Taxi of Tomorrow: A Lost Chance to Make HistoryDear Friends,
Last week, I was flabbergasted when Mayor Bloomberg and New York City Taxi and Limousine Commissioner David Yassky selected the Nissan NV200 as the winner of the Taxi of Tomorrow contest. Who knew that the 'Taxi of Tomorrow' was the delivery van of yesterday? The Mayor wasted this historic opportunity to ensure that the yellow taxi, an iconic symbol of New York, is accessible to all riders.
Currently, less than 2% of New York's yellow taxicabs are wheelchair accessible and judging by this administration's actions last week, the mayor wants to keep it that way. If this decision stands, the fight for equal rights will be set back almost a decade and New York's 60,000 wheelchair users will continue to be left out in the cold, so I have taken action. On March 29th, I initiated a federal investigation to determine whether or not the TLC's actions violated the Americans with Disabilities Act. As a person with a disability, I find it unfortunate that in the most progressive city in the world, once again, we must turn to the Department of Justice to ensure that the rights of people with disabilities are enforced. You can read my complaint here .
As the New York Daily News wrote in an editorial the other day, the selection of the Nissan NV200 raises serious questions about the citys compliance with the ADA. You can read the editorial here ; I have also included it below.
We must not stop this fight until every New Yorker has access to our transportation system.
As always, please don't hesitate to contact me at (212) 860-4906 if you would like to discuss this or any other matter that concerns you.
Very truly yours,
Micah Z. Kellner
Assembly Member
Why make cab companies buy one taxi model when the vehicle doesn't even exist yet?
Amid great fanfare last week, Mayor Bloomberg picked the so-called Taxi of Tomorrow. A Nissan minivan will become New York's single yellow vehicle for hire starting in 2013, he decreed.
Question: Other than for uniformity's sake, why does the city need one and only one model of cab, manufactured by one and only one company, over the next 10 years? Answer: It doesn't.
The Taxi & Limousine Commission has traditionally set safety, comfort and performance standards, approved a number of vehicles that meet the grade and left the best judges of all - cabbies and fleet operators - to choose which worked best for them.
Now, the TLC has decided that it knows best - even though Nissan's NV200 taxi lives only in drawings. None has ever been assembled, let alone driven in battlefield conditions.
No slight is intended on Nissan quality. But there is always the chance that the choice could prove a lemon, get outpaced by cars produced by other companies or prove to be more expensive than other suitable vehicles.
Today, cabbies pick from 16 models that are on the road and eight more that have been okayed for use. There's healthy competition - which will go by the boards as vehicles come to the end of their useful lives and are replaced.
Meanwhile, Manhattan Assemblyman Micah Kellner is pushing the Justice Department to order the city to switch to cabs that are handicapped-accessible, including wheelchair ramps.
He argues that the Americans with Disabilities Act mandates that vans for hire must be suitable for the handicapped. The city answers that the NV200 is not a van. Could have fooled us.
Kellner also argues that cabs should be accessible under the ADA because they are a public conveyance. The city disputes this point, too, saying taxis are independently owned and operated.
Whether the feds buy that argument is open to serious question when the TLC decides who can drive a cab, how many cabs there can be, how much money the public will pay, how drivers and cab owners will split revenue, how drivers must behave and what attire they must wear.
Oh, and tracks taxi movements via GPS. Oh, and now dictates exactly what vehicle the industry can buy, lease or drive.
Tell us again why picking a lone Taxi of Tomorrow was a good idea.