Citywide Accessible Dispatch
We are proud of the success of our Accessible Dispatch Program in offering New Yorkers and visitors alike greater mobility in their travels, and look forward to soon expanding it citywide. We anticipate trips originating in the boroughs outside of Manhattan launching by the year’s end. The program will enable passengers who use wheelchairs and other mobility aids to request both on-demand and reservation-based taxi trips anywhere in the five boroughs.
Taxi drivers in both yellow and green wheelchair-accessible vehicles (WAV) will be important partners in delivering this service citywide. All WAV-trained drivers will be eligible to take Accessible Dispatch when they drive a yellow or green WAV, and to receive a dispatch fee for each trip. Medical Transportation Management (MTM) is one of the largest and most experienced transportation management companies in the country, and is the vendor that the TLC selected to manage the program.
We are deep in the process of getting ready to expand, and everything is going smoothly. We look forward to making passengers’ travels in New York City more convenient, and opening up parts of the City to people that may not have been as easy for them to access in the past.
TLC UP
We highlighted this new feature in last month’s corner, but want to keep spreading the good word about TLC UP. If you are applying for a new TLC Driver or Vehicle license, you can now upload your required documents with a mobile device or computer at www.nyc.gov/tlcup. Applicants can take a photo of a document or scan it, and then upload it. You no longer need to mail or email documents to the TLC, saving you time and offering greater convenience.
TLC UP (http://www.nyc.gov/html/tlc/html/industry/jump_ tlcup_portal.shtml) also allows applicants to easily check their application’s status, learn if any requirements are missing, and confirm if their documents have been accepted by the TLC. If you need further help, you can watch a video tutorial about TLC UP on the TLC’s YouTube Channel (https://www.youtube.com/user/NYCTaxiChannel/videos). Almost 1,000 applicants have already used this tool, and we look forward to seeing this time- and effort-saving feature becoming even more popular in the months ahead.
Tipping Hearing
I am very pleased to report that the TLC’s proposed tipping option rules were approved by the TLC’s board of commissioners unanimously at the latest public meeting on July 13. In brief, the rules, which will be in effect sometime around mid- to late August, will require that all For-Hire Vehicle (FHV) bases offering passengers the ability to pay for their rides with credit cards through an app also offer those passengers the ability to tip through their credit card. If you would like a closer look at these rules, just visit: http://www.nyc.gov/html/tlc/downloads/pdf/proposed_tipping_rule_promulgated.pdf.
FHV Accessibility
As you can see, it has been a particularly busy month at the TLC, and I am likewise pleased to report that we have published proposed rules that would integrate wheelchair accessibility into the FHV industry in a way that we believe is thoughtful and practical for everyone concerned. Because this is such a significant innovation, we are building-in plenty of time for discussing this with all of the many individual and group stakeholders by scheduling the public hearing for Thursday, September 28 at 10 a.m. You can find the proposed rules themselves on our Proposed Rules page: http://www.nyc.gov/html/tlc/html/about/proposed_rules.shtml.
Summertime….
And the living isn’t always as easy as the song says! One thing that will make the season go more smoothly is if your vehicle is properly “summerized.” Don’t ignore any tell-tale signs that something is wrong with your car’s A/C – it’s not cool for you or your passengers if your air conditioner needs to be repaired. Check your radiator and hoses for leaks as well, to make sure that your car engine does not overheat.
