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The rules, which initially took effect in May 2008, addressed all vehicle model years, and were subsequently modified in 2015 to establish that black cars model year 2013 and newer would not be subject to any type of mandatory vehicle retirement. Black cars model year 2012 and below, however, would be subject to a uniform seven-year retirement structure.
The reasoning behind the proposed repeal of the 2008 requirement was that the market itself was the driving incentive for the constant upgrading of Black Cars due to consumers' ever-increasing demand for high quality, safe and reliable vehicles; something we've known to be true of our industry since its inception.
In the following statement from the TLC, the upcoming City Council legislation is referenced as a main contributing factor to this wise decision. "In contemplation of the Council's consideration of legislation that would discontinue the remaining mandatory retirement for vehicles 2012 and older, the TLC has suspended enforcement of this requirement until further notice."
BCAC President Berj Haroutunian was quick to issue the following statement. "It has long been a goal of the BCAC, and the black car industry as a whole, to do away with this rule. I believe I can speak for all industry members when I say that we are thankful that the TLC and NYC Council have agreed to hear our side on this matter; the TLC in particular for going the extra mile and suspending enforcement. They saw the potential negative implications, and they saw to it that it did not go any further in anticipation of the pending legislation. I'd like to extend a special thank you to the BCAC's executive director, Ira Goldstein. Since day one he has been a strong advocate for our industry and was a crucial player in this deal."
Had this agreement not been reached, the existing vehicle retirement rules would have required the purchase of many new vehicles at great expense, potentially leading to rate increases to share these increased costs with clients, and perhaps even resulting in lost ridership
Visit nybcac.org for more information.
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The association has set up a microsite, ridesafema.org, for the express purpose of getting people in touch with Massachusetts representatives to advocate for the riding public’s safety.
“One of the things we needed to do is have a grassroots effort, and the site was that effort to get people to contact their legislators,” says NELA Executive Director Rick Szilagyi. “We set it up just for that purpose, so we could direct people to a website that deals with this issue relative to Massachusetts legislation.”
With two industry-related bills—one of which is the association’s own HB-3702, written in tandem with the taxi industry it has been working closely with for more than a year—and insurance-related legislation currently in the House Finance Committee, Szilagyi anticipates that when the bill comes out of the House “probably in early March,” capitalizing on that timing with public input will be crucial.
“The deadline [for contacting legislators] is fluid, but now would be great because over the next week or two, the new bill will be out and that’s when it will be the foremost thing in legislators’ minds,” he says.
To make contacting a state senator or representative even easier, NELA is directing people to malegislature.gov/People/Search to find specific elected officials.
NELA’s three dominant goals are to see TNCs operate within the parameters of 24/7 commercial insurance, fingerprint-based background checks, and license plates that identify a TNC driver—“not an Uber sticker that anyone can buy on eBay,” according to Szilagyi, who welcomes any show of support as Massachusetts lawmakers mull over TNC regulations.
“Even getting one more person is huge,” he says. “That’s one more than we had today.”
The association’s next quarterly meeting will be March 15. Additionally, it will be holding an Education Day April 4.
Visit nelivery.org for more information.
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One of the biggest pieces of news to come from the meeting was delivered by Brent Cagle, aviation director for Charlotte Douglas International Airport, who announced that airport inspections would no longer be necessary for for-hire vehicles.
“We would have our city and state inspections, and then when we’d go to get our permits from PVH (Passenger Vehicles for Hire), they would inspect the cars—and then we’d go to the airports to get our airport sticker, and they would inspect the cars,” says CRLA Secretary Laura Canady of CLT Express. “So for people with bigger fleets, it was a real hassle for us—and, of course, TNCs don’t have to get anything inspected. This eliminates the need for us to get our inspections done at the airport, so now, when the airport sees that we have our city and state inspections and have the right insurance, we get our airport stickers.”
As the city of Charlotte allows TNCs to operate without any restrictions, industry operators are appropriately concerned. On February 8, CRLA’s executive board met with Julie Eiselt, one of the newest members of the Charlotte City Council, who also inherited the chair for the Safety Committee.
“In the city of Charlotte, and only in the city of Charlotte, we have regulations,” Canady says. “Of course, there’s chauffeur fees, vehicle permits, and then company permits—so you need three different permits to operate in the city. Uber doesn’t have to do any of that because they now have this state bill and they can operate as a TNC by paying the state $5,000. On average, the PVH fees for a small local business can reach up to and probably over $40,000.”
Canady reports that Eiselt was very receptive to the CRLA’s message about operational inequality, but that the association is now waiting to see how the committee votes.
The next CRLA meeting is scheduled for March 2.
Visit mycrla.com for more information.
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