The New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission wants to revive a failed call-in system that allowed people who use wheelchairs to call 3-1-1 and request accessible taxicabs, Examiner.com has learned.
The city recently completed a two year, $1 million pilot program aimed at making the 231 accessible New York City taxis more user friendly to those who used wheelchairs turned out to be a dud – with only 5,800 completed trips. Despite the failure a draft TLC document, obtained by this reporter suggests that taxi officials believe that a dispatch system for the disabled can work and will be seeking funding to implement one – a move that is drawing outrage from disability advocates.
“We shouldn’t have a segregated system – we should have a universal system,” said Chris Noel, co-chair of the Taxis for All Campaign. “After the utter failure of the first system it astounds me that the TLC would even think about trying it again. They should be focusing their efforts on ensuring that all cabs are accessible to everyone, rather than trying to reconstitute a system that clearly doesn’t work.”
Noel stressed that an accessible cab would benefit all riders, not just those with disabilities by providing additional leg room and storage space. He likened accessible taxis to elevators, escalators or even accessible restrooms, noting that they provide essential services to the disabled while making everyone else’s life more comfortable.
TLC spokesman Allan Fromberg says that the commission is still compiling data from the pilot and will be issuing a report on its ups and downs, though he declined to say when the report might be released. Fromberg said that based upon an evaluation of the pilot recommendations could made to make a variety of improvements to taxi accessibility, but said comment on any specifics would be premature.
Nonetheless a one page TLC summary document entitled “Recommendations for improving accessible taxi and for-hire vehicle (FHV) service” states that the TLC is looking to implement another dispatch system.
“Given the lessons learned from the accessible dispatch pilot program and the deficiencies of [accessible for-hire vehicle regulations] we recommend a centralized, citywide dispatch system for the five boroughs of New York City that improves on the accessible dispatch program,” reads the document. “We believe such a dispatch system is an achievable goal that would materially improve transportation options for wheelchair users in lieu of a fully wheelchair-accessible taxicab fleet. It should be noted, however, that a fully wheelchair-accessible taxicab fleet is an important and on-going goal for TLC.”
Sources with knowledge of the report say that it recommends improvements to the pilot, which cost the city over $172 per ride, such as utilizing accessible livery vehicles alongside the yellow cabs, providing drivers with additional compensation for taking dispatch trips and stricter enforcement. It also suggests subsidizing accessible services by imposing additional fees on operators of non-accessible vehicles.
“I have been saying repeatedly [that] central dispatch for accessible taxis doesn’t work,” said Assemblyman Micah Z. Kellner (D – Manhattan/Roosevelt Island). “But somehow the TLC doesn’t get it — instead their big idea is to give central dispatch another try. The whole point of yellow cabs is that anybody can hail one on the street. Central dispatch failed because it missed the point. People with disabilities just want to be able to hail a cab like any other New Yorker, but without accessible vehicles to flag down, they’ll keep getting left behind.”
While Fromberg declined comment for this story, Kellner and Noel both say that rather than a complex dispatch system there’s a simple answer to the problem – a fully accessible taxicab.
“I used cabs before I became disabled,” said Noel, who was paralyzed in an accident and now uses a wheelchair. “Am I any less deserving of being able to stick out my hand and hail a cab than I was before?”
Contact Michael A. Harris at cityhall@examinerny.com or on twitter - @nygovernment
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