MAYORAL NOMINEE TO HEAD TLC UNANIMOUSLY CONFIRMED BY NYC COUNCIL

Vote of confidence for new Commissioner/Chairwoman Meera Joshi

Mayor Bill de Blasio’s nominee to head the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC) was unanimously confirmed by a 46/0 vote of the New York City Council. It paved the way for Meera Joshi to serve as the agency’s Chairwoman and Chief Executive Officer. Joshi’s nomination was announced by the mayor on March 8.

“I was incredibly honored to have been nominated by Mayor de Blasio to lead the TLC at this historic time,” said Ms. Joshi, “and doubly so to know that the City Council shares his confidence in my abilities. I pledge to them, and to the public to whom we all answer, that I will serve in this capacity to the very best of my ability, and that I will put inclusion, consensus and common sense at the forefront of all that we do to protect the public, and support our regulated industries so that they can continue to provide the world’s finest for-hire ground transportation.”

• Ms. Joshi previously served as the Deputy Commissioner of Legal Affairs and General Counsel for the TLC where she led dozens of multiparty negotiations of contracts and settlement agreements which have improved customer service.
  
  
• She worked to reveal financial abuse of drivers, supervising significant reimbursements to drivers and their families overseeing the prosecution of those responsible.
  
  
• Ms. Joshi served as First Deputy Executive Director of the New York City Civilian Complaint Review Board (CCRB). As First Deputy Executive Ditector she implemented an innovative pilot program with the NYPD that culminated in the creation of an independent prosecution unit that expanded the agency’s jurisdiction and sphere of influence.
  
  
• She served as the Inspector General of the Correctional Services Unit at the New York City Department of Investigation. As Inspector General she oversaw investigations of alleged criminality and corruption in the Departments of Correction, Probation, Juvenile Justice and the TLC.
  
  
• Joshi received her B.A. and J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania.
  

The New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission was created as a charter mandated agency in 1971, and is acknowledged as the most active regulator of for-hire ground transportation service in the nation. For more information about the TLC’s rules, regulations and functions, visit www.NYC.GOV/taxi.

CITY POISED FOR MAJOR EXPANSION OF ACCESSIBLE TAXIS UNDER NEW TLC RULES

50 percent of all yellow cabs to be wheelchair accessible by 2020, expanding the largest accessible taxi fleet in the nation

NEW YORK CITY - The New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission announced new proposed rules that will significantly expand the number of accessible cabs on city streets. By 2020, half of all yellow taxis - 7,500 total - will be wheelchair accessible.

The transformation will be funded through a 30 cent per ride Taxi Improvement Surcharge integrated into the yellow medallion taxicab fare as of January 1, 2015. A similar surcharge in green Street Hail Liveries would support improvements for those vehicles.

The new wheelchair accessible cabs will begin to join the fleet starting in January 2016, joining the existing 631 accessible medallions. The commitment represents the next step in satisfying the terms of a settlement with disability advocates to ensure greater access and equity for New Yorkers with disabilities.

"We are turning a corner here. New Yorkers with disabilities have fought for years to secure basic fairness in transportation. With the concrete rules and plans we are putting in place, we're finally making an accessible taxi fleet a reality. This is a major step forward," said Mayor Bill de Blasio.

"The Mayor's Office for People with Disabilities is committed to making New York City the most accessible city in the world," said Victor Calise, Commissioner of the Mayor's Office for People with Disabilities. "MOPD has worked closely with TLC to come up with a plan that works for people with disabilities, the taxi industry and the city. We look
forward to seeing more accessible cabs on the streets of New York City."

"Aside from honoring our unprecedented settlement agreement with disability advocates," said TLC Chief Operating Officer Conan Freud, "These rules signal the most significant advance in taxicab accessibility in the nation's history. We are poised to make this a taxi fleet that is truly for all."

The rules will be the subject of a public hearing and vote on April 30 at 10 a.m., and if approved by the TLC's board of commissioners, would be officially adopted the following month. The TLC is encouraging all New Yorkers to contribute to the process. The hearing and vote will be available for viewing via LiveStream.

"I applaud Mayor de Blasio and the TLC's commitment to upholding the settlement to bring 7,500 accessible taxicabs online by 2020. I was proud to sponsor legislation to that end with former Council Member Koppell in the last session, in a major win for the disabled community.

As we move toward this important goal, I am interested in examining this new proposal further and look forward to continuing conversations with the TLC and the mayor's office to best serve the riding public of New York," said Council Member Ydanis Rodriguez, Chair of the City Council Transportation Committee.

"If we are to provide meaningful cab access to the handicapped then a small fare increase is not only fair, but appropriate. This will allow us to take a gigantic step towards meeting the needs of elderly and disabled cab users," says Council Member James Vacca, former Transportation Chair.

The rules call for taxi fleets to phase in wheelchair accessible taxicabs through their normal replacement cycle starting on January 1, 2016, and continuing until each "minifleet" (pairings of two taxi medallions) is 50 percent accessible.

For "Individual" medallions, owned in single units, lotteries will be held to establish which owners must bring accessible vehicles into service.

Taxi operators obligated to bring accessible taxis into service as part of this program will be eligible for grants to subsidize the cost of taxi conversion, and additional annual grants dedicated to higher maintenance costs associated with accessible vehicles.

A driver training component of the proposed rules package provides that all new incoming taxi drivers who apply for their "hack" license after June 1, 2014 must receive wheelchair passenger assistance training, while all taxi drivers must receive training by the time of their first license renewal following January 1, 2016.

Industry Notice #14-13 delineated the time and form for all Medallion Taxicab Driver Healthcare Services Fees. On April 8, 2014, the New York State Supreme Court judge voided the rules implementing the Taxi Driver Healthcare Service Fund. Industry Notice #14-19 below suspends all payments for the fund until and if New York City receives a favorable ruling from the New York State Supreme Court Appellate Division appealing the decision by the New York State Supreme Court. - Editor

INDUSTRY NOTICE #14-19

IMPORTANT UPDATE ON HEALTHCARE FUND

By decision dated April 8, 2014, a New York State Supreme Court judge voided rules implementing the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission’s (TLC) Taxi Driver Healthcare Service Fund (“Fund”). The City is appealing this decision to the New York State Supreme Court Appellate Division and remains committed to making healthcare and disability coverage more accessible to taxi drivers.

In deference to the lower court’s decision, the TLC hereby instructs taxicab medallion owners to discontinue their withholding of a six (6) cents per ride fee while the City’s appeal is pending before the Appellate Division.

The TLC further advises medallion owners that, in the event that the Appellate Division reverses the lower Court's order, taxicab medallion owners may be obligated to pay to the Fund any and all amounts collected from drivers but not yet paid over to the Fund.

If you have any questions about these instructions, contact the TLC at: driverhealthcareproject@tlc.nyc.gov.

INDUSTRY NOTICE #14-14

THIRD YEAR ACCESSIBLE DISPATCH FEE UPDATE FOR TAXICAB MEDALLION OWNERS

In December 2011, the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC) approved the creation of the Accessible Dispatch program to provide on-demand taxi dispatch service to customers in wheelchairs. The program is financed by the Taxi Accessibility Fee which is a required fee to be paid by all medallion owners annually pursuant to TLC Rule §58-16(f).

The Taxi Accessibility Fee for 2014-2015 is $260 per medallion you own or manage.

Medallion owners will receive a letter from the TLC and an invoice from Metro Taxi (the TLC vendor that operates the program) to pay the $260 per medallion fee for 2014-2015. The amount owners are required to pay is equal to the number of medallions owned, e.g., the invoice will be $520 for two medallions. All medallion owners are required to pay the Taxi Accessibility Fee even if they do not own a wheelchair accessible medallion.

This payment is mandatory. Failure to pay the taxi accessibility fee by April 18, 2014 will result in a summons and a $1,000 fine as per the cited rule.

Please see change in Payment due date below: Industry Notice #14-18 - (May 19, 2014).

The Taxi Accessibility Fee is set annually in accordance with the terms of agreement between the Commission and Metro Taxi, the approved accessible dispatch vendor.

The fee for 2014-2015 increased to cover costs associated with adding more accessible taxicabs to the Accessible Dispatch program. The TLC recently sold 400 wheelchair accessible medallions and will sell 250 more in the near future for a total of 650 new wheelchair accessible medallion taxicabs.

With the addition of 650 new taxis, the Accessible Dispatch program will operate with a fleet of 881 wheelchair accessible cabs in the coming year.

The total cost of the program is $3.5 million. The budget will cover:

• program administration and operating costs for a fleet of 881 wheelchair accessible taxis;
  
  
• call taking and dispatch costs as well as administrative costs;
  
  
• new hardware and software technology for 650 accessible taxis;
  
  
• outreach, advertising, and marketing;
  
  
• a dispatch fee to administer the Accessible Dispatch program;
  
  
• driver dispatch costs or “deadhead”; and
  
  
• prior year cost.
  

INDUSTRY NOTICE #14-15

TLC APPROVES FOURTH E-HAIL APP PROVIDER FOR SERVICE IN NYC TAXICABS

TLC Licensed Medallion Taxicab Drivers May Participate in Pilot Program

The Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC) approved the fourth pilot participant in the E-Hail pilot program: Mobile Knowledge.

Mobile Knowledge joins Uber, Hailo, and TaxiMagic (by RideCharge), as TLC authorized E-Hail apps.

The TLC would like to remind all industry participants that only licensed medallion taxi drivers in licensed medallion taxicabs may use this app (or any subsequently-named E-Hail apps) in compliance with the E-Hail pilot resolution which can be found on the TLC website at:

www.nyc.gov/html/tlc/downloads/pdf/ehail_pilot_res_final_as_passed_12_13_12.pdf

As pilot participants are named, TLC will issue additional industry notices. A current list of approved E-Hail pilot participants can be found at:

www.nyc.gov/html/tlc/html/industry/current_licensees.shtml

INDUSTRY NOTICE #14-16

NOTICE TO TLC LICENSEES

The New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission is pleased to announce further enhancements to the On-Line Licensing Application, Renewals and Summonses (LARS) program.

Beginning April 9th, 2014 Drivers, Vehicle Owners and Street Hail Livery permit holders have the ability to update their mailing address, premises/ residence address, phone numbers and their email address on-line.

Holders of these licenses need no longer complete a paper change document and bring it to the TLC to make these changes. These changes are, however, license specific. IE: if you hold both a driver\operator license and vehicle license and you wish to change your contact information for both, you will need to sign onto LARS twice, once under your driver\operator license and once under your vehicle license in order to make the change in both places. A change made to only one license will not affect the other.

Please visit our web site at www.nyc.gov/html/tlc/html/industry/lars.shtml for additional information.

INDUSTRY NOTICE #14-17

RFI TO EXPLORE ANTI-SPEEDING TECHNOLOGY

In coordination with the NYPD, DOT, other City agencies and members of the for-hire industries, the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC) is exploring initiatives to work toward the City’s “Vision Zero” goal of zero traffic fatalities. One initiative the TLC is currently exploring is the usefulness and feasibility of anti-speeding vehicle technologies, tools to reduce driving behaviors that lead to collisions
such as speed governors sometimes called “mandatory” or “intervention” systems.

Also under consideration are systems that alert drivers when they are exceeding the speed limit, are driving fatigued, or are otherwise driving recklessly sometimes called
“advisory” systems.

The RFI invites input from the public, safety experts, individuals with legal or legislative expertise, equipment or software providers, speed governor / speed advisory / other behavioral correction systems users, and participants in TLC regulated industries to respond to questions on topics including:

• Current uses of speed governors and speed advisory/other behavioral correction systems,
  
  
• Their effectiveness in reducing behaviors that lead to collisions
  
  
• Incentives to use these technologies in TLC regulated industries,
  
  
• Challenges associated with their use,
  
  
• Features and costs of these systems,
  
  
• Their relationship with the rest of the vehicle,
  
  
• The reliability and accuracy of their actions,
  
  
• Any privacy concerns these technologies address and/or raise.
  

The RFI is available at:

www.nyc.gov/html/tlc/downloads/pdf/tlc_anti_speeding_tech_rfi_v7.pdf

TLC invites interested parties to submit information regarding one, several, or all topics.

TLC requests submission of all information or suggestions by April 25, 2014 and appreciates the many parties who are working together on the City’s efforts to eliminate traffic fatalities.

© 2014 TLC Magazine Online, Inc.