NYC's green cabs being phased out as TLC introduces new permits
NEW YORK CITY - New York City's green cabs could soon be a thing of the past, as the Taxi and Limousine Commission rolls out a pilot program that would replace the taxis with a service that appears similar to ridesharing apps like Uber and Lyft.
As part of the program, the TLC will phase out green cabs, which are only allowed to operate in the four outer boroughs. The new permits can only be used for pre-arranged trips, similar to Uber and Lyft. The formerly green cabs won’t be allowed to pick up passengers who hail rides from the street anymore.
Green cab drivers in the outer boroughs say they are already struggling to make ends meet as demand for their services continues to dwindle.
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"I'm making sometimes $50 a day sometimes $100 because we cannot pick up the customer from the city and the airport," said Juyel Ahmed, a green cab driver.
According to Ahmed, the number of green cab drivers in the outer boroughs far outweighs the demand for their services. He believes that the Taxi and Limousine Commission's new pilot program to add 2,500 more licenses for outer borough cabs just doesn’t make sense.
At a meeting earlier this week, the Executive Director of the New York Taxi Workers Alliance told a TLC representative that there just simply aren’t enough jobs for drivers.
"The TLC is basically putting 2,500 new cars on the streets, even though in 2018, the city council voted to cap the number of for-hire vehicles. And what this is going to be is like a second-class Uber and Lyft car for the driver," said Bhairavi Desai.
Desai believes that the new permits will only hurt drivers who are already struggling in an oversaturated market with drivers competing with various ride-share apps. But the TLC says they believe this pilot program will reduce operating costs associated with street hail livery permits and increase outer borough service.
"It is directly based on input from the industry, and we’re excited to see what happens," the TLC said in a statement. "We’ll be tracking both the demand for these licenses and their resultant trip numbers very closely."