If the stack of rules and laws passed in 2018 made it a historic year for the NYC For-hire Vehicle (FHV) industry, 2019 will likely be historically hectic as those rules go into effect. In 2018, New York’s City Council and Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC) took some groundbreaking steps to try and set a teetering industry on a more even keel. Now, as those rules go into effect, their impact on the city’s drivers and businesses will likely be a bit jarring, at least initially.
The new category of High Volume For-Hire Vehicle Services (HVFHVS) – which includes companies like Uber and Lyft – expect to see fare increases to cover the costs of a new minimum-wage mandate. The entire FHV industry continues to deal with a one-year cap on FHV licenses that ends in August. There is also a new FHV wheelchair-accessible dispatch program.
It remains to be seen whether the one-year moratorium on new FHV licenses will extend beyond the summer; it will depend in part on the findings of a TLC impact study.
Source: Crain’s New York Business