“The city’s three biggest ride-hail companies have banded together to undo the recently passed Taxi and Limousine Commission mandate requiring them to make wheelchair accessible service a growing part of their operations.
Uber, Lyft, and Via filed a petition in state Supreme Court in Manhattan on Friday asking that the TLC mandate be vacated and annulled. The rules are set to go into effect in July, and will require that within 12 months 5% of all trips dispatched by the operators be in wheelchair accessible vehicles.
The portion will rise to 25% by July 2023. The accessible rides will be required regardless of whether they were requested by a person using a wheelchair, which the city says will keep the vehicles in operation and improve service for those who need them.
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Earlier this week, disability advocates including United Spinal Association and New York Lawyers for the Public Interest filed an amicus brief in federal court in Manhattan in opposition to the motion for a preliminary injunction. The advocates’ brief defends the TLC against the FHV operators but argues that the city’s plan does not go far enough to provide equivalent service for people with disabilities in accordance with anti-discrimination statutes.”
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