NYC Ordered to Accommodate Taxi Riders With Disabilities

	Photo coutesy of the Village Voice

New York City passengers with a physical disability have no “meaningful access” to ride in the vast majority of the Big Apple’s 13,000 taxis, a federal judge recently determined.

Southern District Judge George B. Daniels ordered the city’s taxi commission to present to the court a way that cab passengers with a disability could be accommodated.

“Until such a plan is proposed and approved by this court, all new taxi medallions sold or new street-hail livery licenses or permits issued by the TLC [Taxi and Limousine Commission] must be for wheelchair accessible vehicles,” Daniels wrote in Noel v. New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission.

Daniels agreed that the city’s taxi fleet did not comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act provision, which stipulates that people with disabilities have access to the same public accommodations as people who are not disabled.

“The TLC subjects disabled persons who must use wheelchairs and scooters to discrimination in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act,” the judge wrote. “As a direct result of the TLC’s policies and regulations, those disabled persons are not provided meaningful access to the benefits of New York City taxicab service.”

Daniels also referred to the availability of cabs that could accommodate these passengers as “scarce” and estimated that only about 2 percent of people trying to catch such a cab would actually be able to find one.

The judge noted that of the 13,237 cabs in service on any given day in New York, only about 230 are fully accessible.

Daniels called the ability to hail a cab a “valuable” service for all citizens who wish to get around the city.
“Taxicabs allow for spontaneity in door to door travel, and for unplanned or unanticipated trips,” he wrote.

He rejected the taxi commission’s contention that it should not be a defendant, given that it does not actually provide cab services. As the agency with oversight over taxi service in New York City, the judge explained, the TLC has the power to regulate what cabs and limos should and should not do.

He also disputed the TLC’s argument that it “may have a moral obligation, but not a legal obligation” to move toward better accommodations for riders.

A public entity “carrying out a public regulatory function that confers a benefit on New York City taxicab riders” is subject to be in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, he noted.

Julia Pinover, an attorney for Disability Rights Advocates, said it was “shameful and unnecessary” for the plaintiffs to be forced to resort to legal action to get the TLC to act.

“New York experiences extreme and hazardous weather conditions,” she noted in a statement. “It leaves vulnerable populations such as people with disabilities and the elderly out in the cold, snow, or rain for intolerable periods of time.”

Robin Binder, deputy chief of the Law Department’s administrative law division, said she was disappointed in the ruling and that city officials are considering their options.

She added that Governor Andrew Cuomo and the TLC agreed last week on a “Taxi of Tomorrow” plan that is intended to alleviate the problem of taxi access by people with disabilities.

Under a pending bill before the city council, 2,000 new medallions for wheelchair-accessible yellow cabs would be issued over the next decade, Binder added.

	Photo courtesy of nyc.gov

In 2007, the city’s officials first convened a group of stakeholders, including representatives of taxi drivers, owner and passengers, to create the Taxi of Tomorrow program. Two years later, the TLC issued a “request for proposals,” and invited auto manufacturers and designers to submit ideas for a suitable vehicle to meet the needs for an accessible NYC taxicab. 

The NV200, designed by Nissan North America, Inc., won the Taxi of Tomorrow competition. The city will soon enter into final negotiations with Nissan to manufacturer the vehicle.

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