The future of taxiing in New York is coming to a vote tomorrow. And no, we aren't talking about Bloomberg's outer borough street-hailable livery cabs—that is still illegal! Instead we're talking about taxi apps. After companies essentially forced the TLC's hand the commission went and wrote up some "e-hailing" rules which they are going to vote on tomorrow. And it could be very close!
See, in order for cellphone taxi hailing (and taxi paying) apps like Uber, Hailo and GetTaxi to be made legal in the city the rules separating yellow cabs from livery cabs need to be slightly redefined (you can read a PDF of the full TLC proposal here). And that requires the support of a majority of the TLC. The TLC's chairman David Yassky is clearly very okay with the idea—he has an op-ed in favor of it in the Daily News today—but not everyone of the commissioners is. As Captial's Dana Rubinstein points out today it appears there may be a divide between the four commissioners appointed by the Mayor (who are al in favor) and the five commissioners appointed by the City Council (who are less interested in e-hailing).
The major issue seems to be who e-hailing helps and who it hurts. Yassky and the pro-camp argue that e-hailing will allow cabs to get more fares, New Yorkers to get around easier and will also be "a particular boon to tourists who lack New Yorkers’ well-honed sense of the best places to hail a taxi." Further, "by helping fill taxis when they would otherwise be empty, apps would make the fleet more efficient, saving fuel and reducing traffic."
But those on the other side who argue that the e-hailing language right now essentially lets yellow cabs encroach on the livery business, which the TLC is meant to help grow: "The value of this app does not outweigh the risks inherent to hurting the businesses that already exist," one commissioner opposed to the new rules told Capital.
Personally we're totally fine with e-hailing apps becoming a thing—as long as they are heavily regulated to prevent tacky surge scamming. Cabs are already expensive enough. But we can understand how officials might not want to harm an existing business amidst a bad economy just so people can hail a cab with their phone.
