⚡⚖️ EV TLC Plates: Judge Will Wait For FHV License Review Report
According to Daily News and other sources, NY Supreme Court Judge will wait for February FHV License Report, usually published in March, before further decision on EV exemption to TLC Plate Cap
According to the Daily News and other AutoMarketplace sources, it appears New York Supreme Court Judge J. Machelle Sweeting will wait for TLC’s February For-Hire Vehicle (FHV) License Pause Report, expected to be published next month.
The TLC does not provide an exact date in March about when the FHV License Review report will be published, but it is generally in mid to late March. For example, in 2022 the February FHV License Review report was published on March 23, 2022 and referenced January 2022 data. In 2021, the February FHV License Determination report was published on March 19, 2021.
We speculated the judge could rule to wait for the FHV License Review report in a January 24th article and think its worthwhile (see article excerpt below) to understand why we thought this might be the outcome of today’s hearing.
“Finally, given Judge J. Machelle Sweeting is set to hold a hearing on the case again on February 14th, we might expect the judge to delay a final ruling until TLC issues its February 2024 TLC Plate Cap report or the TLC might have the report ready by that hearing date (Note: this is pure speculation on our part).”
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Excerpt from AutoMarketplace January 24th article 👇
TLC Plate Cap Determination & NYTWA Lawsuit
Finally, it’s worth mentioning that the, now once a year, For-Hire Vehicle (FHV) License Pause report will likely be published in the next one to two months. This report is also commonly referred to as the “TLC Plate Cap” report, where the regulator determines whether there is a need to issue more TLC Plates.
The TLC decides whether to issue more FHV Licenses (TLC Plates) by assessing factors, including:
Trip volumes
Vehicle supply
Traffic congestion levels
Driver earnings
License attrition rates
Outer borough service
Electric vehicles & charging infrastructure
The TLC Plate Cap report used to be published twice a year, one report based on January data and the other report based on July data, but the rules were changed in early January 2023 to make it a once a year report, issued in or shortly after the month of February.
The last FHV License Determination “February 2023” report was published nearly 8 months after February 2023, and coincided with the passage of the Green Rides Initiative. Remember, the February 2023 report, published in October 2023 and based on January 2023 figures, was the technical mechanism that allowed the TLC to reinstate the EV exemption to the TLC Plate Cap.
That this report was published 8 months late, using January 2023 data, is extremely controversial in our view.
Furthermore, reading a Court transcript of the ongoing lawsuit between NYTWA & the City / TLC, New York State Supreme Court Judge J. Machelle Sweeting also seems to have taken notice of potential issues related to NOT setting, up front, a fixed number of TLC Plates to issue (vs. unlimited), given how the FHV License Pause report is created.
For example, if the TLC studies lagging indicators to make its determination on whether to issue more TLC Plates, while having an unlimited EV TLC Plate policy, by the time the TLC gets around to studying the impact, the regulator might not realize FHV oversaturation had already occurred, after the fact. It might be analogous to starting a race, but not establishing an exact finish line.
Finally, given Judge J. Machelle Sweeting is set to hold a hearing on the case again on February 14th, we might expect the judge to delay a final ruling until TLC issues its February 2024 TLC Plate Cap report or the TLC might have the report ready by that hearing date (Note: this is pure speculation on our part).
That being said, even if the TLC removed the EV exemption to the TLC Plate Cap, the issue around whether the TLC can make an “unlimited” EV TLC Plate issuance policy without going through a formal City Council (“CAPA”) process, as was done with WAVs, or hold a public hearing, will still need to be decided.
From the NY Supreme Court transcript (see attachment below for full transcript):
THE COURT [NY Supreme Court Judge J. Machelle Sweeting]: And if it is annual, is the next study February of 2024?
MS. SELVIN [City/TLC Attorney]: I believe so, Your Honor, but I can verify that as well. So that would be in a little over three months. Let me just verify that for you, Judge.
MR. SOLEIMANY [NYTWA Attorney]: And you know on this point, Your Honor, I think it bears noting that this -- the so-called February 2023 report was not published until October 18th when the announcement was made. So we don't really know when we might expect the next 12 month --
MS. SELVIN [City/TLC Attorney]: Judge, they have confirmed that it will be February 2024 is the next study.
…
THE COURT [NY Supreme Court Judge J. Machelle Sweeting]: But here's the thing, why not -- if not a thousand because based on the study a thousand wasn't enough, so you double it, and you say 2,000 or 3,000, you come up with some number because could not TLC find itself in another predicament, which is if the unlimited universe of eligible applicants, interested applicants were to apply and there is no cap and everyone who applies is eligible, you then have by the time you've done the study, the study may come back and say there's not now an oversaturation, what do you do then? Hypothetical.
MS. SELVIN [City/TLC Attorney]: No, I appreciate what you're saying, Judge.
As always, let us know your thoughts in the comments section below or by emailing us at info@automarketplace.com.
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