👰♀️ NYTWA Asks For Annulment Of Already Issued EV TLC Plates To "Non-Active" Drivers
Latest twist in ongoing New York Taxi Workers Alliance case against TLC, stemming from reinstatement of EV exemption to TLC Plate Cap, sees NYTWA asking judge to rescind already issued (!) TLC Plates
New York Taxi Workers Alliance (NYTWA) case against TLC continues for what NYTWA believes was illegal issuance of ~9,000 FHV Licenses related to reinstatement of electric vehicle (EV) exemption to TLC Plate Cap in October
NYTWA argues already issued TLC Plates to “non-drivers” be annulled as “one cannot possess a property interest in an unlawfully issued license”
Majority of EV TLC Plates were issued under individual names, however, it appears ~1,000 EV TLC Plates were issued to corporate entities, some which may still belong to individual “active” drivers
If already issued FHV Licenses are rescinded, TLC will likely face lawsuits from individuals and entities that purchased EVs, assuming the regulator had legal authority to release new EV restricted TLC Plates to business entities
The TLC’s disastrous, and surprise, policy decision in October 2023 which reinstated the electric vehicle (EV) exemption to the For-Hire Vehicle (FHV) License Pause (a/k/a TLC Plate), continues to cause chaos. This is what happens when you make policy without soliciting public feedback and speaking with people who represent different parts of the NYC for-hire transportation industry.
Lawsuit after lawsuit. Huge uncertainty. Lockouts. This is an unacceptable status quo. Someone must be held accountable to ensure this never happens again.
Let’s briefly recap.
On October 18th, 2023, the NYC TLC Board of Commissioners voted to pass a new EV and wheelchair accessible vehicle (WAV) mandate, known as the Green Rides Initiative
In an unexpected development, the TLC also announced that the EV exemption to the TLC Plate Cap would be fully reinstated. A NYC for-hire vehicle supply “cap” was created in August 2018 and revised in June 2021 to include EVs
The TLC would would allow, with immediate effect, any individual or business entity to apply for an unlimited number of NYC FHV licenses (TLC Plates), if they purchased an EV(s)
Note, a WAV exemption historically existed and continues to exist
NYC TLC drivers and corporate entities began to apply for TLC Plates, at a pace of “100 to 150” new FHV applications per day
Fearing FHV oversupply and also impact on yellow taxi medallion industry, the New York Taxi Workers Alliance (NYTWA) took legal action against TLC to stop new EV restricted FHV License issuance on November 2nd, 2023
A New York Supreme Court judge granted, on November 8th, 2023, a temporary restraining order (TRO) to temporarily suspend new EV TLC plate applications on Monday, November 13th, 2023
Between judge’s order and effective date of TRO, thousands of additional EV TLC plate applications were submitted, resulting in a total of 9,500+ new TLC Plate requests since October 18th, 2023
On March 2nd, 2024, TLC issued annual February FHV License Review report stating that the EV exemption to the TLC Plate Cap would be removed (i.e., cannot get TLC plate by simply purchasing an EV)
NYTWA vs. TLC case continues, focused on whether TLC had (or has) authority to unilaterally reinstate “unlimited” EV exemption to TLC Plate Cap without first going through a City legislative process
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NYTWA’s Annulment Ask
The latest development in the over seven month old case is NYTWA asking for already (👀) issued TLC Plates to “non-drivers”, be “annulled” or effectively taken away. If such action were allowed, the regulator will have to answer for how it allowed individuals (who might have claimed TLC Plates in a corporate entity) and businesses, that reasonably relied on the TLC, to unintentionally claim illegally issued FHV Licenses.
These individuals and entities would have collectively spent millions purchasing EVs, entering into long term financial contracts, and reasonably assumed the TLC Plates they were issued, were legally issued.
If issued TLC Plates are rescinded, we would assume lawsuits stemming from any such action would have a significant financial impact on the City / TLC and permanently damage the for-hire vehicle regulator’s credibility and prestige. Although we disagreed with the policy to issue the new TLC Plates from the day it was announced, annulling already issued FHV Licenses does not sit well with us. We shouldn’t be punishing individuals or companies that were making decisions that the regulator appeared to be allowing.
Whether the judge allows already issued TLC Plates to be rescinded or whether it does not come to pass, a lot of damage has already been done. In our view NYTWA makes many valid points in its continued legal arguments and is (in our understanding) effectively seeking to (1) ensure the TLC does not have the ability to release FHV Licenses in such a haphazard manner again and (2) reduce NYC for-hire vehicle supply by taking away already issued licenses to “non-drivers”, which we take to mean leasing companies OR individuals operating their own mini-fleets (i.e., individual has multiple TLC Plates under their name).
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Why not to annul all the broker owned plates?
Brokers own thousands of plates and renting them to any Uber or Lyft driver. These brokers are responsible for the glut of drivers in the business.
TLC really need to annul every single plate owned by brokers or non-active driver and take the plate supply and demand in their hands.
This UR locking is outrageous! We paid all the fees and insurance, yet we're stuck offline and drive around aimlessly. Are there any lawyers who can help? Is there a way to fight this with a lawsuit against the TLC? Perhaps there's a way to donate and support this cause.