Taxis For All Campaign News Blog

Accessible cabs called "high priority" by NYMTC

2009-05-11T13:30:00.011-04:00

We see that the region's transportation planning council, NYMTC, calls increasing the number of accessible taxis in New York City and the Lower Hudson Valley a "high" priority.

That's in the draft executive summary of its report on improving transportation for "persons with disabilities, older adults and persons with lower income." (To read the entire report, go to the council's site.)

NYMTC will hear public comments on the plan tomorrow, May 12, from 3-5 p.m. and 6-8 p.m. at its office, 199 Water Street, 22nd Street. RSVP (for security reasons) to 212-383-7200. (There are also meetings in White Plains on Wednesday and in Happauge, L.I. on Thursday.)

If anyone can dig in deeper, let's hear from you.

Edith Prentiss on hailing an accessible cab -- for the first time in 17 years!

2009-05-07T16:54:00.010-04:00

Hailing Cabs from a Wheelchair
By Edith M. Prentiss
From this month's issue of Able Newspaper (May 2009)

We’ve all read and written about the problems with the lack of wheelchair accessible taxis in New York City. The Taxi for All Campaign has fought for almost fifteen years to rectify the problem. TFAC was the impetus for failed intros in the City Council that would have required a gradual transition of the fleet to accessible as vehicles are replaces, every few years. Instead of seriously pursuing wheelchair accessible taxis, the City opted for clean air hybrid taxis. The minor increase in the number of accessible taxis has been achieved solely by selling medallions restricted for accessible taxis. Without a transition program, the percentage of accessible taxi is contingent upon the continued sale of medallions.

But for the GOOD news: in early March, I was rushing from PT on 218th St to a meeting at the Lower East Side Tenement Museum (Orchard & Broome). I planned to wheel down Broadway to 207; take an A train to West 4th. take a M21 across Houston to Allen and finally wheel to Broome. Taking buses on Broadway and Allen were possibilities but only if buses were at the stops. As I waited for the M21, the threatening skies opened. Before I got soaked, miracle of miracles, an empty accessible cab turned from 6th Ave. I threw my air in the air and yelled TAXI! The cab stopped and I wheeled in. It had been 17 years since I hailed a yellow cab! I was so excited, I spent the trip calling friends.

A few weeks, I had to go from Washington Heights to 116 St and Fifth Ave early in the evening. The A train would have taken me to 125 and St Nicholas which is a good wheel or a bus. The M4, being the only bus that crosses 110 St from Broadway, is a nightmare then. My choice was a M98 and wheel from Lexington Ave. Several M4s past but not the scheduled M98, and then there was an accessible taxi. Again, up flew my arm and the cab stopped. I’d always been concerned about rear entry cabs. But it was no harder than bumping off the curb when a bus stops in the street. The driver dropped me at a driveway and I easily wheeled onto the sidewalk.

Interestingly enough, Access-A-Ride is trying to use the Central Dispatch System, which we’re transferred to from 311, when a wheelchair users’ regular AAR trip fails. But AAR has experienced the same frustrations as regular callers, which is that there are simply not enough accessible taxis and since accepting trips from Executive is voluntary, not enough taxis are signing on to accept trips for wheelchair users.

Only a fully accessible fleet will resolve these problems! But there is still the problem of inaccessible black cars and liveries for those where taxis don’t cruise. A few street hails do not indicate the problem is over. TFAC has a long fight yet!

Today's international report

2009-05-07T10:09:00.005-04:00

Australia: Drivers of wheelchair-accessible cabs will get a $150 incentive to keep on the road this Mother's Day. See the story.

Ireland: The country's Labour Party is backing the abolition of Dublin's taxi regulators -- and a moratorium on new licenses. The number of taxis in the city has doubled to more than 27,000 since 2000. New York has about 13,000, though that doesn't include tens of thousands of livery vehicles. See the story.

Lebanon: The Christian Science Monitor describes a taxi service run by women for women. The cars are easy to spot -- they're pink. See the story.

NY Post: Cabbies, livery drivers go back to school

2009-05-06T15:31:00.005-04:00

The Taxi and Limousine Commission is retraining its 47,000 yellow-taxi drivers--and now requiring training for the city's 53,000 limo, black car and livery drivers. This description in the Post focuses on the effort to make sure drivers know how to use new high-tech features in taxis, but does say that drivers will be tested on "consumer interaction." See the story.

See current comments on this story by hitting "post your comments" link, below.

New York seeks proposals for high-tech cabs

2009-05-05T10:17:00.011-04:00

Credit card readers, back-seat TVs, GPS devices -- the Taxi & Limousine Commission is enamored with technological gimmicks that do little to improve taxi riding and nothing to improve access. Now it is looking to expand on these earlier proposals and has put out an RFP asking for ideas. It's open to the public. Should the Taxis For All Campaign reply?

Here's a blog entry from CNET about the TLC plan.

Here's the request for information (RFI). Submissions are due on June 15.

See current comments on this story by hitting "post your comments" link, below.

Albany MTA deal would hike taxi fare 50 cents

2009-05-05T10:08:00.004-04:00

Originally proposed by the State Senate at $1, the cost of yellow-taxi rides would increase 50 cents to fund the MTA. The $95 million raised would go only to the MTA, not upstate road and bridge projects. Watch or read the Channel 7 story.

England: Accessibility slammed on public transport, taxis

2009-05-04T14:26:00.014-04:00

Updated with new story on May 5th.

Worcestershire: Activist criticizes accessible-taxi plan. He also says newest London cab won't accommodate him and other users. See the story.

Colchester; Plymouth: Public transport is not accessible, concludes "End of the Line, a survey conducted by young activists from the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign. See the story. Additional coverage here.

Here's an excerpt from the Colchester story:

"For most of us, jumping on a bus or train is something we do without a second’s thought.

Our biggest frustration comes when they are either delayed or cancelled, but, for the most part, using public transport is a doddle. [Doddle, not surprisingly, means a "breeze" or a "piece of cake."]

But this is anything but the case for one community group.

According to a major national survey, public transport is next to useless for disabled people.

A group of 200 young campaigners helped put together the investigative report, End of the Line, which charts the experiences of disabled passengers using public transport across the country...."

San Francisco: Hybrid cabs working

2009-05-04T10:27:00.011-04:00

LA Times (via Contra Costa Times): The latest on hybrid taxis in San Francisco. See the story.

The hybrid cab story...without accessibility

2009-05-01T10:59:00.015-04:00

It's a great thing that New York's yellow taxis are going green -- but a foundation that funded some of the work that is making this happen doesn't seem to be aware of the lack of accessibility. See the blog entry.

And, if you really have time on your hands, take a look at a video on the introduction of hybrid taxis featuring interviews with Council Member John Liu and an attorney from the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC).

The new VPG website

2009-04-30T11:39:00.009-04:00

In case you hadn't already, take a look at the new VPG (formerly Standard Taxi) website at http://www.vpgautos.com/.

What do you think of this new accessible vehicle? One big question: How much will it cost, especially with the Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) option? Second big question: Even with the CNG option, will it satisfy the call from Mayor Bloomberg and environmental groups for "green" taxis?

Production is still set for sometime in 2010.

If you have a friend in Seattle who wants to see the vehicle, it'll be on display as part of the American Public Transportation Association convention on May 4, 11 a.m.-4 p.m. (location: IMPARK Parking Lot, 2100 6th Avenue in Seattle -- five blocks from the Sheraton Seattle), according to Marc Klein of VPG.

We should get a chance to see it here in New York City sometime between May 20-27.

NY Times: Cabbies head to Albany to object to $1 surcharge

2009-04-30T11:23:00.004-04:00

NY Times blog: Taxi drivers protested a proposed dollar-per-ride that is part of the State Senate plan to fund transit, road projects. See the story.

Kingston, Ontario: No accessible cabs, so paratransit strike strands 3,600

2009-04-29T16:51:00.006-04:00

See the story.

Las Vegas most accessible U.S. city, says editor

2009-04-28T15:27:00.008-04:00

The editor of Emerging Horizons says that accessibility in the U.S. is better now than 15 years ago, when she started her travel magazine. Las Vegas and Chicago do well, but no mention of New York City. See the story.

Melbourne, Australia paper: Tram accessibility due...by 2032

2009-04-28T15:19:00.012-04:00

In Melbourne, trams aren't accessible for wheelchair users, and it takes an hour for an accessible taxi. See the story.

Senate taxi surcharge questioned

2009-04-23T10:36:00.010-04:00

Crain's: How would taxi surcharge be collected? See the story.

Daily News blog: Padavan cites taxi-driver opposition. See the story.

Sherman's contributions since 2006: Liu near top

2009-04-20T13:16:00.006-04:00

Here's a list of Ron Sherman's (see previous entry) local political contributions since 2006 -- not all for council members -- that I generated at the New York City Campaign Finance Board's website. (All are one contribution unless noted.) Among the most favored: Transportation Chairman John Liu, with five contributions for a total of $4,950.

Leroy Comrie: $500
Elizabeth Crowley: $1,375
Ruben Diaz, Jr.: $1,000
Daniel Garodnick: $750
Eric Gioia: $2,000 (2 contributions)
Melinda Katz: $4,950 (2 contributions)
John Liu: $4,950 (5 contributions)
Miguel Martinez: $500
Michael McMahon: $500
Darlene Mealy: $1,500
Christine Quinn: $1,500
Joel Rivera: $500
Helen Sears: $1,000 (2 contributions)
Scott Stringer: $1,000
William Thompson, Jr.: $1,000
Peter Vallone, Jr.: $3,000 (3 contributions)
Anthony Weiner: $3,000
David Weprin: $5,000 (4 contributions)

Daily News: Ron Sherman gave Council members $27,525 since 2006

2009-04-20T12:56:00.011-04:00

Sunday's Daily News listed Metropolitan Taxicab Board of Trade president Ron Sherman, not surprisingly, as a major contributor to Council members. See below for a link to the full article. I'll link to a list of Sherman contributions in another entry.

"'Another big contributor was Ronald Sherman, a major taxi-fleet owner and president of the Metropolitan Taxicab Board of Trade, which represents the fleet owners. He gave $27,525 in his name to more than a dozen Council members.

'I'm head of an organization that represents 25% of the taxi cabs in New York City and we're a highly regulated industry," Sherman said via a spokeswoman. "What the Council does is of vital importance to the industry.'"

See the full Daily News story or go to
http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2009/04/19/
2009-04-19_fat_cats_fill_pols_pockets_big
_biz_and_unions_are_major_players_in_city_council_.html

Daus on WNYC: Give your opinion

2009-04-20T12:40:00.003-04:00

TLC Chairman Matthew appeared on Brian Lehrer's show today. Take a moment to give your view on the Bloomberg administration's new taxi initiative, on WNYC's blog:

http://www.wnyc.org/shows/bl/episodes/2009/04/20/segments/129164

City Agrees to Change Taxi Policy

2009-02-20T11:00:00.003-05:00

By Heather Haddon
AM New York

(Read this article from its original source.)

In a victory for cab drivers and disabled New Yorkers, the mayor's office agreed late Thursday to change the way garages dispatch handicap-accessible taxis.

Last year, the city implemented a system where the disabled could call 311 and handicapped-accessible taxis tracked through BlackBerries would be dispatched to them based on location. Cabbies protested that it was dangerous to fumble with their BlackBerries while driving, and many refused to participate.

"We had tons of complaints," said Michael Harris, executive director of the Disabled Riders Coalition. "Every single time I called, there were no drivers available."

After pressure from the taxi union, the city agreed to rout cars based on GPS during a meeting brokered by the New York Taxi Workers Alliance.

Under the city program, 311 calls for wheelchair-accessible taxis were dispatched by zones. Van drivers had to constantly report their zone location to dispatchers through BlackBerries. But many drivers considered it an inconvenience.

"Driving and fiddling with a BlackBerry is very dangerous," said Beresford Simmons, 60, a driver who bought a wheelchair-accessible taxi but refused to participate in the dispatch program.

Only 10 percent of the handicap-accessible taxis ended up enrolling in the system, which wasn't mandatory, Harris said.

In another wrinkle, the city allowed wheelchair-accessible taxis to cut in line at Kennedy Airport to pick up fares and thereby encourage service to the transportation hub. But the move took more accessible vans off city streets as the taxis flocked to the airport for profitable airport fares, drivers and advocates say.

Animosity between drivers of regular and wheelchair-accessible taxis grew, and hacks planned to boycott JFK this month, said Bhairavi Desai, director of the New York Taxi Workers Alliance.

"Drivers without those vans would get three or four trips in same time period that a regular taxi would wait for three hours for one fare," Desai said.

The union collected 1,000 signatures from drivers against the arrangement, Desai said.

In a win for the union Thursday, the mayor's office agreed to start a pilot program in March to dispatch some of the vans based on a GPS instead of the BlackBerries, said mayoral spokesman Marc Lavonga. The Taxi and Limousine Commission will decide later whether to use GPS for all dispatching.

Additionally, handicap-accessible taxis will only be allowed to move into the priority line at JFK after they have picked up a regular dispatch in the city, Lavonga said.

Read the rest of this entry >>

New Wheelchair-Accessible New York City Taxi logo

2008-12-02T12:00:00.000-05:00

by Edith Prentiss

Past news stories

2008-11-07T13:40:00.003-05:00

Rhode Island commissioner: Lack of accessible vehicles 'deterred tourists from coming to Rhode Island'

October 28, 2008

Excerpt: "Coderre won her award, along with Warwick Sen. William Walaska, for passing legislation that gives tax breaks for adapting taxicabs and other public motor carriers to accommodate wheelchairs.

Bob Cooper, executive director of the commission, said the lack of handicap accessible cabs "deterred tourists from coming to Rhode Island" because they often could not get around once they got here."

(See http://www.pawtuckettimes.com/content/view/53443/27/)

Today's news round-up

2008-11-07T13:26:00.002-05:00

Accessible taxis in Regina, Saskatchawan get rate hike

(See this article from its original source.)

Washington, D.C. news release: City funds 21 accessible cabs

2008-06-30T21:38:00.003-04:00

GOVERNMENT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
Office of Disabilities

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

June 19, 2008

ACCESSIBLE TAXICABS WILL BE AVAILABLE
TO WHEELCHAIR USERS FOR FIRST TIME

Three Companies Receiving Funding to Provide 21 Wheelchair Accessible Taxis in the District

The National Capital Region Transportation Planning Board (TPB) approved funding to bring wheelchair accessible taxicabs to the District of Columbia for the first time. The approval of funding is based on the collaborative efforts and support from the DC Taxicab Commission and the DC Office of Disability Rights.

Presently, wheelchair users cannot rely on the 5,700 taxis available in the District, because none have accessibility features, such as ramps or lifts, to allow passengers into the vehicles. With the new funding, three taxicab companies will provide a total of 21 wheelchair accessible taxicabs.

According to Eve Hill, Director of the DC Office of Disability Rights, "Residents and visitors in the District have been asking for wheelchair accessible taxicabs and now we will be able to meet that need. In a city that relies heavily on taxi service, these taxis will mean greater freedom for people with disabilities."

Purchasing of these vehicles is made possible under the New Freedom programs of the Federal Transit Administration (FTA). TPB will provide approximately $1 million in federal funding, matched by nearly $200,000 in funding from the DC Taxicab Commission. Taxi companies of Yellow Cab of DC, Liberty Cab, and the Mohebbi Group will provide 7 accessible taxicabs each. A proposed centralized dispatch system will also be funded allowing passengers needing a wheelchair accessible cab to call one number and the closest available cab will be dispatched.

"Providing accessible taxi service to the citizens of the District of Columbia and its visitors is one of our top priorities," expressed Leon J. Swain, Jr., Chairperson of the DC Taxicab Commission, Chairperson. Mr. Swain commended the actions of TPB as being "a real victory for DC. and the entire region".

NY Post: Fleets Still Fighting Hybrid Cab Mandate

2008-06-30T21:23:00.002-04:00

HYBRID-CAB DEADLINE HAS FLEETS FUMING
By SALLY GOLDENBERG

June 30, 2008

The greening of yellow taxis has many fleet owners seeing red - for fear of not being able to meet City Hall's Oct. 1 deadline for registering only hybrid cars as cabs.

With fleets required to replace all their taxis every three years on a staggered basis and individuals ordered to replace theirs every five years, the mandate would not affect all cabs at once. Still, 2,000 to 2,500 of the city's 13,227 yellow cabs will come due in October.

Meanwhile, owners cite a shortage of hybrids and argue that they're also not as safe as the standard, heavy Crown Victorias.

Ronald Sherman, a fleet owner and president of the Metropolitan Taxicab Board of Trade, said major hybrid providers Ford and Toyota can sell only a fifth of the number required to meet the directive.

"Clearly, there will not be enough to sustain this mandate," Sherman said. "The numbers simply don't add up."

In a letter to Matthew Daus, chairman of the city Taxi and Limousine Commission, he asked that the city push back the deadline due to a "nationwide hybrid car and parts availability crisis."

"Crown Victorias are 5-star, across-the-board crash-rated vehicles that withstand severe accidents," he wrote.

The city has an additional 10,000 black cabs that will be subject to the same standards starting in January.

The hybrids Mayor Bloomberg is pushing as part of his broader environmental agenda get 25 miles to the gallon - and would save drivers about $5,000 a year in gas.

"On availability, it is true that hybrid sales nationwide have increased by over 45 percent over the last year," said Jeff Kay, director of Bloomberg's office of operations. "But we have been having discussions with the major auto manufacturers to ensure that availability will not be a problem."

Kay added that a safety expert approved the Ford Escape after a recent City Council Transportation Committee hearing. Sherman testified at that hearing against the Escape's durability.

Washington, D.C. news release: City funds 21 accessible cabs

2008-06-30T18:04:00.001-04:00

GOVERNMENT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

Office of Disabilities

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

June 19, 2008

ACCESSIBLE TAXICABS WILL BE AVAILABLE

TO WHEELCHAIR USERS FOR FIRST TIME

Three Companies Receiving Funding to Provide 21 Wheelchair Accessible Taxis in the District

The National Capital Region Transportation Planning Board (TPB) approved funding to bring wheelchair accessible taxicabs to the District of Columbia for the first time. The approval of funding is based on the collaborative efforts and support from the DC Taxicab Commission and the DC Office of Disability Rights.<span class="fullpost">

Presently, wheelchair users cannot rely on the 5,700 taxis available in the District, because none have accessibility features, such as ramps or lifts, to allow passengers into the vehicles. With the new funding, three taxicab companies will provide a total of 21 wheelchair accessible taxicabs.

According to Eve Hill, Director of the DC Office of Disability Rights, "Residents and visitors in the District have been asking for wheelchair accessible taxicabs and now we will be able to meet that need. In a city that relies heavily on taxi service, these taxis will mean greater freedom for people with disabilities."

Purchasing of these vehicles is made possible under the New Freedom programs of the Federal Transit Administration (FTA). TPB will provide approximately $1 million in federal funding, matched by nearly $200,000 in funding from the DC Taxicab Commission. Taxi companies of Yellow Cab of DC, Liberty Cab, and the Mohebbi Group will provide 7 accessible taxicabs each. A proposed centralized dispatch system will also be funded allowing passengers needing a wheelchair accessible cab to call one number and the closest available cab will be dispatched.

"Providing accessible taxi service to the citizens of the District of Columbia and its visitors is one of our top priorities," expressed Leon J. Swain, Jr., Chairperson of the DC Taxicab Commission, Chairperson. Mr. Swain commended the actions of TPB as being "a real victory for DC. and the entire region".