heard the call of the 60,000 wheelchair users in New York City. Yesterday, the United States Attorney’s office in Manhattan formally launched the investigation into whether the lack of wheelchair-accessible taxicabs in New York City amounts to a violation of parts of the ADA. While I’m glad the Justice Department is looking into the issue, I’m disappointed that once again we must turn to the courts because the City keeps lowering the bar and denying the civil rights of people with disabilities.
You can read the New York Times story about the investigation here.
You can see my second letter to the Department of Justice below:
Letter to US Attorney Bharara Regarding TLC Central Dispatch
Who Knew That The ‘Taxi of Tomorrow’ Was The Delivery Van Of Yesterday?
May 3, 2011
Today, Mayor Bloomberg and Commissioner Yassky decided to leave riders with disabilities out in the cold with the selection of the Nissan NV200 in the ‘Taxi of Tomorrow’ contest. In doing so, they have set the fight for equal access back almost a decade.
Taxis have always been an iconic symbol of New York City and should also be an icon of inclusiveness. After all, a city that welcomes everyone should have a taxi that everyone can use. This administration has missed a tremendous opportunity to open the doors that have been closed for far too long, to far too many people.
Ultimately, the United States Justice Department must determine whether the selection of the Nissan NV200 violates the wheelchair accessibility requirements of Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act. You can read my complaint that initiated the Department of Justice investigation here. Thankfully, Mayor Bloomberg and Commissioner Yassky will not have the last say on what vehicle is the ‘Taxi of Tomorrow’.
Today, I, along with NYC Public Advocate Bill DeBlasio and Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz, called on NYC Comptroller John Liu to investigate whether potential conflicts of interest have fundamentally and irreversibly prejudiced the selection process of the ‘Taxi of Tomorrow.’ If this is determined to be the case, we must question whether it is appropriate for the Comptroller’s office to certify a contract for Nissan as the ‘Taxi of Tomorrow.’ You can read our letter below.
5.03.11 Letter to Comptroller Liu
FDR Hope Memorial: A True Inspiration
March 31, 2011
Franklin D. Roosevelt was a testament to the ability of the human spirit and mind to overcome physical limitations. Yet his disability, a significant piece of his life, is often left out of history.
I am proud to see that on Roosevelt Island, also named after our former president, his image will be fully represented. The FDR Hope Memorial will depict President Roosevelt how he was during much of his time in the White House: seated in the wheelchair he designed for himself.
I was also pleased to hear that Meredith Bergmann, a New York based artist, was chosen to design the monument. Ms. Bergmann’s experience in public art, and thoughtful approach, will not only allow her to develop and communicate the mission of the FDR Hope Memorial, but will help to bring about a work of art that will inspire generations.
On Saturday, April 9, 2011 from 6 PM to 7 PM, the RIVAA Gallery at 529 Main Street, Roosevelt Island, will unveil the design of the FDR sculpture that is to be placed in the fully accessible FDR Hope Memorial Park.
President Roosevelt’s inspiring story gives hope to individuals with disabilities. This sculpture of President Roosevelt, a personal hero of mine, will honor his enduring message.
For more information or to make a donation, visit http://www.FDRHopeMemorial.org/>
Taxi of Tomorrow: A Chance to Make History
November 16, 2010
Yesterday, Mayor Bloomberg announced three finalists in the competition to design and build New York City’s Taxi of Tomorrow. This is a historic opportunity for the Mayor and the Taxi and Limousine Commission to make New York the world capital of accessibility by mandating a 100% wheelchair-accessible taxi fleet. The Mayor has stated repeatedly that he wants the Taxi of Tomorrow to be iconic—and I agree. It should be an icon of inclusiveness. A city that welcomes all people should have a taxi that everyone can get into. The yellow cab is often the first thing people see when they come to New York, and there should be no barriers to using this terrific mode of transportation. This is why I sponsor legislation to require that all new cabs put on the road beginning in 2013 be fully accessible.
I am very concerned that two of the three finalists continue the status quo of inaccessibility. It’s incredibly important that the vehicle chosen to be the Taxi of Tomorrow is wheelchair-accessible right off the assembly line. The TLC should learn its lesson and stop trying to fit a square peg into a round hole. For too long the approach has been to take every vehicle under the sun and try to cram it into taxi form—but just because you paint it yellow doesn’t mean it will work as a taxi. The whole purpose of this exercise is find a vehicle that is designed and built to be the right taxi for all New Yorkers.
Choosing a purpose-built accessible taxi will change the way people get around the city and will go a long way toward reducing the enormous cost of paratransit that is such a burden on our city and state budgets. If the Mayor can’t choose an accessible vehicle, he needs to go back to the drawing board.
Video Shows TLC’s Failure to Require Accessibility for NYC Cabs
July 27, 2010
Recently, I posted about the hearing I held on July 14th focusing on the need for New York City’s taxi fleet to be completely accessible to people with disabilities.
Below is a video clip from the hearing, in which Taxi and Limousine Commissioner David Yassky discusses how the TLC’s Taxi of Tomorrow Request for Proposal (RFP) does not make accessibility a requirement in vehicle designs, only a goal. My bill (A.7842) would mandate a 100% accessible taxi fleet by requiring that after June 30, 2011, taxi owners may put only accessible cabs into service when replacing old vehicles.
You can access video footage of the entire hearing here.
Hearing Exposes Failure of TLC to Make Cabs Accessible
July 16, 2010
I have always been a strong proponent of making New York City’s taxi fleet 100% accessible to people with disabilities. In June of 2009, I released my report Stranded, which documented the failure of the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission’s central dispatch pilot program. My report Not For Hire exposed the failure of a TLC rule requiring for-hire vehicle (FHV) companies to offer equivalent service to customers using wheelchairs. I have blogged extensively about my work to make an accessible taxi fleet a reality.
On Wednesday I held a hearing with the Assembly Committee on Cities, Committee on Corporations, Authorities and Commissions, Committee on Transportation, and the Assembly Task Force on People with Disabilities, focusing on the need to achieve a fully accessible taxi fleet, and on my legislation (A. 7842) to mandate that after June 30, 2011, taxi owners may put only accessible cabs into service when replacing old vehicles.
At the hearing, Taxi and Limousine Commissioner David Yassky admitted that the TLC’s central dispatch pilot program was a failure. Back in December 2007, I wrote an Op-Ed in the New York Post raising concerns about the program. Unfortunately, my predictions proved correct. Now that this two-year pilot program has ended, the TLC has no way of getting accessible taxis to the people who need them. Until there are more accessible taxis on the road, the nearly 60,000 people with disabilities in New York City will continue to be left stranded- and as it stands, the TLC still has no firm plans to provide equal service for customers with disabilities.
As the hearing highlighted, the Commission’s plans for a “Taxi of Tomorrow” fail to include any guarantee of accessibility. The TLC’s Taxi of Tomorrow Request for Proposals (RFP) only makes accessibility a goal, not a mandate. Without such a mandate, the door is left open for accessibility criteria to fall by the wayside when determining the vehicle chosen for the Taxi of Tomorrow initiative. Accessibility should be a requirement, not a goal.
Report: TLC Failing Livery and Black Car Customers in Wheelchairs
April 21, 2010
Outside of Manhattan, for-hire vehicles–black cars and livery cabs–are often the only real way to get around. But wheelchair users are finding the door slammed in their face.
Today I am releasing a report that exposes the failure of a New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC) rule requiring for-hire vehicle (FHV) companies to offer equivalent service to customers using wheelchairs. The report finds that only 4% of livery car companies—and no black car companies—can accommodate service requests by riders in wheelchairs at a price and within a time frame equivalent to what is available for able-bodied riders. And price gouging of customers with disabilities is rampant and outrageous: on average, those livery companies that did offer accessible vehicles charged $37 more per ride for those vehicles than for ordinary cars—while black car companies charged an average of $109 more.
Moreover, the TLC admits that it only planned to begin enforcing compliance with the rule in December 2009—six years after the rule went into effect.
The magnitude of the TLC’s failure is shocking. The Commission does not even dispute the numbers in my report—they know they’ve failed, but it’s wheelchair users who are paying the price.
Among the report’s key findings:
-Only 4% of livery car companies were able to offer trips for wheelchair users at an equivalent price and within a reasonable time frame;
-40% of livery car companies and 43% of black car companies said that they would be unable to provide any services for a wheelchair user;
-Livery companies that did offer accessible vehicles charged an average of $37 more that service than for ordinary cars, while black car bases charged an average of $109 more;
-Of the 30,110 livery and black car vehicles on the road, only 75—0.2%—are accessible.
TLC Rule 6-07(f) requires all FHV companies to offer service for wheelchair users equivalent to that offered for the able-bodied, either by providing their own accessible vehicles or by contracting with another provider. My report finds that only 14% of livery companies and 2% of black car companies own wheelchair-accessible vehicles—while 152 livery companies and 12 black car companies claimed to rely on the same four third-party contractors to provide accessible vehicles. These contractors often charge FHV companies exorbitantly high rates for their vehicles.
The report, “Not for Hire: How Non-Compliance by For-Hire Companies and Lack of Enforcement by the TLC are Failing Wheelchair Users,” was researched through phone calls to every one of the 495 livery companies and all 68 black car companies in New York City. Companies were asked to verify their compliance with Rule 6-07 (f). Companies that indicated that they could provide accessible service were called again with an inquiry about the pricing and availability of accessible vehicles for a trip to LaGuardia Airport.
During the follow-up calls, the callers did not identify themselves as calling from an Assembly office—under these less official circumstances, my staffers discovered that many companies had been blatantly lying about their ability to provide accessible vehicles–at least 90 of the livery companies that had initially claimed to be able to provide accessible service now stated that they were unable to do so, while another 67 provided a phone number as a referral to another service rather than directly dispatching a vehicle—a violation of the TLC rule.
The report’s recommendations include:
-FHV bases that own a large number of vehicles should be required to have accessible vehicles in their fleets;
-The TLC should clearly identify on its website those FHV companies that own accessible vehicles;
-The TLC should restrict the number of FHV companies allowed to affiliate with a single third-party contractor;
-The TLC should monitor third-party providers for price gouging and other inequitable practices, and price gouging should incur significant penalties;
-The TLC should undertake periodic audits of livery and black car companies to ensure compliance.
The TLC needs to radically re-think its approach. The best thing the TLC can do now is revoke Rule 6-07(f), bring together advocates and the industry, and start from scratch. It’s clear that when it comes to making livery cabs and black cars accessible, the Commission has spent the last six years going nowhere.
The report is available below, and as a downloadable PDF here.
Access-A-Ride Cuts Will Leave Disabled Riders Stranded
December 17, 2009
On Wednesday, State Senator Tom Duane and I gathered with disabilities advocates, for-hire vehicle industry representatives, and Access-A-Ride users in front of Selis Manor in Manhattan to oppose the MTA’s slashing of the Access-A-Ride operating budget. Access-A-Ride, New York City Transit’s paratransit service, is the only mode of transportation for people with disabilities who are unable to take regular mass transit.
The MTA plans to cut $40 million from its operating budget this year, and $80 million the next.
No written plan exists explaining how Access-A-Ride is expected to absorb these cuts. Transit officials have shared only that they plan to examine their “legal obligation to provide door-to-door services.”
Last fall I met with the MTA and proposed that Access-A-Ride users be issued debit or credit cards to use in New York City taxis and for-hire-vehicles. MTA officials said they liked the idea and would implement a pilot program. I first wrote to New York City Transit in February of 2009 to propose the concept. (See the Publications section of my website for both the proposal and my original letter to Howard Roberts.)
To my severe disappointment the MTA has yet to do move towards implementing this, despite the fact that the city has estimated that a debit or credit card system would save taxpayers $50 million a year in paratransit services—that’s $10 million more than the MTA says it must cut. I have heard from the for-hire vehicle industry that they are excited about what this could mean for their businesses, and they have already worked out a plan with credit card providers to make it work.
Instead of using this economic crisis to hurt people with disabilities who are dependent on paratransit services, the MTA should be seeing this as an opportunity to look hard at what’s not working and be innovative.
- Via @MicahKellner + @MMViverito NYPD, never sensitive to Trans NYers, but if these allegations true its beyond the pale http://t.co/UGWWI9Tn
10 hours ago from ÜberSocial for BlackBerry
