Michelle
12-13-2006, 10:40 PM
COUNCIL TO VOTE TO AID DISABLED (http://www.qgazette.com/news/2006/1213/Senior_page/023.html): The City Council has announced that it expects to vote soon on a package of legislation which it hopes will encourage the city’s use of wheelchair-accessible taxicabs for disabled citizens and seniors who need them.
The proposed legislation would require the Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC) to develop and implement a plan to promote the use and purchase of wheelchair-accessible hybrid electric taxi cabs.
The wheelchair-accessible taxicabs and for-hire vehicles would be required to display insignia in at least two prominent locations on the cab’s exterior identifying the vehicle as wheelchair-accessible.
Council Speaker Christine Quinn, in announcing the coming vote, stated: “We have a responsibility to make sure that New Yorkers are breathing fresher air and getting around town more easily.” Quinn said the bill was developed in cooperation with the Bloomberg administration and advocates for the disabled and the environment.
Quinn said the bills were a continuation of the council’s ongoing effort to increase the number of wheelchair-accessible and clean-air taxicabs. Last May, she noted, the council and mayor agreed to sell 254 alternative fuel and 54 wheelchair-accessible taxicab medallions in order for there to be more such cabs in service on city streets.
Councilmember John Liu (D–Flushing), chair of the Transportation Committee, explained that by giving economic incentives to taxi owners, the bills will provide a fresh overhaul of taxicabs to make them more user-friendly for people with disabilities without imposing a burden on the cab owners.
Councilmember James Gennaro (D–Fresh Meadows), chair of the Environmental Protection Committee, said that the wheelchair-accessible and clean energy hybrid-electric taxicabs will make future transportation cleaner and healthier as well as more comfortable for the disabled.
The proposed legislation would require the Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC) to develop and implement a plan to promote the use and purchase of wheelchair-accessible hybrid electric taxi cabs.
The wheelchair-accessible taxicabs and for-hire vehicles would be required to display insignia in at least two prominent locations on the cab’s exterior identifying the vehicle as wheelchair-accessible.
Council Speaker Christine Quinn, in announcing the coming vote, stated: “We have a responsibility to make sure that New Yorkers are breathing fresher air and getting around town more easily.” Quinn said the bill was developed in cooperation with the Bloomberg administration and advocates for the disabled and the environment.
Quinn said the bills were a continuation of the council’s ongoing effort to increase the number of wheelchair-accessible and clean-air taxicabs. Last May, she noted, the council and mayor agreed to sell 254 alternative fuel and 54 wheelchair-accessible taxicab medallions in order for there to be more such cabs in service on city streets.
Councilmember John Liu (D–Flushing), chair of the Transportation Committee, explained that by giving economic incentives to taxi owners, the bills will provide a fresh overhaul of taxicabs to make them more user-friendly for people with disabilities without imposing a burden on the cab owners.
Councilmember James Gennaro (D–Fresh Meadows), chair of the Environmental Protection Committee, said that the wheelchair-accessible and clean energy hybrid-electric taxicabs will make future transportation cleaner and healthier as well as more comfortable for the disabled.