Bloomberg Pushes Back Over Wheelchair-Accessible Cabs
To view our videos, you need to
enable JavaScript. Learn how.
install Adobe Flash 9 or above. Install now.
Then come back here and refresh the page.
Disability advocates recently filed a lawsuit over the dearth of wheelchair-friendly cabs in the city, but Mayor Michael Bloomberg stayed firm Friday and said that theoretical new accessible cabs would pose a safety risk to passengers. NY1’s Courtney Gross filed the following report.To Mayor Michael Bloomberg, the theoretical space between the backseat and front in wheelchair-accessible cabs seems dangerous.
"I think you're going to see suits about people getting up trying to get across the divide. There is so much more space between the back seat and the divider. People are going to get hurt,” said Bloomberg.
Those in wheelchairs call foul.
"It's not that it's dangerous. What's dangerous is that there isn't any other form of transportation that's available for someone like me," said one wheelchair-using resident.
Bloomberg's remarks mark the latest schism between City Hall and disability advocates who want to require wheelchair-accessible cabs. There are currently only 231 out of more than 13,000 in the fleet.
"He said they weigh too much. They'll use too much gas. That's all nonsense. I don’t think the mayor would treat any other protected class this way," said James Weisman of the United Spinal Association.
Their major complaint is that the city's new “taxi of tomorrow” is not wheelchair-accessible. That cab will be used for the next decade.
Thus, they’ve filed a lawsuit arguing the new taxi violates the Americans With Disabilities Act. The suit was recently endorsed by the U.S. attorney's office.
"They wanted an iconic taxi that said 'New York,' and we could have had it,” said Weisman.
The Taxi and Limousine Commission approved a new wheelchair-accessible cab this week, but the move hasn't quelled criticism from disability advocates, who say more handicap-accessible cabs won't be on the streets unless the city requires it.
Bloomberg doesn't see it that way.
"If all the cabs were accessible, then people who don't need to have a wheelchair, whether they are fully mobile or not, the suspension is a lot worse and it's harder to get in and out and pay the cab driver," said Bloomberg.
The mayor does want to expand the number of accessible cabs, though.
His outer borough cab plan, currently stalled in Albany, would add another 569 wheelchair-friendly taxis.
The TLC is also setting up a dispatch system via 311 for the wheelchair-bound to use. Officials say that should be up and running by spring.