‘No’ means woe
City cracking down on refusals by cabbies
The city Taxi & Limousine Commission will have a new “Office of Inclusion” which will ensure passengers get the service they are legally entitled to — and aren't refused a ride because of their skin color or a destination outside Manhattan, authorities said Tuesday.
The move comes as Uber, the e-hail app, has spent millions to run ads saying yellow taxis discriminate against people of color — in response to a City Council effort to cap the number of cars driving for the company and similar services.
The new office will develop and implement anti-discrimination training for drivers, expand its public campaign against discrimination and encourage passengers to file complaints with the TLC if they're discriminated against. It will begin with three new hires, the city said.
“Service refusal is real, unacceptable and we're going to fight it in every way we can,” Mayor de Blasio said. “These new steps will help ensure that anyone considering this unfair and illegal practice knows that it's wrong, it carries severe consequences, and it has no place in this industry.”
Council Speaker Corey Johnson called the office, which he said was the idea of Councilman Donovan Richards (D-Queens) “a major step forward in ending service refusal once and for all in the taxi and for-hire vehicle industry.”
Service refusal has been a major talking point for services like Lyft and Uber, whose drivers are assigned passengers without knowing their race or destination.
The news about the new inclusion office comes just days after the City Council announced a package of legislation aimed at capping the number of vehicles driving for services like Uber and Lyft — in part to help struggling yellow cab drivers, whose medallions have plummeted in value as the apps' fortunes have risen.
Six taxi drivers have killed themselves this year, including one outside City Hall who had called for policy changes to help drivers who poured their life savings into the medallions.
“The new Office of Inclusion can work on a problem that apps like Uber have already helped alleviate,” Uber spokeswoman Danielle Filson said. “What it will not do is make taxis serve all corners of all five boroughs – 92% of taxi trips start in Manhattan, over half of Uber trips start outside Manhattan.”
The city's promise to crack down on discrimination also comes as some in city government had sought to lower fines for yellow taxi drivers who refuse service – Councilman Ruben Diaz Sr. (DBronx), chairman of a new committee on taxis, and Councilman Fernando Cabrera (D-Bronx) introduced legislation to do just that.
The bill did not wind up part of the broad reform package rolled out last week with the support of the speaker.
Refusing service to a passenger can result in a $500 fine for a first violation; the second in 24 months is a $1,000 fine and a possible 30 day suspension. A third violation within 36 months can lead to a $1,000 fine and “prehearing” on revoking a license.