All new NYC yellow taxis must be accessible for people in wheelchairs until the city meets the terms of a decade-old settlement, a federal judge ruled on August 29. Judge George Daniels ruled that the city must abide by a 2014 settlement requiring at least half of its 13,000 yellow cabs be wheelchair-accessible and ordered that no new taxis can enter the fleet without being accessible to those with disabilities.
Daniels hailed the 2014 settlement at the time as “one of the most significant acts of inclusion since Jackie Robinson joined the Brooklyn Dodgers.” But the 2020 compliance deadline came and went, as did an agreed-upon 2023 extension.
In 2014, only about 2% of the city’s taxis were accessible, but by 2023 a third of the fleet had transitioned – including about 42% of “active” medallions. This year, the Adams administration argued in court that it should be relieved of its settlement obligations, a request blasted by disabled plaintiffs in the case and Judge Daniels.
In May, Daniels learned that cabbies driving wheelchair-accessible taxis could turn in a vehicle upon retirement and trade it for a non-accessible one, saying the city was “inherently creating a situation where you can’t meet the timeline.”
In his ruling, Daniels said the defendants “confirm that they have breached critical terms of the [settlement] but argue that no harm has resulted,” while the plaintiffs argued the breach violated their civil rights, as well as their right to a fully-accessible taxi fleet. Daniels dismissed the city’s attempts to argue it had “substantially performed under the terms” of the settlement, saying instead that the city’s job “does not constitute anything close to substantial performance.”
Under Daniels’ ruling, the city’s Taxi & Limousine Commission (TLC) estimates the settlement terms will be met by 2028. TLC Chair David Do said he will “swiftly propose rules” to comply with the ruling.
“Our commitment to accessibility is unwavering and we will move swiftly to propose rules reflecting Judge Daniels’s decision,” said Do. “Working to ensure that people with disabilities have exactly the same access to transportation as everyone else has always been one of our top priorities, and this only reinforces that commitment.”
The TLC says it now has more accessible vehicles in its fleet than ever. The city instituted a rule last year that all Ubers and Lyfts must be either electric or wheelchair-accessible by 2030, and the number of vehicles that meet those requirements has more than doubled since.
Source: amNY
