PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Ali Langley, Staff Attorney at New York Taxi Workers Alliance on TLC Regulations and Proposed Legislation
3:02:21
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133 sec
Ali Langley, a staff attorney at the New York Taxi Workers Alliance, testified on several proposed bills related to the taxi and for-hire vehicle industry in New York City. She focused on Intro 323 and Intro 939, expressing support for the former and opposition to the latter.
- Strongly advocated for passing Intro 323, which would require the TLC to implement lease caps for for-hire vehicles
- Opposed Intro 939, which would allow commuter vans to accept street hails, citing potential harm to yellow and green cab drivers
- Criticized the TLC for failing to take action on predatory leasing arrangements despite acknowledging their negative impact on driver pay
Ali Langley
3:02:21
Okay.
3:02:22
Thank you.
3:02:22
Good afternoon.
3:02:23
My name is Ali Langley.
3:02:24
I'm a staff attorney at the New York Taxi Workers Alliance.
3:02:27
You've heard today, and we'll hear more from my colleagues and the members of the New York Taxi Workers Alliance about the importance of passing intro 276.
3:02:35
So I would like to focus my testimony on 2 other bills before the committee today.
3:02:40
Intro 323 and intro 939.
3:02:43
Intro 323 requires the TLC to implement lease caps for 4 higher vehicles.
3:02:49
Lease caps should be an uncontroversial regulatory tool They've been an essential part of regulating the yellow cab sector and protecting driver pay for years.
3:03:02
Unfortunately, the TLC has failed to take any action and you heard that directly from them today, even though they themselves have identified that these leasing arrangements are predatory and have a significant negative impact on driver pay.
3:03:15
They alleged to be doing other things to support leasing drivers who are leasing, but nothing that they said held up today.
3:03:23
They said they released the license the EV, FHB licenses in part to support those drivers.
3:03:30
They did nothing in that process to make sure that it was targeted at drivers who were renting.
3:03:34
So it just flooded the market, and actually harmed all drivers and decreased all drivers income, which we're seeing in the lockouts.
3:03:43
Intro 323 fixes this by mandating the TLC to set lease caps, and it should be passed immediately.
3:03:51
In addition, Nitro opposes the passage of intro 9 through 9, which would give street hailstorms to commuter vans.
3:03:58
This would harm other 4 hired vehicles in this sector, including yellow and green cab drivers.
3:04:04
The yellow cab trips simply have not recovered after their pandemic, and taking more street hails away from them would release only serve to push drivers further into poverty.
3:04:14
In addition, you heard from drivers about how their operational costs will be almost doubling because of a recent court order requiring that all new yellow cabs be wheelchair accessible vehicles.
3:04:25
This is gonna have a significant negative impact on drivers.
3:04:28
It's gonna
David Do
3:04:29
be huge.
Selvena N. Brooks-Powers
3:04:29
They just ask that you submit the rest in in writing, but I appreciate your testimony.
Ali Langley
3:04:34
Thank you.