Hello to all. I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving with family and friends. We are now in the midst of the holiday season, as we bring 2024 to a close. November was a remarkably eventful month, and there’s a lot that I want to cover, so let’s get into it.
Congestion pricing is undoubtedly the biggest story of the month. As I’m sure you’ve all heard by now, in mid-November, Governor Kathy Hochul announced a plan to begin implementing congestion pricing in New York City, which had been indefinitely paused since June. The Governor’s plan has congestion pricing beginning on January 5th, with a 40% reduction in the tolls across the board.
That means that under the announced plan, passengers for all app-based for-hire vehicles will pay $1.50 per ride, down from $2.50, and passengers for taxis, liveries, and traditional black car companies will pay 75 cents per ride, down from $1.25. Frankly, this was incredibly good news. When Hochul first began floating the idea of reviving congestion pricing with lower tolls for private vehicles, I was gravely concerned that the revenue would have to be “made up” and that it could lead to higher per-ride fees for our industry. When we learned that privately owned vehicles were going to have their tolls reduced by 40%, we advocated for a 40% reduction of the per-trip fee for FHV passengers as well.
Reducing the tolls equally across the board ultimately maintains the fairness of the original toll structure. Of course, however, these lower tolls won’t last forever. Governor Hochul’s plan allows for phased increases in the toll rate. It can increase up to 60% from 2025 through 2027 and up to 80% from 2028 through 2030. The idea is that phasing in the prices over time will help drivers adapt more easily to the program and allow the MTA and other stakeholders to monitor data regarding implementation and effects. I encourage all of you to read Governor Hochul’s press release. It can be found at: https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/putting-commuters-first-keeping-costs-down-governor-hochul-unveils-plans-future-transit-and.
As was expected, the announcement of this plan was met with both fierce applause and opposition. At least eight separate lawsuits were filed both for and against congestion pricing, with potentially more to follow. We recently learned that a Manhattan Federal judge will hold a hearing on December 20th to decide whether an injunction will be issued that would prevent congestion pricing from beginning on January 5th. We will be closely monitoring this, as well as the other lawsuits, as they progress. There is a very real possibility that the plan will end up being forced to pause, but it’s more likely that the courts will allow the plan to begin.
Another issue that I would like to touch on is the potential insolvency crisis facing the American Transit Insurance Company (ATIC), as well as a related piece of legislation introduced by New York City Council Member Carmen de la Rosa that would prohibit the TLC from requiring TLC-licensed drivers to carry higher personal injury protection (no fault) limits than is required in the rest of New York State.
There is no question that the potential insolvency crisis that ATIC is facing needs to be addressed and resolved. Were the state to declare ATIC insolvent, a majority of New York City’s drivers throughout all sectors of the ground transportation industry, would immediately lose their coverage. While Council Member De La Rosa’s proposed legislation aims to provide some relief for drivers, we have seen little evidence that suggests this legislation would result in a significant premium reduction for drivers. While it might be a piece of an overall package of “reforms,” it ultimately does nothing to address the current insolvency of ATIC.
Governor Kathy Hochul’s Office held a perfunctory meeting with some of the industry on this issue that yielded little specific information on the governor’s plans. We are monitoring this situation closely and will provide updates as soon as we learn about them.
On another note, the TLC will be holding a hearing in mid-December on two proposed rule changes. The first would require that dispatchers serve at least 90% of wheelchair accessible vehicle (WAV) requests in less than 10 minutes. The second has several changes to insurance rules aimed at ensuring that insurance carriers are financially solvent, pay claims promptly and track required coverage.
I won’t get into the specifics on these proposed rules, but you should all read the public notices issued by the TLC on these rules. They contain a lot of helpful background information, as well as all the details on the proposed changes. You can access them here, and here. If you are reading this in the paper version of Black Car News, you can reach out to us at info@NYCBF.org and we will email you the links!
As we wrap up, I wanted to give you an update on our newest benefit, our hearing care program. As you know, 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. If you need them, this benefit will also cover the cost of custom hearing aids, which are valued at over $5,000.
This benefit is extremely popular, and we were even surprised at how many drivers have already had, or have scheduled their audiological exams. In fact, several drivers have already received their hearing aids! Once you’ve been living in New York City for some time, it becomes very easy to overlook how loud the city is. When you drive for a living, you are exposed to the loud sounds of the city much more than the average person. You may not even have noticed that you are experiencing hearing loss, which is why it is so important to take your hearing health seriously.
Also, now that we are firmly in the midst of cold and flu season, not to mention COVID-19, I think it’s important to remind you that our telemedicine benefit has recently been upgraded to a full Virtual Primary Care platform. With our new partners, CirrusMD, drivers enrolled in our Drivers Benefits program will be able to speak with a doctor in less than 60 seconds, anywhere in the United States, at any time. Virtual Primary Care lets you even speak with doctors about chronic conditions such as diabetes or high blood pressure. Also, there is still time to be one of the first 6,000 drivers to sign up for this new, no-cost telemedicine benefit, and receive a $10 Starbucks gift card.
So don’t wait, head on over to our Drivers Benefits program website to make sure you’re enrolled in the program, as well as sign up for the new telemedicine benefit and the hearing care program!
As we bring this year to a close, I wish you all a very happy, healthy and prosperous holiday season and New Year! I’ll speak to you all again in 2025!
