SEPTEMBER 8, 2014

CITY AND INDUSTRY LEADERS JOIN MAYOR DE BLASIO, TLC CHAIR JOSHI IN HONORING 295 TAXI & FOR-HIRE DRIVERS WHO WILL MAKE UP ON THE TLC’S FIRST EVER VISION ZERO SAFE DRIVER HONOR ROLL

On September 8, 2014, the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC) hosted an event to welcome 295 taxicab and for-hire vehicle drivers to the first ever Vision Zero Safe Driver Honor Roll. The event acknowledged their achieving a minimum five year safe driving record.

Mayor Bill de Blasio joined TLC Commissioner/Chair Meera Joshi in lauding the drivers for their commitment to safety, and to the mayor’s Vision Zero plan. The event was held at the TriBeCa Performing Arts Center at BMCC at 199 Chambers Street in Manhattan.

In February 2014, Mayor de Blasio released the Vision Zero Action Plan, a roadmap of initiatives that will move the city towards its goal of zero traffic fatalities by 2024. As part of this plan, the TLC committed to recognizing the safest taxi and for-hire vehicle drivers on the road by creating a Vision Zero Driver Safety Honor Roll.

This first ever annual list recognizes taxi and for-hire vehicle drivers with individually outstanding records of safe driving over a period of at least five years. The agency has high standards for its more than 115,000 licensed drivers. On a mile per mile basis, TLC licensed drivers are among the safest drivers on New York City streets.

The 295 drivers on the 2014 Safety Honor Roll represent a truly elite group. The agency reviewed of all of its licensed drivers’ records and identified 295 drivers who have, over five years or more, not had a single crash involving injury, a single traffic violation, or a single violation of TLC safety related rules. Some of the drivers on the list have achieved the Honor Roll’s level of performance for at least the past 15 years.

“Part of creating a culture of greater shared responsibility on our streets is recognizing those New Yorkers who are doing things right. Our taxi and limousine drivers set the tone for New York City streets. They hold in their hands the safety, not just of their passengers, but of everyone in our neighborhoods. The men and women we are honoring serve their fellow New Yorkers each and every day, and each of them has contributed to making our city safer,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio.

Meera Joshi, Commissioner and Chair of the TLC, said: “The men and women we honor are a stellar example of what is possible when a professional driver puts his/her full focus on putting the safety of passengers, pedestrians, and other drivers first. There’s simply nothing more important about being a taxi or for-hire driver than that. I encourage passengers to let their drivers know that safety, and not speed, is their top priority, and to tip accordingly.”

2014 Vision Zero Driver Safety Honor Roll by the Numbers:

• 295 drivers made the 2014 Honor Roll:
  
  
  1. 178 drive yellow taxis,
     
     
  2. 110 drive black cars or livery cars,
     
     
  3. four drive both yellow taxis and black cars or liveries, and
     
     
  4. three drive commuter vans,
     
     
  5. 18 drivers from both license types also drive Boro Taxis.
     

The median age is 50 for Honor Roll drivers, slightly older than the median age for all drivers (46).

• Where do drivers live?
  
  
  • 38 percent of Honor Roll drivers live in Queens,
    
    
  • 27 percent live in Brooklyn,
    
    
  • 20 percent in the Bronx,
    
    
  • 7 percent in Manhattan,
    
    
  • 2 percent in Staten Island,
    
    
  • 5 percent outside NYC.
    
    
• On average, Honor Roll drivers have held a TLC license for 13 years.
  
  
• 29 Honor Roll drivers (10 percent) have not received a summons ticket from the TLC in the last 15 years.
  
  
• Nine female drivers made the Honor Roll, all of whom drive black cars or livery cars.
  
  
• Female drivers make up three percent of all Honor Roll drivers, and
  
  
• Eight percent of all Honor Roll drivers who drive black cars or livery cars.
  
  
• Among all black car and livery drivers, women represent four percent of the population.
  

Yellow Taxi Honor Roll Drivers

• 30 yellow taxi drivers are owner-drivers, 15 percent of all yellow Honor Roll drivers.
  
  
• Honor Roll drivers driving yellow taxis have logged nearly 20 million miles with passengers since 2009, serving over eight million passengers and making over $85 million in fare revenue.
  
  
• One yellow taxi driver has driven over 190,000 passenger miles since 2009 serving over 50,000 passengers.
  
  
• TLC estimates that Honor Roll drivers have logged over 3 million collective hours on NYC roads in yellow taxis since 2009.
  
  
• Two Honor Roll drivers actively drive accessible taxis today; six drivers have driven accessible yellow taxis sometime from 2009 to mid-2014.
  
  
• Taxifleet Management, a member fleet of the Committee for Taxi Safety, is the fleet garage with the highest number of Honor Roll drivers with 21 drivers leasing sometime between 2009 to mid-2014.
  
  
• The second highest number of drivers leased from All Taxi Management, a member fleet of the Metropolitan Taxi Board of Trade with 12 drivers.
  

About the NYC TLC:

The New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC) was created in 1971, and is the agency responsible for the regulation and licensing of almost 200,000 yellow medallion taxicabs and for-hire vehicles, their drivers, and the businesses that operate and support their industries. It is recognized as the largest and most active taxi and limousine regulatory body in the United States.

INDUSTRY NOTICE #14-37

CHANGES AT JFK & LGA AIRPORTS JFK: NEW TAXI DISPATCH SYSTEM

New Dispatch System at JFK:

JFK started a new dispatch system on September 4, 2014. All drivers must follow the new procedures to reach the Central Taxi Hold (CTH):

• All taxis must have an RFID tag affixed to their vehicle in order to pick up a fare at JFK.
  
  
• If you do not have an RFID tag, you can get one from the Taxi Dispatch Office.
  
  
• Enter the CTH slowly so the RFID tag on your vehicle is recognized. Then check the entrance monitor for your medallion number so you know which line to enter. Your medallion number will be displayed next to either "Regular Lane," "Short Return Lane," or "Go to the Dispatch Office."
  
  
• When you approach the exit booths you must check the monitors for your medallion number which will tell you which terminal to use to pick up passengers.
  
  
• When entering or exiting the CTH, if you do not see your medallion number, please see the supervisor.
  
  
• Drivers who exit the CTH without being dispatched will be removed from the active queue.
  
  
• Special requests will be handled the same as they are now. You will go to the dispatch office to be scanned and told which terminal to go to.
  
  
• At the terminal, the dispatcher will verify that a taxi was dispatched to that specific terminal. The dispatch system will then issue a trip ticket for the passenger. At this time, you will receive a short return ticket for qualified trips.
  
  
• If you have any questions please speak with the Taxi Dispatch Staff.

INDUSTRY NOTICE #14-38

CHANGE TO FOR HIRE VEHICLE DRIVER DATA FILE EXTENSION

The New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC) currently loads to its web site on a daily basis a list of all individuals who hold a current and valid For-Hire Vehicle Operators license. In the past, the file was uploaded as a Microsoft Excel data file which has an “.xls” extension. IE: current_fhv_drivers.xls.

The file, which is located at:
http://www.nyc.gov/html/tlc/html/industry/current_licensees.shtml under the category “For-Hire-Vehicle (FHV) Drivers” would, when the following hyperlink was selected (Current FHV Drivers (Black Car, Community Car Service, Luxury Limousine) - sorted by TLC License Number), be shown with the file name “current_fhv_drivers.xls”. The use of this older file extension limited the number of rows which can appear in a single tab. For this reason, the list had to be split between two tabs in the single work sheet.

In order to return to a simpler, more efficient single page listing, the TLC has changed the file type that is loaded on a daily basis. Effective Monday, September 15, 2014, the aforementioned data file was uploaded as an “.xlsx” data file. This will allow us to upload the full list in a single tab.

On 9/15/2014, the past file name: current_fhv_drivers.xls, became: current_fhv_drivers.xlsx. Once you download the file to your PC you may need to adjust your search parameters to look for the new “.xlsx” file extension. The easiest way to do this is to click the “Open” command in Excel and then select “All Excel Files” in the pull down box that is located just to the right of where you enter the file name.

If you have an older version of Excel that will not automatically open a data file with the new “.xlsx” file extension, you can download a patch from Microsoft that will allow you to open the new data file at:
http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=3.

INDUSTRY NOTICE #14-39

IMPORTANT NOTICE FOR MEDALLION OWNERS: TLC DELAYS IMPLEMENTATION OF CRASH TEST REQUIREMENT FOR TAXICAB MODELS

Taxi and Limousine Commission (“TLC”) rule 67-04(b) provides that any model currently approved for use as a Taxicab and all Taxicab Candidates must be crash tested no later than December 31, 2014 with a partition installed. TLC will postpone by one year the crash test requirement while considering supplementing or amending the rule to facilitate general compliance.

Note: the crash test requirement will NOT apply to any vehicle Hacked-Up as a Taxicab prior to December 31, 2015.

Photo: Elena Michaels

© 2014 TLC Magazine Online, Inc.