|
|
NEW YORK CITY TAXI AND LIMOUSINE COMMISSION RESOLUTION APPROVING A PILOT PROGRAM TO EVALUATE VEHICLE SAFETY TECHNOLOGY: BLACK BOX, ANTI-SPEEDING AND DRIVER ALERT TECHNOLOGIESJune 19, 2014 The New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission (the “Commission” or “TLC”) hereby approves by resolution (“Resolution”) a Pilot Program, pursuant to section 52-27(a) of the Commission’s rules, to test and evaluate Vehicle Safety Technology or Vehicle Safety Technologies:
TLC vehicles and drivers, covering over 2 billion miles per year, represent a highly visible component of the City’s traffic and in many ways set the tone for driving in the City. To put an end to traffic related deaths and serious injuries, the City of New York has launched the “Vision Zero” program, an interdepartmental initiative to rethink practices, incentives, and traffic as usual. The TLC has a major role to play in realizing Vision Zero’s goal (nyc.gov/visionzero).
to develop ideas that acknowledge the importance of TLC regulated fleets in New York City and that seek to leverage their positions to create positive change. Commission staff identified in-vehicle technologies like:
as promising tools to help TLC licensees drive more safely. TLC released two requests for information (“RFI”) to learn more about the efficacy of these technologies. Based on the information contained in responses to the two RFIs, meetings with industry stakeholders, public hearings and town hall meetings, and from review of outside studies demonstrating how these types of technologies have improved road safety in other settings, the Commission has determined that a pilot program would be valuable. The pilot program would help to more fully evaluate the costs and benefits of using Vehicle Safety Technologies in the unique environment that TLC regulated industries operate. Interest in this type of pilot program extends to the City Council which proposed a bill calling for this Pilot Program. Through feedback and data collected over the course of this pilot, the Commission, the for-hire industries, and the public will be able to identify whether these devices positively impact the safety of drivers, passengers, and other road users. As well, it can be determined whether there are drawbacks to these technologies that would need to be taken into account should they go into use beyond this Pilot Program. The Commission will therefore authorize Vehicle Safety Technology Providers (“Participants”) to equip TLC regulated vehicles with approved Vehicle Safety Technologies that meet the operational and security standards as set forth by the Commission. They will need to be in compliance with laws, rules and regulations in this jurisdiction to operate for a limited duration on a pilot basis. The purpose of the Pilot Program is solely to assist the Commission in learning about the feasibility and effectiveness of Vehicle Safety Technologies. Participation in the Pilot Program does not signal authorization to operate Vehicle Safety Technologies beyond the guidelines of the Pilot Program. Black boxes record the speed, location, braking, acceleration, and lateral movement of a vehicle over time using information either from the vehicle’s onboard computer, GPS, cameras, or a combination of all three. The devices can be programmed to record just before and after an event, such as a collision or at ignition or on a continuous basis, and can then store that information locally or transmit it wirelessly to central servers. Speed governors can either cap a vehicle’s speed at a pre-set level or dynamically based on the vehicle’s location and the speed limit of the street on which it is traveling. Driver alert systems read indicators in the car’s computer system from street facing sensors, GPS or other sources to warn the driver of impending danger such as pedestrians in the vehicle’s path, or excessive speed. In addition, much of the data collected by these devices are pulled into software platforms that analyze and predict risky driver behavior over time. These types of technologies have been used by commercial fleets to decrease the number of collisions and driver “events” that have been shown to be “risky”. As Such, these devices could be useful to the Commission in meeting its goal to promote safer driving in TLC regulated industries. Other potential benefits of these systems include reduced fuel costs and insurance premiums, reduced time for settling claims, vehicle mechanical problem diagnostics, the ability to detect at-risk drivers and risky situations, notification of drivers in distress (e.g., a crash occurred), and the ability to make suggestions to improve driving habits. As set forth more fully below, TLC Licensees including:
Moreover, data obtained during the Pilot Program will not be used for TLC enforcement purposes, nor will the Commission review information, images, or audio from passengers except in circumstances where it is required by law or where this information is important to the analysis of circumstances surrounding serious crashes. INDUSTRY NOTICE #14-26 STREET HAIL LIVERY (BORO TAXI) INFORMATION SESSIONSUp to 6,000 New SHL Permits will be issued beginning in August 2014 The New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC) will be hosting information sessions for licensees who have applied for or purchased a Street Hail Livery (SHL) permit or base endorsement. We encourage any and all to attend an information session about the second issuance of SHL permits which will be sold in mid to late August. These information sessions are for drivers, vehicle owners, base owners, and passengers who would like to gather more information about the second issuance of permits. At these sessions, licensees will have the opportunity to speak with TLC staff and ask questions about the licensing process. Please make sure to arrive on time as capacity is limited and you may be turned away. STATEN ISLAND — June 30, 6 to 7:30 pm BRONX — July 7, 12 to 1:30 pm Questions? E-mail tlcexternalaffairs@tlc.nyc.gov Earlier information venues in Manhattan Brooklyn and Queens preceded the date of publication of TLC Magazine, July 2014. As such, they are not presented here. INDUSTRY NOTICE #14-27 INCREASE IN CREDIT CARD SURCHARGEEffective June 22, 2014, the credit card surcharge will increase for all leases. For daily leases, the credit card surcharge will now be $11 per shift, up from $10 per shift. For weekly fleet leases, the credit card surcharge will now be $66 per week, up from $60 per week. For weekly Driver-Owned Vehicle (DOV) leases, the credit card surcharge will now be $132 per week, up from $120 per week.
Since September 30, 2012, drivers have paid a flat credit card surcharge per shift or per week instead of a 5-percent fee based off of credit card transactions. Under TLC Rules In December 2013, TLC performed the review using taxi trip data collected through TPEP. From August through November 2013, average credit card fares totaled $212.68 per shift yielding a calculated surcharge of $11 per shift. For weekly fleet leases, the credit card surcharge increases from $60 to $66 per week. For weekly DOV leases, the credit card surcharge increases from $120 to $132 per week.
© 2014 TLC Magazine Online, Inc. |