NYTWA Comment to TLC on Proposed Rulemaking on Vehicle Cap
NYTWA Comment to TLC on Proposed Rulemaking on Vehicle Cap
NYTWA submitted these comments to the TLC’s Proposed Rulemaking on July 22, 2019.
On July 23rd, the TLC held a hearing on extending a cap on new vehicle licenses for For-Hire-Vehicles such as Uber and Lyft by another 12 months and a requirement for all App companies to reduce the average empty time in Manhattan 96th Street and below from the current 41% down to 31% by next August. There are currently 120,000 FHV vehicles, with 86,000 affiliated with Uber, Lyft, Via or Juno alone.
The TLC is also proposing to allow App companies to dispatch to vehicles affiliated with livery bases, and vice versa, making it possible for App companies to have another 30,000 cars at their disposal without lifting the cap. Drivers who want to own a car rather than lease will be able to get a new vehicle license for wheel-chair-accessible and electric vehicles, or if they were already in a lease-to-own agreement since last August when the Council fist passed the Vehicle Cap. In essence the cap is the first step toward making the for-hire-vehicle sector more wheelchair accessible.