United Spinal Association and several other plaintiffs and plaintiff groups, all representing those with mobility impairments, successfully defeated an attempt by the New York City Taxi & Limousine Commission (TLC) to get Federal District Court Judge George Daniels to dismiss our case accusing it of discrimination on the basis of a disability. This means that the case against the TLC will proceed and eventually, if not settled, work its way to trial.
Here is the story – the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) prohibits local governments like New York City from excluding people with disabilities from their programs or unnecessarily providing a separate program for people with disabilities, or providing a program that is not comparable to the program available to the public.
The TLC regulates a yellow “hail a cab” system comprised of over 13,000 vehicles. Of that number, only 231 taxis are accessible to those who use wheelchairs or scooters. There is no way to call an accessible taxi and reserve a ride; one must hail an accessible cab, though less than 1.8% of them are available to those with mobility impairments. Moreover, the ADA regulations require vans to be accessible when used in taxi service, yet the TLC has permitted 1,100 Toyota Sienna vans to be brought newly into service without accessibility features.
Worse, TLC’s “Taxi of Tomorrow” competition was won by an inaccessible Nissan van which, according to the TLC, will be New York City’s taxi for 10 years beginning in 2013. Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) and its subsidiary, New York City Transit (NYCT) will spend $470 million this year on its Access-a-Ride paratransit system available only to those who cannot use mass transit. MTA/NYCT would benefit dramatically from accessible taxi service in New York City. People with disabilities would be able to travel spontaneously and would refrain from using demand/delay/response systems, like Access-a-Ride, if taxis were accessible. Ultimately, MTA/NYCT would be able to “voucher” many of its paratransit trips and allow them to be made through use of an accessible taxi system. Sadly, MTA/NYCT has not taken a public position on the accessible taxi issue.
The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) is investigating the TLC in response to a complaint filed by NYS Assemblyman Micah Kellner, who represents the Upper Westside of Manhattan. Assemblyman Kellner makes many of the same claims as United Spinal and co-plaintiffs. The Justice Department’s interest, we hope, will intimidate Commissioner David Yassky and Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who have ignored the need for and right to taxi access without bothering to explain their positions.
New York City Council Member Oliver Koppell and 36 other council members (a veto-proof majority) sponsored a bill to require all new taxis to be accessible to people with disabilities. The City Council Transportation Chair and the City Council Speaker have not supported the bill in deference to the misguided Bloomberg Administration so it has not gotten out of committee.
This is a cost free proposition for the City – as taxi owners purchase new vehicles they would be accessible, creating an entirely new, accessible fleet within five years.
Mayor Bloomberg is in his last term. His legacy could be an iconic design for a new taxi that is accessible to all New Yorkers, instead of just to those who can walk. Bloomberg has it in his power to make the meaning of the word “taxi” synonymous with “accessible taxi,” just like New York City made the meaning of the word “bus” synonymous with “accessible bus” in response to an Eastern Paralyzed Veterans Association (EPVA) lawsuit brought back in 1979 and settled in 1984. EPVA was United Spinal’s predecessor organization.
James Weisman
SVP & General Counsel
United Spinal Association
