By Robert Press
At a rally a few days before Mayor Bill de Blasio said that on Tuesday August 14th he would sign legislation passed by the city council to regulate the For-Hire industry. The following new steps would be taken by the city to regulate the number of For-Hire cars in the city.
1 – The city would stop issuing new For-Hire licenses on the day the legislation is signed by the mayor, with the exception of wheel-chair accessible vehicles.
2 – The city will initiate a study to more comprehensively manage the changing industry to reduce congestion and protect workers by ensuring fair pay.
3 – The city will introduce and adopt a new minimum compensation rule at the Taxi and Limousine Commission within 75 days. Once adopted, it will increase for-hire vehicle driver take home pay by approximately 20 percent on average – That’s more than $6,000 per year.
The legislation passed by the City Council, and signed by the mayor is the following –
Intro. 144-B requires us to stop issuing new for-hire vehicle licenses for 12 months with an exception for wheelchair accessible vehicles. It mandates the study of congestion and other aspects of the industry. After the study, it authorizes TLC to establish vehicle use standards and to regulate the number of for-hire vehicles.
Intro. 634-B waives license fees for wheelchair accessible vehicles.
Intro. 838-C creates a new class of license for for-hire services that handle over 10,000 trips a day.
Intro 890-B directs the TLC to establish rules to provide minimum payments for drivers of vehicles who work for services licensed to take over 10,000 trips per day.
Intro. 958-A lowers a prior increase in penalties for unauthorized street hails.
