⚡ NYC TLC Gives More Details On NEW TLC Plate Release

The NYC Taxi & Limousine Commission (TLC) announced a hearing on January 11th & more details around the planned issuance of 1,000 NEW electric vehicle (EV-only) FHV licenses (a/k/a TLC Plates)

Dec 13, 2022

⏱️Summary

⚡ The New York City Taxi & Limousine Commission (NYC TLC) announced it will hold a public hearing (via Zoom) at 10am on Wednesday, January 11th that will focus on the issuance of 1,000 new electric vehicle (EV) only FHV Licenses (a/k/a TLC Plates)
➕ NYC TLC confirmed 600 new EV-only TLC Plates will be reserved for 🧑 individual owner-operators, while 🏢 400 new EV-only TLC Plates will be open to corporate entities, such as black car bases and fleets
✍️ Individual NYC TLC drivers will need to submit a statement of interest and the TLC will contact selected drivers to submit an application. An individual will only be able to apply for a single FHV license of the 600 available “non-transferable” TLC Plates
🏢 Corporate entities (i.e., black car & livery bases, fleets) will be dealt with on a “first-come, first-serve” basis and can apply for several TLC Plates of the 400 FHV license allocation
🗵 NYC TLC also announced that it would stop issuing new TLC Plates to drivers that had long-term leases in place before the initial August 2018 FHV License Pause (a/k/a TLC Plate Cap) by August 2023
🗓️ The biannual (twice a year) FHV License Pause Report & Determination (TLC Plate Cap decision) will convert into an annual (once a year) determination after the February 2023 determination and report

In what is set to be a well attended and followed hearing, the NYC Taxi & Limousine Commission (NYC TLC) announced a public hearing (via Zoom) at 10am on Wednesday, January 11th focused on the issuance of new electric vehicle (EV-only) FHV Licenses. Many TLC drivers and industry participants, colloquially refer to an FHV License as ‘TLC Plates’.

Source: New York City Taxi & Limousine Commission

🖱️ Click here for a link to the announcement

After the August 2018 FHV License Pause (a/k/a TLC Plate Cap) AND the removal of the electric vehicle exemption to the TLC Plate Cap in June 2021, NYC TLC drivers, who lease their TLC vehicle, were only able to acquire the rights to their own TLC Plates via a wheelchair accessible vehicle (WAV).

That is set to change with the temporary and limited release of NEW EV-only TLC plates. The TLC confirmed the decision yesterday and gave more details.

The new EV-only TLC Plate split will be as follows:

600 TLC plates reserved for individual operators
400 TLC plates reserved for corporate entities (i.e., bases, fleets)

How Do Individual NYC TLC Drivers Apply For New EV-Only TLC Plates?

While more details are likely to be discussed at the hearing. Essentially, individual drivers looking to acquire the rights to their own TLC Plates will submit a “statement of interest” (via an online portal) that will be reviewed by the TLC. The regulator will then select drivers to apply based on their statement. It’s anyone guess, but we assume the following factors will play a major role in TLC assessing which drivers to allocate the 600 new EV-only TLC plates to (again, this is a guess).

Number of years and trips as a NYC TLC-licensed driver
Number of years leasing a NYC TLC-plated vehicle
Driving record
Entrepreneurial objectives (i.e, wants to expand / create new TLC base)
Financial situation

We paste the exact wording from the TLC announcement below.

How Do Bases & Fleets Apply For New EV-Only TLC Plates?

The details around how bases and fleets apply for the 400 TLC plates allocated to them is not really spelled out, but we paste the exact wording from the TLC announcement below. We assume more specifics will be given during the hearing.

End Of Long Term Lease Exemption

The TLC also announced that TLC drivers that had long term lease-to-own arrangements before the initial August 2018 TLC Plate Cap announcment, would no longer be able to claim a license after August 13, 2023. Of note, this August deadline matches the regulator’s recent announcement that it will end the TLC Plate storage program on August 31, 2023.

Biannual Becomes Annual

In other fairly significant news, the regulator plans to change the bi-annual, or twice a year, TLC Plate Cap decision, to an annual, once a year, February review. This review is officially known as the FHV License Pause Report.

Preliminary Thoughts

There’s a lot to unpack here, but our initial thought is the TLC, under Chair David Do, continues to move fast to establish a new status quo FHV licensing & regulatory regime. Ahead of the January 11th hearing, we’ll discuss related topics from FHV Lease Caps (a/k/a TLC leasing company regulation) to the likely trajectory of new TLC Plate releases.