NEW YORK—More than 250 taxi drivers gathered on the steps of City Hall on June 11 to protest 12 new rules that will be voted on by the Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC).
If approved, the rules would allow garages to pass down the cost of repairs and fines on to the drivers. The rules would also raise lease fees for drivers who work less than 7 days a week. Another rule would lower fines on fleets that retaliate against drivers who report them to the TLC.
“These rules would be a devastating blow to the hard-earned income of tens and thousands of drivers,” the New York Taxi Workers Alliance (NYTWA) Executive Director Bhairavi Desai stated in a press release. “I don’t know any fleet owner who has filed for bankruptcy, but I know too many drivers who have.”
The TLC Board of Commissioners is set to vote on the new rules on June 20. The board consists of nine members, eight of which are appointed by the mayor with the advice and consent of the City Council. The drivers urged the mayor and the City Council to tell the TLC board members to vote down the new rules.
“These proposed rules are the result of extensive negotiation with industry stakeholders and they represent the agency’s best efforts at balancing the needs and concerns of all involved,” TLC spokesperson Allan Fromberg wrote in an email to The Epoch Times.
NYTWA did respond to phone calls.
