Hello to all! It’s amazing how quickly this time of the year seems to pass by. October came and went and soon we’ll be celebrating Thanksgiving. Speaking of celebrations, our October Driver Resource Fair was a hit, and it was great having the opportunity to meet and speak with so many drivers. Everyone was happy to go home with some BCF swag and a few drivers even took home a brand new dashcam, courtesy of our friends at Nexar! I want to thank all our partners for helping make the event a success and expanding the resources we are making available to drivers.
Thank you to the Independent Drivers Guild for speaking with Drivers about our joint IDG Mental Health & Wellness Program. Thank you to the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center for providing your on-site screening and referral services. Thank you to Nexar for donating cameras for our raffle winners. And finally, thank you to the team from the Workers Benefit Fund who run our Drivers Benefits Program for connecting drivers with all the benefits we provide and making sure they set up to take advantage of them!
Speaking of benefits, I wanted to touch base again on our recently revamped telemedicine benefit. As I mentioned last month, we have partnered with Cirrus MD to provide a service they refer to as Virtual Primary Care. With Cirrus MD, drivers enrolled in our Drivers Benefits program will usually be able to speak with a doctor in less than 60 seconds, anywhere in the United States, at any time.
Cirrus MD provides virtual primary care where you can speak with doctors about chronic conditions such as diabetes or high blood pressure, check in with doctors about your general health, urgent care needs, and mental health concerns, and get needed prescriptions. Now that this benefit is live, the first 6,000 drivers who sign up to use it will receive a $10 gift card for Starbucks. Head on over to our Drivers Benefits page to make sure you’re enrolled in the program and sign up for the new telemedicine benefit now!
I’m also very excited to introduce our newest benefit, a hearing aid program. We have partnered with TruHearing, the #1 market share leader in hearing healthcare benefits. Their industry-leading healthcare solutions are customized to match unique needs and now, drivers who are enrolled in our Drivers Benefits program can quickly access free audiological exams and follow-up visits from a convenient network of more than 8,500 locations. The benefit will also provide quality custom hearing aids at prices significantly discounted from retail rates, as well as free batteries.
Moving onto some other news, I wrote last month that the changes that the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey have implemented to passenger pick-ups at JFK Airport’s Terminal 4 had been extended through mid-October, to alleviate congestion that would be caused by the construction at the airport. I strongly suspected when this was announced, that the changes would end up continuing through the holiday season, and I was right.
In October, the Port Authority announced that these pick-up changes would continue through the beginning of 2025. While congestion is certainly an issue that needs to be addressed at JFK, it is extremely disconcerting to see black cars given the boot from the curb, while taxis and private vehicles aren’t. Government should not be picking winners and losers, but unfortunately, that’s what’s happening here.
Another bit of news I think is important for you all to know is that further changes are coming to speed limits in New York City, as well as many more red-light cameras. You may have heard about the passing of Sammy’s Law this year, which allows New York City to reduce the city-wide speed limit to 20 MPH, and as low as 10 MPH on some individual streets.
In mid-October, the street on which Sammy was killed, was designated as the first 20 MPH zone. A 19-block stretch of Prospect Park West now has a speed limit of 20 MPH. Soon, DOT officials will also lower the speed limit of Audubon Avenue in Washington Heights, as well as on surface streets south of Canal Street in lower Manhattan. Their plan is to establish a regional slow zone in each borough and reduce the speed limit along 60 additional routes by the end of this year. This will include 15 MPH limits in 47 different school zones in the city, as well as 10 MPH limits on “open” or “shared” streets that have been redesigned to prioritize pedestrian and bicycle traffic.
In late October, Governor Hochul signed another bill that will let the city install red-light cameras at up to 600 intersections. This would quadruple the number of red-light cameras currently in use. It’s a very significant increase and drivers will need to be aware of this and drive as carefully as ever to avoid fines.
As I wrap up, I want to let you know that there are no updates on the congestion pricing issue. As you know, Governor Hochul indefinitely paused the start of the program back in June, and since then, all the infrastructure installed for the program is sitting unused as the MTA continues to hemorrhage money.
When Governor Hochul paused the program, most people could have guessed that nothing would change before the election season. Congestion pricing is understandably a contentious topic, and politicians would not want to move forward on something so controversial during elections. Now that we’re in November, the election season will soon come to an end, and I anticipate that congestion pricing will start making the rounds in the news once again.
My main concern with this issue is what will happen to the fee structure if additional exemptions are granted, or even if the toll is lowered. Ultimately, congestion pricing has a legal obligation to raise $1 billion per year for the MTA, so the money will have to be made up somewhere. I don’t want to see the burden drop onto the backs of black car drivers. We fought hard for fairness among the different ground transportation sectors and a low passenger-paid fee, and I’m concerned that progress on this could be lost. We will continue to closely monitor this issue.
Until next time!
