The Association of the Bar of the City of New York
Urges City Council to Improve Taxicab Access
For Disabled Passengers

– 60,000 STILL WITHOUT CAB SERVICE –  

In a new report issued this week by the City Bar Association and its Committee on Legal Issues Affecting People with Disabilities, the Bar is urging the City Council to pass legislation that will eventually make New York ’s taxi fleet accessible to persons with physical disabilities and easier to use for everyone else (including those transporting strollers or packages). Tens of thousands of residents and visitors with physical disabilities currently have virtually no access to a city taxicab.

Presently, only 30 out of 12,787 yellow taxicabs are accessible to the approximately 60,000 wheelchair users who reside in New York City . “In a city where success is measured in ‘ New York minutes,’ this denial places wheelchair users at a severe disadvantage,” the report says.

New York City last year approved the auctioning of 900 new medallions for yellow city taxicabs. Prior to auctioning the first 300 medallions last April (which brought the city $97 million), the City Council passed a law requiring that 9 percent of the medallions auctioned be made available to taxicabs that are wheelchair accessible. To date, 600 medallions have been auctioned with only 27 of those medallions going to wheelchair-accessible taxicabs. But as of October, 2004, the TLC auctioned bids for only 27 medallions that were reserved for wheelchair-accessible taxis. Even if the city follows its “9%” approach with the 300 remaining medallions during the next fiscal year, only 84 vehicles, or still less than 1% of the fleet, will be available for some 60,000 disabled New Yorkers.

“ New York City remains severely behind other cities around the country and throughout the world in providing taxicab service that is accessible to wheelchair users,” the report states. “While cities such as London (100%-accessible-taxicab fleet), Chicago, San Francisco and Boston all provide wheelchair-accessible taxicab service to its residents and visitors with disabilities, wheelchair users in New York City are left with virtually no chance of hailing an accessible taxi.”

“The city should not permit the taxicab fleet to increase without providing access for the 60,000 wheelchair users who reside here,” said Bettina B. Plevan, president of the City Bar Association.

The objections to providing wheelchair accessible taxicab service are primarily raised by the taxicab-fleet owners. Their objections include: the cost of modifying a vehicle to permit for wheelchair accessibility; the cost of insuring modified vehicles; and the durability of modified vehicles. The Association’s report addresses each of these issues in turn.

Cost . Presently, the Ford Crown Victoria is the most commonly purchased vehicle by taxicab fleet owners, at a cost of approximately $23,500.00 per cab. The Association cites studies showing that, by utilizing bulk purchase orders and rebate offers, the cost of an accessible taxicab should not be more than $2,000 or $3,000 above a non-accessible vehicle – a cost that pales in comparison to medallion bids around $350,000. Additionally, the accessible taxicabs would allow the City to reduce Access-A-Ride and ambulette service costs by providing an on-demand alternative.

Durability. And while the durability issue has not been definitively settled to take account of all the variables (such as vehicle manufacturer, road conditions, and weather conditions), existing evidence suggests that accessible vehicles are no less durable.

For example, Cook Dupage Transportation of Chicago reported that the 110 accessible minivans in its fleet were kept on the road for four or more years and averaged about 220,000 miles before they were retired. Boston taxicab service regulators reported that converted accessible minivans lasted just as long, if not longer, than sedans. London has required every cab to be wheelchair accessible since 1989, and there have been no reports of significant breakdowns within their taxicab system.

Conclusion

Based on these findings, the Association of the Bar of the City of New York, through its Committee on Legal Issues Affecting People with Disabilities, has asked the City Council to pass legislation that will expeditiously phase in full taxicab accessibility for some 60,000 wheelchair-using New York City residents and visitors.

For a copy of this new six-page report, please visit the home page of the Association’s Web site at ((www.nycbar.org)).

About the Association

The Association of the Bar of the City of New York (((www.nycbar.org))) was founded in 1870, and since then has been dedicated to maintaining the high ethical standards of the profession, promoting reform of the law, and providing service to the profession and the public. The Association continues to work for political, legal and social reform, while implementing innovative means to help the disadvantaged. Protecting the public’s welfare remains one of the Association’s highest priorities.

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