Tuesday, January 31, 2012
A New York District Court recently ruled that NYC’s lack of wheelchair accessible taxis violates the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act). As the city works to increase its fleet of wheelchair taxis to 2,000 vehicles, the new MobilityWorks Flex-Flat Ramp offers a solution that meets the needs of both parties in the case.
Akron, OH (PRWEB) January 31, 2012
A leading provider of accessible wheelchair vans for consumers and commercial businesses may have the answer that taxi operators, the city of New York, and the disabled community has been looking for. The inexcusable small number of accessible taxis in New York City finally made its way into District Court – with the prospects for wheelchair users being able to find a taxi looking much brighter.
MobilityWorks has developed a new accessible, self-storing wheelchair ramp for the popular Ford Transit Connect van in hopes of winning over taxi operators, including those in charge of New York’s Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC). The commission controls the number of taxi medallions issued – including those designated for wheelchair accessibility. As of today, less than 2% of the more than 13,000 taxis serving New York City can safely load and transport a wheelchair passenger with a permanently installed, ADA compliant ramp. A recent lawsuit filed against the TLC has put the wheels in motion on making New York more accessible.
While the courts have made a summary judgment against the TLC (Noel v. New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission, 11 Civ. 237 (GBD)) stating that its lack of vehicles for accessibility violates the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), it is still up in the air as to what type of vehicles and how many will be added to the fleet within the next year. In response to the ruling, the TLC stated that they were already working on a plan with legislators and with the Governor’s office to increase the taxi medallions being issued, specifically for wheelchair passengers. Whatever their prior intentions were, the lawsuit appears to have sped up their plans. According to recent articles, the goal is to increase the entire NYC fleet of wheelchair taxis to 2,000 vehicles. They have also stated that they are going to establish a “Wheelchair Accessible Dispatch Program” whereby passengers can call a special 311 number to request an accessible taxi pickup…
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