Allows commuter vans to accept hails from prospective passengers in the street; provides for the repeal of such provisions upon the expiration thereof.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A2653B
SPONSOR: Anderson TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in
relation to allowing commuter vans to accept hails from prospective
passengers in the street; and providing for the repeal of such
provisions upon expiration thereof
PURPOSE:
To authorize a pilot program that would provide consumers additional
methods of transportation particularly in areas of the State deemed a
transportation desert.
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
Section one of the bill amends subdivision of § 19-502 of the adminis-
trative code of the city of New York to provide that no commuter van
shall be authorized to accept hails except as provided in subdivision c.
Section two of the bill amends paragraph 1 of subdivision a of § 19-504
of the administrative code of the city of New York to add commuter vans
authorized pursuant to subdivision c to the motor vehicles authorized to
accept hails from passengers in the street.
Section three of the bill amends the section heading and subdivision of
§ 19-516 of the administrative code of the city of New York to make
technical changes.
Section four of the bill adds a new subdivision c that authorizes the
commission to establish a pilot program, until June 30, 2027, to allow
commuter vans licensed by the commission to accept hails from prospec-
tive passengers. The pilot program is limited to five specified communi-
ty districts across the city. The commission must also then submit a
report on the impact of the pilot program no later than February 1,
2026, to the mayor, speaker of the council, governor and the Legislature
with findings and recommendations.
Section five of the bill provides the effective date.
JUSTIFICATION:
Commuter vans provide a service to many individuals throughout New York
State. Whether it is helping transport people to the airport, to work,
.or tpan.event,'commuter vans offer a service which gets people to a
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
2653--B
2023-2024 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 26, 2023
___________
Introduced by M. of A. ANDERSON, HYNDMAN, WEPRIN, FORREST, CUNNINGHAM,
COOK, GIBBS, SOLAGES, DAVILA, WALKER, REYES, BICHOTTE HERMELYN, JACK-
SON, SEPTIMO, KIM, CHANDLER-WATERMAN, DARLING, DICKENS, MEEKS, ALVA-
REZ, TAPIA, ARDILA, TAYLOR, EPSTEIN, BURGOS, CRUZ, BEEPHAN,
DE LOS SANTOS, ZINERMAN, CARROLL, COLTON, SEAWRIGHT, MAHER, OTIS,
FITZPATRICK, HEVESI, DAIS, BURDICK -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A.
BROOK-KRASNY, J. A. GIGLIO -- read once and referred to the Committee
on Cities -- recommitted to the Committee on Cities in accordance with
Assembly Rule 3, sec. 2 -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered
reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee -- again
reported from said committee with amendments, ordered reprinted as
amended and recommitted to said committee
AN ACT to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in
relation to allowing commuter vans to accept hails from prospective
passengers in the street; and providing for the repeal of such
provisions upon expiration thereof
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Subdivision p of section 19-502 of the administrative code
2 of the city of New York, as amended by local law number 37 of the city
3 of New York for the year 2019, is amended to read as follows:
4 p. "Commuter van" means a commuter van service having a seating capac-
5 ity of at least nine passengers but not more than twenty passengers or
6 such greater capacity as the commission may establish by rule and carry-
7 ing passengers for hire in the city duly licensed as a commuter van by
8 the commission and not permitted to accept hails from prospective
9 passengers in the street except as authorized pursuant to subdivision c
10 of this section. For purposes of the provisions of this chapter relating
11 to prohibitions against the operation of an unauthorized commuter van
12 service or an unlicensed commuter van, the enforcement of such prohibi-
13 tions and the imposition of penalties for violations of such prohibi-
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD07042-04-4
A. 2653--B 2
1 tions and to the seizure and forfeiture of commuter vans, the term shall
2 also include any common carrier of passengers by motor vehicle not
3 subject to licensure as a taxicab, for-hire vehicle, or wheelchair
4 accessible van and not operating as a public or private bus transit
5 service operated pursuant to a contract with the city, any county within
6 the state of New York, the state of New York or any other state or local
7 government that follows the applicable procurement rules and regulations
8 of such jurisdiction regardless of the seating capacity of any such
9 vehicle. The commission shall submit to the council the text of any
10 proposed rule relating to the maximum capacity of commuter vans at the
11 time such proposed rule is published in the City Record.
12 § 2. Paragraph 1 of subdivision a of section 19-504 of the administra-
13 tive code of the city of New York, as amended by local law number 115 of
14 the city of New York for the year 1993, is amended to read as follows:
15 (1) A taxi-cab, coach, wheelchair accessible van, commuter van or
16 for-hire vehicle shall operate within the city of New York only if the
17 owner shall first have obtained from the commission a taxicab, coach,
18 wheelchair accessible van, commuter van or for-hire vehicle license for
19 such vehicle and only while such license is in full force and effect.
20 Vehicle licenses shall be issued for a term of not less than one nor
21 more than two years and shall expire on the date set forth on the
22 license unless sooner suspended or revoked by the commission. No motor
23 vehicle other than a duly licensed taxicab or commuter van where author-
24 ized pursuant to subdivision c of section 19-502 of this chapter shall
25 be permitted to accept hails from passengers in the street. No commuter
26 van shall be operated within the city of New York unless it is operated
27 as part of a current, valid authorization to operate a commuter van
28 service duly issued by the commission pursuant to section 19-504.2 of
29 this chapter.
30 § 3. The section heading of section 19-516 of the administrative code
31 of the city of New York, as amended by local law number 115 of the city
32 of New York for the year 1993, is amended to read as follows:
33 Acceptance of passengers by for-hire vehicles [and commuter vans].
34 § 4. Subdivision b of section 19-516 of the administrative code of the
35 city of New York, as amended by local law number 6 of the city of New
36 York for the year 2017, is amended and a new subdivision c is added to
37 read as follows:
38 b. [No] Except as provided in subdivision c of this section, no commu-
39 ter van service and no person who owns, operates or drives a commuter
40 van, shall provide, permit or authorize the provision of transportation
41 service to a passenger unless such service to a passenger is on the
42 basis of a telephone contract or other prearrangement. Where a violation
43 of this subdivision has been committed by a driver of a commuter van,
44 the commuter van service and the owner of such vehicle shall also be
45 liable for a violation of this subdivision.
46 c. The commission shall establish a pilot program to evaluate the
47 impact of commuter vans accepting street hails. Until June thirtieth,
48 two thousand twenty-seven commuter vans duly licensed by the commission
49 to carry passengers for hire are authorized to accept hails from
50 prospective passengers in the streets of the city of New York within
51 Queens community district twelve, Brooklyn community district five,
52 Brooklyn community district nine, Brooklyn community district sixteen,
53 and Brooklyn community district seventeen, provided that such authori-
54 zation shall prohibit the pick up of passengers by street hail at
55 airports or in such other area as the commission shall by rule prohibit.
56 No later than February first, two thousand twenty-six and annually ther-
A. 2653--B 3
1 eafter until the completion of the pilot program established pursuant to
2 this subdivision, the commission shall submit a report to the mayor,
3 speaker of the council, governor, the temporary president of the senate,
4 and the speaker of the assembly, evaluating the pilot program with an
5 analysis of the impact of commuter vans accepting hails from prospective
6 passengers in the streets and any recommendations of the commission
7 regarding the authorization of commuter vans to accept hails from
8 prospective passengers in the streets of the city of New York.
9 § 5. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall
10 have become a law and shall expire and be deemed repealed June 30, 2027.
