Advocates for disabled people want a federal judge to enforce an agreement by the Taxi and Limousine Commission to make half of New York City’s yellow taxicabs wheelchair accessible.
The filing in Manhattan Federal Court on Wednesday by Taxis For All and several other advocates alleges that the TLC is in breach of a 2013 agreement reached to settle a lawsuit over taxi accessibility.
The agreement, approved by Manhattan Federal Judge George Daniels in 2014, required the TLC to make certain 50% of the city’s 13,587 yellow cabs were wheelchair accessible by 2020.
At the time of the agreement, more than 98% of the city’s yellow cabs were inaccessible to wheelchair-using passengers. Daniels called the settlement “one of the most significant acts of inclusion in this city since Jackie Robinson joined the Brooklyn Dodgers.”
Both sides negotiated extensions following the disruption of the taxi industry by rideshare apps and the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, eventually settling on a 2023 deadline for the accessibility goals.
But four years past the initial deadline, only 32% of the city’s total taxi medallions are affixed to wheelchair-accessible vehicles, the plaintiffs argue.
That count is better when controlled for dormant medallions, with accessible cabs making up 42% of the taxis making regular trips, but still short of the negotiated 50%.
“There is no legal basis for defendants to avoid their obligation to abide by the court-ordered agreement,” Taxis For All says..
Further, TLC officials indicated last month that they do not expect to be able to significantly increase the number of accessible cabs going forward, the advocates said.
“[TLC officials]’ January 19, 2024 letter made clear that this breach will continue and [the commissioners] have no intention of even attempting to remedy it,” they wrote.
Of the city’s 13,587 medallions, only 8,751 are “active” — currently affixed to vehicles — according to the most recently available data.
Of those active medallion taxies, 4,304 are accessible, said TLC spokesman Jason Kersten. That’s up from 230 in 2011, when Taxis For All first filed suit.
“We are committed to accessibility and currently drafting proposed rules to make wheelchair accessible taxis more affordable for operators,” Kersten said. “When you factor in our entire fleet, we now have almost three times the number of accessible vehicles than we did five years ago.”
The city’s Uber and Lyft fleet, which is also regulated by the TLC, consists of 84,000 cars, including 5,686 which are wheelchair accessible — roughly 7%.
But disability advocates argued in court Wednesday that an increase in app-based cars doesn’t fill the need for accessible yellow cabs.
“While [the TLC] will argue that any harm is lessened by the evolution of ride sharing apps, street hailing and ride sharing are not interchangeable,” they wrote. “Not all people with disabilities have or can use smart phone technology.”
“The court must not countenance [the TLC]’s willful breach of the … settlement stipulation, an agreement relied upon by New York City’s residents and visitors who require accessible yellow taxis,” they added.
