Senate Bill S7488

                                 BILL NUMBER:  S7488

 TITLE OF BILL :  An act to amend the transportation law, in relation
to taxi and limousine services equipped with wheelchair accessible
vehicles

 PURPOSE :

To create an efficient model for the provision of transportation
services to people with disability that requires the use of a
wheelchair.

 SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS :

Section one of this bill authorizes The Department to promulgate such
rules and regulations as it shall deem necessary to implement the
provisions of this title.

Section two of this bill requires that The New York City Taxi and
Limousine Commission shall provide a for-hire wheelchair accessible
transportation and dispatch service.

Section three of this bill states that the New York City Taxi and
Limousine Commission (TLC) should stop its practice of penalizing
for-hire bases for a rule the TLC itself admits the industry cannot
comply with, and that the for-hire vehicle industry shall not be
              

subject to the responsibilities provided in this chapter.

Section four of this bill provides this act shall take effect
immediately.

 JUSTIFICATION :

Under New York City Rules and Regulations, For-Hire Bases are required
to provide "equivalent service" to wheelchair users and non-wheelchair
users. While these For-Hire Bases currently service thousands of
disabled non-wheelchair users on a daily basis, For-Hire Bases could
never, nor will they ever be able to provide wheelchair users with the
service required by the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission
(TLC). The inability of the For-Hire Industry to comply with the TLC's
rule has been conceded to by both the current and previous TLC
commissioners. However, rather than seeking a model that works, the
New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission is treating the rule as a
revenue raiser by levying heavy fines against For-Hire Bases which as
a business matter have neither the business model capability of
providing wheelchair accessible vehicles, nor the legal authority of
conditioning affiliated drivers to purchase a wheelchair accessible
vehicle (affiliated drivers or vehicle owners purchase the vehicles,
not the for hire bases).

From a regulatory perspective, the TLC clearly distinguishes between a
For-Hire Vehicle owner and the For-Hire Base. As provided by TLC Rule
59(A)-03e, a For-Hire Base is defined as "the commission-licensed
business for dispatching for hire vehicles and the physical location
from which For-Hire Vehicle are dispatched". The TLC rules do not
define the Bases as the owner of For-Hire vehicles and as stated by
the many TLC commissioners, affiliated for-hire drivers/owners are
independent operators that choose the vehicle they wish to purchase
and time that they wish to work. All of the TLC rules regarding
for-hire vehicles' type, insurance, inspection, etc' only pertain to
the for-hire vehicle owner, not the For-Hire Base. The concept of
placing such responsibility on For-Hire Bases is inconsistent with the
reality of the industry as Bases do not own cars, garages or employ
drivers. To create a system that may provide "equivalent service"
would require an entity to own vehicles and employ drivers, something
99% of the For-Hire Bases don't do.
From a public policy standpoint, repeated waves of heavy fines levied
against For-Hire Bases may have helped the City's coffers, but it has
failed to benefit the disabled community which is not being properly
serviced. Therefore, it is important that a program be created that
efficiently and equitably provide wheelchair users with transportation
service. Such an outcome will be accomplished by creating a central
dispatch, controlled by the city, which will dispatch wheelchair
accessible vehicles throughout the City of New York. The described
program ensures that wheelchair users actually receive their
transportation services.

Lastly, the legislation precludes the New York City Taxi and Limousine
Commission from continuing, its practice of capriciously fining
For-Hire Bases. This policy is consistent with the practice of all
other US municipalities in regards to For-Hire Vehicles as well as
follows the nationwide solution used with wheelchair accessible rental
car, whereby all rental cars companies refer a wheelchair user to a
special wheelchair accessible rental company.

 PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY :

New bill.

 FISCAL IMPACT :

To be determined.

 EFFECTIVE DATE :
This act shall take effect immediately.