TLC COMMISSIONER'S LETTER

By New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission Commissioner/Chairman David Yassky

Hello, everyone. I hope this column finds you all well. Let me begin with wishes for the speedy recovery of taxi driver Sajjid Matin, who was struck and severely injured by an alleged drunk driver several weeks ago. Mr. Matin, we continue to send our thoughts and prayers to you and your family at this difficult time, and wish you a full and speedy recovery.

The latest news on our efforts to bring quality taxicab service to the outer boroughs and upper Manhattan is that we have published a comprehensive package of proposed rules and regulations that would, if approved, codify the state law into our rule books. These rules are available for all to see on our Web site at www.nyc.gov/taxi, and we strongly encourage you to do take some time to review them.

The TLC will also hold several public hearings at which interested parties are invited to submit comments and testimony. The first of these hearings took place at 9:00 a.m. on March 22, 2012. The hearings were held in the TLC’s public hearing room at 33 Beaver Street on the 19th floor. As some reading this column may have been unable to attend the first hearing, we will hold a second one at 9:00 a.m. on April 19, 2012. This hearing will be held at Brooklyn Borough Hall, 209 Joralemon Street, Brooklyn, New York.

It’s important to us to keep our licensees in the know about Street Hail Livery rules and licensing plans. To this end TLC also conducted two of three information sessions where all interested drivers, vehicle owners, and base owners were invited to come and get answers to all their questions and concerns.

It was a bit of a road show for the TLC with both day and evening sessions scheduled in:

If you have even the most basic question about this history making plan, I strongly encourage you to come to the Bronx session.

Speaking of road shows, the New York Auto Show will be at the Jacob Javits Center (11th Avenue between 34th and 40th Streets) from April 6th through the 15th, and the star of the show will unquestionably be the Nissan NV200 Taxi of Tomorrow. The Auto Show is always a great way to spend the day, but a chance to see the future of the taxi industry will make it downright spectacular!

On other important matters, within a few days of my writing this column, the Daily News had a very welcome cover story about the dangers taxi passengers face when they choose not to wear their seat belts. As tabloid stories so often are, the powerful stories from taxi accident victims were accompanied by the frankly terrifying image of a young woman with track mark scars across her face.

The reporter fairly represented the fact that, in the last year for which statistics are available, there were 4,093 accidents putting the number in context as only a very small percentage of the almost 500,000 rides that take place each day on average. She also highlighted the fact that, as a part of the Bloomberg Administration’s Taxi of Tomorrow initiative, the TLC insisted that the new NV200 taxicab be crash tested to the highest federal standards WITH the partition installed as a fundamental part of the vehicle’s design.

While the taxicabs of today are, of course, crash tested, the partition is an after market modification. By testing the vehicle with the partition for the first time ever we are assured of a superior outcome and a safer, better product.

While the article did not mention this specifically, this issue is very high up on the TLC’s list of concerns to the extent that we include a non-mutable seat belt reminder in every TPEP introductory message and, recently, produced a public service announcement video to increase seat belt awareness and use. (Check it out: http://www.nyc.gov/html/tlc/media/video/tlc_taxibelt_revised_hd.wmv).

But here’s the thing….yes, the number of accidents is relatively small, and the number of those injured in those accidents is drastically smaller; and yes, the most recent accident study put a spotlight on the fact that taxi and for-hire drivers are the safest on the road per million miles driven. However, there’s more we can do to drive those numbers ever lower. We can – and should – continue to remind passengers that buckling up is the smart thing to do with videos and other things, of course.

In my view, there’s a real opportunity in the one-on-one relationship between a professional driver and his or her passenger to assure that a passenger buckles up. What I’m asking you to do is pretty simple, but it could also be monumentally important – so here goes. In that first moment when a passenger is getting comfortable in the backseat, when you’re confirming the destination and establishing that all important rapport, take a moment to turn around and say, “I care about your safety, please buckle your seat belt.” Now, THAT’S customer service!

The following letter was distributed throughout the industry by the New York City Taxi Limousine Commission on Tuesday, March 20, 2012. It is being provided here for your information.

As you may know, New York State recently adopted legislation that will allow livery vehicles to accept passengers by street hail, as well as by prearrangement. These vehicles will need a new license from the TLC – a “Street-Hail Livery License” – in addition to the regular for-hire vehicle license. We expect to begin issuing Street Hail Livery Licenses in June. Until that time, please remember that drivers of FHVs are not permitted to accept passengers by street hail – only by prearrangement.

I am writing to you because you hold a livery license from the TLC – either a driver license, a vehicle license, or a base license – and obtaining a Street-Hail Livery License may enable you to expand your current business.

This letter will summarize the rules that will apply to Street-Hail Liveries. These rules are available in their entirety on the TLC website at www.nyc.gov/tlc. The website also provides an opportunity for current license holders or members of the public to comment on the rules before they are finalized.

Also, the TLC will be holding information sessions for people who may be interested in obtaining a Street Hail Livery License. These information sessions began in mid-March, and took place at locations throughout the City. Additionally, we conducted a public hearing on these rules during the TLC’s regular Commission meeting on March 22nd. We will conduct another on April 19th. The dates and locations of the information sessions and public hearings can be found on our website at www.nyc.gov/tlc.

Street-Hail Liveries will be able to accept passengers by street hail anywhere in New York City except Manhattan south of 96th Street on the East Side or 110th Street on the West Side, and LaGuardia and JFK airports. In other words, Street-Hail Liveries will be able to accept passengers by street hail anywhere in the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens (except the airports) and Staten Island, and in Manhattan north of East 96th Street or West 110th Street.

Street Hail Liveries will be able to accept passengers by prearrangement anywhere in New York City except Manhattan south of 96th Street on the East Side or 110th Street on the West Side. (This means that Street-Hail Liveries will be able to accept pre-arranged passengers at the airports, even though they will not be permitted to accept street-hail passengers there.)

Street-Hail Liveries will be required to affiliate with a base, as they are today. The base must also obtain a special license from the TLC.

Street-Hail Livery vehicles must be equipped with a meter. Street-Hail Liveries will be required to charge street-hail passengers a metered fare. The rate of fare will be set by the TLC, and we expect that it will be identical to the rate of fare in yellow taxis. This rate of fare will not apply to pre-arranged trips. The fare for pre-arranged trips will be set by the livery base as is done today.

Street-Hail Livery vehicles must be equipped with a roof light, similar to the roof light on yellow taxis, to show passengers whether the vehicle is available to be hailed.

Street-Hail Livery vehicles must be painted with a color and markings prescribed by the TLC. A vehicle may also carry the name of its affiliated base if the owner wishes to do so.

Street-Hail Liveries must be able to accept payment by credit card or debit card. The TLC will establish detailed specifications for the credit-card processing equipment that must be installed.

The TLC may not issue more than 4,800 Street-Hail Livery licenses between June 2012 and June 2013. Once 4,800 Street-Hail Livery licenses have been issued, any livery owner or driver wishing to obtain a Street-Hail Livery license will have to wait until July 2013.

This limit, however, does not apply to wheelchair-accessible vehicles. Over and above the 4,800 ordinary Street-Hail Livery licenses, the TLC is authorized to issue additional Street-Hail Livery licenses to people who commit to using the license with a wheelchair-accessible vehicle.

Street-Hail Livery licenses will be available to anyone who currently holds a TLC license for a for-hire-vehicle or a TLC
for-hire-vehicle driver’s license and who has held that license for at least one year.

The fee for a Street-Hail Livery license will be $1,500 and the license will be valid for three years. This fee is in addition to the fee for any FHV license or driver’s license held by the applicant.

We at the TLC are very excited to be able to offer this new opportunity to livery owners and drivers. I urge you to consider whether you can expand your business by accepting Street-Hail Passengers. If so, you may wish to obtain a Street-Hail Livery license, and to make the investment necessary to equip a vehicle for operation as a Street-Hail Livery.

To be clear: No livery owner or driver is required to obtain a Street-Hail Livery license. If you wish to continue to conduct your business only by prearrangement you do not need to obtain a Street-Hail Livery license. The new license is necessary only for owners and drivers who wish to accept street-hail passengers.

The purpose of this letter is simply to let you know about this new opportunity, and to provide a summary of the rules that will govern Street-Hail Liveries. Please visit our website at www.nyc.gov/tlc for a fuller description of these rules, and for a schedule of information sessions where you can learn more.

Watch the TLC web site at www.nyc.gov/taxi for updates, or to access monthly medallion price charts.