The coalition of cab drivers had sued the city over a plan to re-release thousands of unused “green taxi” licenses.
by Jose Martinez March 29, 2024, 4:00 p.m. March 29, 2024, 4:00 p.m. Republish Republish this story
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It’s full speed ahead for a Taxi & Limousine Commission plan to re-issue up to 2,500 unused livery driver permits in Upper Manhattan and the boroughs.
A Manhattan Supreme Court judge on Thursday ruled against the New York Taxi Workers Alliance, which last year sued the city in an attempt to stop the TLC from doing an “end run” around state law by creating a pilot program that the group contends will oversaturate the market for drivers of for-hire vehicles (FHVs) — while not increasing demand.
Justice Nicholas Moyne sided with the city, ruling that the two-year test drive will likely have “minimal” impact on the number of vehicles for hire. There were approximately 106,551 such vehicles in the city when the program was enacted, according to court papers.
In 2018, the city capped the number of new licenses for app-based ride-hailing services — unless the vehicles were electric or wheelchair-accessible. But Moyne pointed out that the increase under the pilot program would not amount to much.
“At most, the [street-hail livery] program will bring the number of licensed vehicles to 109,051, an increase of 2.34%,” Moyne wrote. “While this increase may not be entirely negligible, it is far from a given that it would impact the market in any significant way.”
The TLC program focuses on 2,500 “green taxi” licenses that were not in use and scraps costly requirements for the Granny Smith Apple-colored paint jobs, meters, vehicle markings and rooftop lights. It also requires that pre-arranged trips be booked through livery bases and not hailed on the street.
Approximately 700 participating vehicles are now on the road, according to TLC.
In a statement to THE CITY, TLC Commissioner David Do said he was “pleased” with the ruling.
“We created this limited pilot program with direct input from drivers, with the goal of reducing up-front costs for green cab licensees as well as increasing outer-borough service, particularly for non-emergency medical trips,” Do said.
“We’re always looking for ways to improve service for both passengers and drivers, and pilot programs are critical because they allow us to test ideas and make future policy decisions based on data and stakeholder feedback,” he added.
The head of an association that represents bases that provide black car and livery service told THE CITY that the TLC should aim even higher on licenses in order to give for-hire vehicle drivers and businesses in the outer boroughs a boost.
“If anything, I wanted more — I thought the number was too low,” said Jose Altamirano, president of the Livery Base Owners, which represents more than 250 bases citywide. “For those 2,500 licenses, there was a huge number of applicants and that goes to show you how desperate these drivers are to have their own vehicles.“
The program is designed to increase passenger demand in areas of the city that have historically been underserved by yellow taxis, including parts of Brooklyn, The Bronx, Queens, Staten Island and north of East 96th and West 110th streets in Manhattan.
The lawsuit charged that it was put together on short notice, giving drivers “no meaningful opportunity for public review and comment.”
Bhairavi Desai, executive director of the NYTWA, said the group plans to appeal.
“The bottom line is the TLC has allowed in too many vehicles when there are not enough trips — so each driver is taking home less money,” Desai told THE CITY. “Drivers are paying the price of the TLC violating state and city laws that were put in place to protect drivers against oversaturation.”
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