JUNE 15, 2016
VISION ZERO BASE REPORTS -
A TOOL FOR INFORMED CONSUMERS

The New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC) is pleased to release its first Vision Zero Base Reports today. It presents a wealth of safety and service oriented information on the diverse for-hire vehicle (FHV) bases that it licenses.

The TLC, in accordance with City Council legislation, has been posting crash information about the vehicles it regulates at an industry wide level on its web site. The Vision Zero Base Reports take this information sharing a step further, breaking the information down by base. Passengers can conveniently review the overall safety records of each base's affiliated vehicles. The reports can be viewed on the TLC's web site at www.nyc.gov/taxi, as well as on the City's OpenData web site.

The reports include information such as:

• Crash frequency
• Safety violation frequency
• Number of drivers on TLC's Safety Honor Roll
• If a base's vehicles use safety technology, like driver alert systems
• Bases offering safety education to their drivers

"These reports showcase the strong safety records of the for-hire vehicle industry in New York City. The overwhelming majority of drivers and bases diligently and responsibly serve the riding public and advance the goals of Vision Zero by making our streets safer," said TLC Commissioner Meera Joshi.

"Considering the popularity of for-hire vehicle service in New York City, this report represents one important tool to help consumers make informed choices. For those bases where the report indicates some room for improvement, it will provide a powerful incentive for them to take positive action."

"The agencies involved in the Vision Zero effort must provide the public with information about their work to make New York City's streets safer. The Taxi and Limousine Commission's Vision Zero Base Reports are an excellent example of the kind of transparency we need more of," said Paul Steely White, Executive Director of Transportation Alternatives. "We commend Commissioner Joshi for taking the initiative to help New Yorkers who use car services identify and support the operators who set the right tone for safe driving on our streets."

"When New Yorkers pay for car service, we deserve to know what we're paying for - especially in terms of safety," said Michael O'Loughlin, Campaign Director of Cab Riders United. "We commend the TLC for acting to make safety and other records more easily available to the public. We look forward to working with the TLC on next steps to further empower passengers as consumers who can vote with our wallets for the safest and highest quality for-hire transportation options."

"A good idea has many mothers (and fathers), and I'm sure the TLC was already hard at work on this project when I suggested a for-hire vehicle rating system at a Vision Zero Town Hall in April 2014," said Eric McClure, Executive Director of StreetsPAC. "But whatever their genesis, the Vision Zero Base Reports will be a tremendous tool for consumers when choosing a car service, as well as for holding TLC-licensed bases accountable for driver safety. Kudos to Commissioner Joshi and her team for this important step toward making New York City's streets safer than ever."

Select findings from the last six months of 2015:

• These reports feature information about 771 bases, dispatching more than 65,500 cars that drive more than a million miles each day.
• In a six-month period, for-hire vehicles were involved in seven (7) fatal crashes and 2,435 crashes involving injury of any severity. This amounts to 32.7 crashes with any type of injury per 1,000 cars and 1.1 crashes involving a fatality per 10,000 cars.
• 140 for-hire vehicle drivers and 14 for-hire vehicle bases have been featured on TLC's 2015 Safety Honor Roll.
• 211 of the for-hire vehicle bases in these reports have hosted TLC led Vision Zero safety trainings. During these trainings, TLC staff share critical safety information and engage drivers directly as partners in the Vision Zero effort to eliminate traffic fatalities in New York City.
• 73 for-hire vehicle bases reported running their own safety education programs.
• 69 for-hire vehicle bases use vehicle safety technologies, such as driver alert systems and black boxes, to promote safe driving.

NOTE: The reports provide a comprehensive picture of crashes involving TLC-licensed for-hire vehicles, including all crashes reported to the Department of Motor Vehicles that occurred whether the driver was on-duty or off-duty, on a dispatch from the vehicle's affiliated base or another base, and whether the driver was at fault, not at fault, or a victim of the crash. The TLC will periodically update these reports and is making them available to the public in PDF and spreadsheet format on its web site and on the City's OpenData web site.

The New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC) was created in 1971, and is the agency responsible for the regulation and licensing of over 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. To learn more about the TLC, we encourage you to visit our official web site at www.nyc.gov/taxi.