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PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Cooper Sancho Prasad, Yellow Cab Driver on Wheelchair Accessible Vehicles and Funding
5:41:59
·
90 sec
Cooper Sancho Prasad, a yellow cab driver, testifies about the challenges and requests related to implementing wheelchair accessible vehicles in the New York City taxi fleet. He discusses the financial burdens of purchasing these vehicles and proposes solutions to make them more feasible for drivers.
- Requests restoration of the TIF fund to provide $1 per trip for drivers to cover gas and maintenance costs
- Asks for a waiver of the $3,900 city tax to help put wheelchair accessible cabs on the road faster
- Calls for additional funding to help drivers acquire wheelchair accessible vehicles to serve the disability community
Cooper Sancho Prasad
5:41:59
Thank you for letting me speak today council.
5:42:03
My name is Cooper Sancho Prasad.
5:42:05
I'm a yellow cab driver for ten years.
5:42:07
My dad was a yellow cab driver for thirty five.
5:42:09
He passed away 2017.
5:42:12
I'm here today because we have been mandated by the by the court lawsuit that we must have 50% waived vehicles on the road of New York City.
5:42:23
And, right now, these vehicles, we we wanna honor that commitment, but we or the vehicles are very expensive compared to a regular yellow cab, which will cost maybe 25 when, wheelchair converted vehicle could cost upwards to $75,000.
5:42:39
We want to restore, the TIF fund so that way we could get dollar per trip for a driver so they could, and put in gas and everything and maintenance for the vehicle.
5:42:51
We also would like to, waive the sale city tax of $3,900 because that will be a great difference.
5:43:01
It could even help us to, put the cab on the road faster.
5:43:06
Would also, give us more money to hack up the cab, put it in service, and save us a lot of money to make it not so much as a burden.
5:43:15
And we request that we you guys, add additional funding to try and help us attain these wave accessible vehicles because we really like to serve the, disability community.
5:43:28
Thank you.