In October, the NYC Taxi & Limousine Commission (TLC) held an initial public hearing on several proposed summary suspension and miscellaneous cleanup rule changes. At the time, the Black Car Assistance Corporation (BCAC) recognized that one of the rule changes, as it had initially been written, would have prevented traditional bases organized as cooperatives from continuing long-running and contractually-agreed upon practices – specifically, of passing along summonses to drivers and maintaining payment schedules that more closely match the terms set by corporate clients.
The TLC’s proposed rules had been aimed at High-Volume FHVs (HVFHVs), which have been organized as cooperatives since entering the industry – but they would have inadvertently affected many traditional co-op bases as well.
BCAC President, Diana Clemente, testified at the Oct. hearing, expressing the concerns of her association’s co-op members. She also introduced language to amend the rules, drafted by the BCAC, that would preserve these practices for traditional black car cooperative bases while excluding it for HVFHVs.
Clemente’s testimony was well received and following the hearing, the BCAC continued working with the TLC to ensure the changes were incorporated into updated drafts of the proposed rules. A few months later, the TLC officially passed the rules, which included the language drafted by the BCAC, ensuring that traditional black car bases organized as cooperatives are treated the same as traditional franchise models.
You can read the final rules here.
“This victory showcases the importance of being organized and the value that the BCAC brings to the black car industry,” explained BCAC Executive Director, Ira Goldstein. “The fact of the matter is, the BCAC was the only group that called out these concerns to the TLC and without our testimony and proposed language, the TLC would have simply moved forward and passed rules that would have had a serious negative impact on several black car operators.”
For more information about the BCAC, and to find out more about joining this essential organization, visit www.nybcac.org.
Source: BCAC
