Incoming Mayor Eric Adams Re-Nominates TLC Chair Heredia Jarmoszuk & Appoints Ydanis Rodriguez as DOT Commissioner. Why It Matters?
Incoming Mayor Eric Adams Re-Nominates TLC Chair Heredia Jarmoszuk & Appoints Ydanis Rodriguez as DOT Commissioner. Why It Matters?
Both the NYC Taxi & Limousine Chair & Department of Transportation (DOT) Commissioner have tremendous influence over how the NYC for-hire transport industry develops
Incoming Mayor Eric Adams Re-Nominates TLC Chair Heredia Jarmoszuk & Appoints Ydanis Rodriguez as DOT Commissioner. Why It Matters?
AutoMarketplace NYC Newsletter is written by Dawood Mian, Founder of AutoMarketplace (launching soon). He covers the NYC for-hire transportation industry and related news.
Check out AutoMarketplace on YouTube ▶️
Mayor-elect Eric Adams, who officially takes office on January 1st, has re-nominated current NYC Taxi & Limousine Commission (TLC) Chair Aloysee Heredia Jarmoszuk to continue on in her position. The incoming Mayor also announced the appointment of current City Council Committee of Transportation Chair Ydanis Rodriguez as the City’s Department of Transportation (DOT) Commissioner. This is a key (re-)nomination and appointment that have tremendous influence on how the City’s for-hire industry develops.
While many like to complain about politicians and political appointees (myself included), the truth of the matter is:
That’s how our democratic system works. How else are you going to run a government? Someone needs to lead.
It’s always easy commenting from “the bleachers” to do X instead of Y or Y instead of X, but the difficulty in finding political consensus and effectively executing policy shouldn’t be underestimated. At the same time, that doesn’t mean we should give a free pass to those in power on subjects we feel strongly about. In my observation, being effective at polite, yet effective, communication is something many in the TLC community struggle with. I also understand that legitimate frustrations can get the best of people (including myself) as well, but hostile interactions between TLC drivers and other industry participants and the regulator does no one any good.
Complicated policy issues are often simplified, giving a false impression of political favoritism or corruption. It’s important to really understand issues before making accusations of malfeasance.
NYC TLC Chair/Commissioner Aloysee Chair Heredia Jarmoszuk should be given credit for managing A LOT since taking over as TLC Chair on the eve of a once in a century pandemic that hit NYC hard early on (she officially started in February 2020!). From my interactions and observations, Chair Heredia Jarmoszuk understands the for-hire industry well and is willing to engage various industry participants. I’m sure she has a lot on her agenda that I won’t be able to fully capture here, but I’ll make some educated high level observations. It’s clear electrifying the TLC fleet, starting with the yellow cab industry, is a priority. She will also oversee a yellow cab industry coming out of a historic debt restructuring agreement, which many think will lead to a yellow cab renaissance. Finally, she will continue to lead strategic thinking and decision making around the FHV License Pause (aka TLC Plate Cap), as it establishes itself as an industry norm. Of specific note are the “traditional” Black Car industry’s ask for an exemption to the TLC Plate Cap, citing it disrupts their ability to add new clientele. There will be other important issues that come up so forgive me for not including them all here, but I will be tracking and reporting on them in the months and years ahead.
As a side note, the Black Car News mentioned recently that there was a City Council bill that proposes to increase the size of the TLC Commission from 9 to 11. This is something I’ll track as well, but I’ll have to claim ignorance on any details about its probability.
Influence of Department of Transportation (DOT) on NYC For-Hire Industry
Another policy topic that’s very relevant to the NYC for-hire transport industry is the upcoming implementation of the long awaited NYC congestion pricing regime. Questions related to how FHVs will be charged, what will (if any) the exemptions be, etc - this will be a MAJOR topic and inflection point not only for NYC’s for-hire transport industry, but its overall transportation ecosystem. A key goal of congestion pricing is to reduce private cars coming into Manhattan’s Central Business District (CBD), which on its face will likely benefit the for-hire transport industry (i.e., less private car transport in the City).
A key player in the congestion pricing discussions will be Ydanis Rodriguez, the incoming City’s DOT Commissioner, who will help shape its impact on the TLC industry. In fact, back in 2019, Rodriguez, in his capacity as Chair of the City Council’s Transportation Committee, supported a yellow taxi exemption from a previously proposed NYC for-hire vehicle congestion surcharge (although that surcharge was ultimately implemented).
Another big agenda item for incoming Commissioner Rodriguez will also be a continuation of the de Blasio’s administration’s focus on Vision Zero and expanding protected bike lanes across the City, something Mayor-elect Adams has repeatedly advocated for. Some TLC drivers find the expansion of protected bike (and bus lanes) controversial as it’s perceived to be eating into the “street space” available to them.
“I will work with the rest of my colleagues in the administration, the City Council, advocates, and the private and academic sectors, to carry on our vision of turning New York City into the most pedestrian and cyclist-friendly city in the nation…I will continue looking for innovative ways to reduce our reliance on carbon-emitting vehicles and in its place build a City that prioritizes sustainability and the safety of pedestrians and cyclists."
“We are going to commit to replacing 50% of all plastic protected bike lanes with sturdier and more permanent structures within the first 100 days”
- Incoming Department of Transportation Commissioner Ydannis Rodriguez
In addition, as we reported on recently, the DOT currently has jurisdiction over the granting of self-driving permits (aka autonomous vehicle (AV) licenses) issued in the City - something that is likely to gain more attention.
Let’s see how it all plays out! Let us know your thoughts below or by e-mailing us at info@automarketplace.com
AutoMarketplace NYC Newsletter is written by Dawood Mian, Founder of AutoMarketplace (launching soon). He covers the NYC for-hire transportation industry and related news.
Check out AutoMarketplace on YouTube ▶️