NYC Taxi & Limousine Commission sets deadline today for new FHV vehicle licenses

Deadline is set to 5pm Today. 

This deadline (see:  NYC TLC Industry Notice) does not apply to Wheelchair Accessible Vehicles (WAVs) or current FHV vehicle owners because the one year pause or moratorium only affects applicants for new FHV licenses.  

"The date and time of the Base Affirmation filed for the vehicle will determine if the one year pause applies:  For Base Affirmations submitted BEFORE 5:00 PM today, Tuesday August 14, 2018, the regular FHV vehicle licensing requirements apply. These vehicles are not required to be Wheelchair Accessible.  For Base Affirmations submitted ON or AFTER 5:00 PM today, Tuesday August 14, 2018, the one-year pause will apply. These vehicles must be Wheelchair Accessible"...    NYC TLC notice.

The changes to FHV licenses was passed as a Bill by the New York legislature just a few days ago  and it was signed into law by Mayor Bill de Blasio today.  The reasons for the pause or moratorium was based on a study conducted about 1 month ago about the effects that app-based drivers like Uber and Lyft have on the economy of  New York City and other taxi drivers.  Of note, New York City is the biggest market for app-based companies.

NYC TLC legislature passes bill placing 1 year moratorium and cap on app based ride-hail car licenses Uber & Lyft

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-45123806
NYC Bill places cap on Uber, Lyft and other App based services & recommends minimum hourly wage of $17.22 per hour for drivers.  This comes as a celebration for NYC Yellow Taxi Cab drivers who have complained of unfair competition and lost wages and environmentalist complaining of overcrowding and pollution.

NYC Ferry's South Brooklyn route launches Thursday | am New York

NYC Ferry's South Brooklyn route launches Thursday | am New York

NYC TLC Fatigue Prevention

fatigue_prevention_faq.pdf

The NYC TLC revised fatigued driving prevention rules was passed on February 2, 2017 and applies both to Taxi and FHV.   

Basically, both Taxi and FHV drivers are prohibited from transporting passengers for more than 10 hours in any 24-hour period and for more than 60 hours in a calendarweek (Monday-Sunday).  As per TLC the earliest it will be start issuing summons under this new rule  is August 15, 2017.

       

Uber Gets Into Serious Street Fightin’ With City Government

Uber Gets Into Serious Street Fightin’ With City Government

Uber uses third-party criminal checks that rely on name checks only, whereas taxi drivers use fingerprint checks linked to the FBI’s database

Why TLC Drivers with a CDL License Need a DOT Physical

http://nearsay.com/c/276274/42455/why-tlc-drivers-with-a-cdl-must-get-a-dot-physical

NYC TLC and For-Hire Medical Forms Important Changes

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A couple of good changes were made to the NYC TLC Forms (new applicants & renewing).  On all the NYC Taxi cab driver and For- Hire Vehicle Forms the New York City Taxi & Limousine Commission (TLC) has added the following instructions to the forms:     

"Medically fit means that the applicant is of sound physical condition with good eyesight and no epilepsy, vertigo, heart trouble or any other infirmity of body or mind to the extent that it would render the applicant unfit for the safe operation of a licensed vehicle at all times of the day".

I think that it's a good start from the TLC but more needs to be done.  This is important because many taxi drivers are probably not being properly evaluated (if at all) by some of the physicians that sign these forms.  I only say that because:  (1) Many drivers tell us so and (2) Drivers come to our office from other facilities because TLC did not accept the previous physical they had at that facility for whatever reason(s).

So beware of prices that seem too good to be true (like the ones for fifteen and twenty dollar physicals as seen in some of the Uber Driver Forums), because at that price it probably is too good to be true.  It may come back to haunt you later.

At DOT Medical Examiner in College Point we perform complete and thorough TLC physicals at reasonable prices .  We believe that you deserve the best evaluation as a driver, and most importantly we believe it is vital that public safety comes first.

Link to NYC TLC forms:  ​New Application

                                     ​For Hire Applicant-Renewing

Also, best news of all, the new forms above are now good for 90 days and not 30!  Hooray!

Be safe and do it right the first time.  So Call us today 718-701-5949 or 718-939-9020 for your next TLC Physical! or got to our ​website.  Thank you.