Res 0080-2024

Whereas, A surcharge is an additional payment that is added to the cost of a good or service beyond the initially quoted price, sometimes imposed due to a governing body's need to dedicate additional revenue, sometimes for a specific purpose related to the good or service but not otherwise funded by the transaction; and Whereas, In New York State (NYS), there are several examples of a surcharge related to transportation, and particularly related to New York City's (NYC) standard metered taxi fare, including the: 50 cent Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) State Surcharge for all trips that end in NYC or Nassau, Suffolk, Westchester, Rockland, Dutchess, Orange or Putnam Counties; $1 Improvement Surcharge; $1 overnight surcharge related to rides from eight pm to six am; $2.50 rush hour surcharge for trips from four pm to eight pm on weekdays, excluding holidays; and NYS Congestion Surcharge for all trips that begin, end or pass through Manhattan south of 96th Street and vary from 75 cents for shared rides, $2.50 for yellow taxi rides, and $2.75 for green taxi and for-hire vehicles (FHVs); and Whereas, The existing surcharges added onto a standard metered taxi fare are implemented in part to fund transit and related improvements, likewise an additional surcharge added to the taxi fare for FHVs could be beneficial in order to provide financial aid for FHV drivers in transitioning their vehicles to be wheelchair accessible and all-electric; and Whereas, In NYC, for calendar year 2022, the NYC Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC) reported that there were 95,129 total vehicle licenses for FHVs, both affiliated and not affiliated with high volume for-hire services, of which only 4,858 were wheelchair accessible vehicles (WAVs); and Whereas, In addition, according to the TLC, as of 2022, only one of every one hundred, or 1%, of TLC vehicles were all-electric; and Whereas, As the number of WAVs and all-electric FHVs are relatively low in number, and the TLC is committed to transitioning the majority of its licensed fleet to all-electric vehicles by 2030 and expanding accessibility in electric vehicles through making them WAVs, a surcharge added to standard metered taxi fares for FHVs in NYC could provide financial aid for FHV drivers to make the, at-times costly, transition to these types of vehicles and would improve the way in which New Yorkers, particularly those with disabilities and who are elderly, travel in the City; now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the Council of the City of New York calls upon the New York State Legislature to pass, and the New York State Governor to sign, legislation that would create a surcharge for for-hire vehicles (FHVs) that would go towards funding the expansion of wheelchair accessible and all-electric FHVs. Session 13 LS #12760 3/5/24 Session 12 KK LS #12760 7/12/23