A slew of recent summonses have raised concerns that New York City TLC-licensed drivers should be aware of regarding Westchester County. Matt Daus of Windels Marx put together an informative memo for the black car industry that provides examples of the permissible and prohibited trips, as well as the rule violations and the fines being issued by Westchester County TLC to drivers, vehicles and bases.
Click here to read the full memo from Matt Daus.
The following are some examples of permissible and prohibited trips:
- An NYC TLC licensed FHV and driver may pick up passengers in NYC and drop them off in Westchester County.
- An NYC TLC licensed FHV and driver may pick up passengers in Westchester County and drop them off back in NYC, or anywhere else in NY State, New Jersey, or Connecticut.
- An NYC TLC licensed FHV and driver MAY NOT pick up passengers and drop them off within Westchester County, since point-to-point transportation in Westchester is prohibited without a Westchester County TLC base, vehicle, and driver’s license.
- A NY State licensed TNC vehicle and driver may pick up and drop off passengers within Westchester County, and anywhere else in NY state except NYC – but it should be noted that a NY State licensed TNC can drop off. passengers in NYC as long as the trip originated anywhere else in NY State
- A NYC TLC licensed FHV and driver may pick up passengers in NYC, with stops in New Jersey, Connecticut, or any other state, and drop off the same passengers in NY State, including Westchester County.
For companies seeking to perform point-to-point work in Westchester, another issue is the cost and process of registering drivers and cars for Westchester TLC licenses. The Black Car Assistance Corporation (BCAC) is reaching out to the Westchester TLC in the hopes of negotiating a possible discount for group registration that would make it easier and more affordable for NYC black car companies to license their drivers to work point-to-point in Westchester. The BCAC is also exploring the possibility of a “master base permit” that would cover all of a company’s affiliated vehicles, rather than having to register each car individually.
Source: Black Car Assistance Corporation
