DOJ Supports Disability Advocates In Taxi Accessibility Lawsuit

By: Bobby Cuza

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For years, disability advocates have been battling the city over the lack of accessible taxis without much success, but that could change thanks to a new decision by the Department of Justice. NY1’s Bobby Cuza filed the following report.

For Christopher Noel, catching a cab is like finding a needle in a haystack. He uses a wheelchair, and of the city’s 13,000 taxis, only about 230, or less than 2-percent, are accessible.

“How many of them are being used at the moment? And when will I see the next one that’s coming by that’s fully accessible? If we had a fully accessible fleet, no one would have that problem,” said Noel.

Noel is one of the plaintiffs in a lawsuit that says the city is in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act. On Thursday, the Department of Justice agreed and filed papers to back the lawsuit.

City officials have argued that taxicabs are exempt from the Americans with Disabilities Act and that a planned dispatch service will provide wheelchair users with equivalent service by allowing them to call and arrange for an accessible taxi to come pick them up.

However, officials at the Department of Justice point out that the dispatch system won’t be in place until March, writing, “Defendants should not be allowed to continue to violate the ADA for an indeterminate amount of time based on their hope that the dispatch system will operate smoothly...”

In May, the city chose a Nissan minivan that’s actually not accessible as its so-called “Taxi of Tomorrow,” which will replace the current fleet.

Disability advocates fought back by airing a TV ad, and they’ve won support from two former heads of the Taxi and Limousine Commission.

Chris Lynn, former chairman of the TLC, said a fully accessible fleet is critical.

“That’s my experience, being taxi commissioner. You do it all or nothing, or it’s not going to work, and it’s in the best interest of the city. It’s the honorable thing to do. It’s the right thing to do. It’s the economically feasible thing to do,” said Lynn.

Meanwhile, if Assemblyman Micah Kellner gets his way, a measure being considered by Governor Andrew Cuomo that would allow livery cabs to pick up street hails outside of Manhattan would also add 1,500 accessible yellow cabs, boosting riders’ chances of catching one.

“I believe 100-percent is the right number, but we’ve got to start somewhere. So starting with all 1,500 of these new yellow taxis that we’re about to put on the road, starting there, that will bring us up to 12-percent,” said Kellner.

In the meantime, riders like Noel will continue to be left at the curb.