Judge Throws Out Nissan's Exclusive Contract To Supply New York City's Taxi Cabs
A New York State Supreme Court judge on Tuesday voided Nissan’s contract with New York Citys’ Taxi and Limousine Commission that would have forced taxicab operators to buy and use taxis based on the Nissan NV200 van. According to Automotive News, Judge Shlomo Hagler said that the commission “exceeded its authority” by awarding Nissan the exclusive ten year contract to supply New York City’s taxis. The ruling was the outcome of a lawsuit filed against the commission by the Greater New York Taxi Association.
Nissan beat out Ford and a Turkish company in a 2011 competition to win the contract, part of NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s “Taxi of Tomorrow” concept, which involved a standardized fleet of identical purpose-built taxis. Nissan had hoped that the contract would be the foundation of a global marketing plan for the NV200 taxis.
Judge Hagler said that the taxi commission lacked “the authority to contract with a third party vendor to manufacture a vehicle that would be the exclusive taxi for the City of New York for the next ten years and medallion owners will be mandated to purchase.”
Nissan issued a statement saying that the ruling will not delay their plans to sell taxis in New York City. “We are disappointed in the court’s decision, but it will not prevent our plan to start upgrading the NYC taxi fleet with the Nissan Taxi of Tomorrow at the end of the month,” the company said.
“We are evaluating options for next steps regarding the exclusivity contract,” Nissan added in its statement. Nissan designed the taxi version of the NV200 with features meant to appeal to cab operators, passengers and politicians alike, including a see through roof so tourists can enjoy the skyscrapers, and ample anti-microbial seating that features rear seat phone chargers. Hybrid and electric versions are planned.
Despite the loss of the exclusive supply contract, Nissan insists that cab operators will embrace their hack. “Given the specific NYC taxi research and development that we have conducted,” Nissan said, “we are confident that the Nissan taxi provides optimal safety, comfort and convenience for passengers and drivers alike.”
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I get the feeling that some of the commenters never lived in NYC. After living there 15 years (and still having an apartment there now) - I think this judge just screwed over a lot of people. Right now they have 'personal choice' in NYC and outside of the long wheel base crown vics almost all the cabs suck. There is no leg room in all those hybrids. The minivans are okay but they seem likely to fall apart - and aren't that comfortable. Going to one purpose built cab would have been huge step forward. And I will tell you why those cabbies don't give a rat's ass about customer comfort. If you let them choose its going to be some of the most uncomfortable rides known to man.. The big problem is when you use a non-purpose built cab they put a divider in there that's like 2 feet thick - it screws all your legroom and it WAS NEVER crash tested. So if you were in a crash you would probably hit your head and die - or at least have your legs crushed. Booh. On all the people that think Bloomberg was overreaching. This guy got screwed twice now with transportation. He wanted congestion pricing so all the guys from NJ - not to mention various 18 wheelers think twice about barreling through the city when they don't have to. Autocratic or not - Bloomberg tried to make NYC better. I wish Bloomberg got his way. I'd make three anti-car changes if I was mayor and had power. #1) Get rid of all the damn street parking. Okay not all of it - but a ton of it. There is traffic jams everywhere in NYC - all the time why do they need 2 rows of parking and two rows of people double parked on all streets at all time? WTF..stupid. #2) Congestion pricing up the ying yang. Hey if you want the luxury of cruising in your S-class pay up.. This will keep guys who probably should be taking public transportation from cruising to the city on a Lark. #3) Reign in the damn taxis. Not only one kind of car - but that car wouldn't have a horn. And I'd actually throw cabbies out of the business when they broke every friggin driving law know to man.. Same thing with motorcycle gangs. Man up NYC. I never seen traffic cops so blasé about obvious violations.
The saddest thing about this is that after all these posts, no one remembered to give a shout-out to the one recent vehicle that actually WAS designed to be a taxicab. Admittedly the late-stage V6 and more modern transmission would have helped the mileage, but the original drivetrain was designed specifically for fleet operators with extensive experience in servicing the Panther platform. Now, it wasn't exclusively NYC's fault that the company went out of business (a combination of short tranches and mis-directed marketing weren't helpful) but at least the builder of the vehicle had the sense to buy the design and IP to make it. And if you want to see how good it was, go to Chicago or Hartford, where it's the cab-of-choice. Ask the driver. Oh, and by the way, the vehicle is MADE IN THE USA baby. Not Turkey, not Japan, not Mehico, not Tennessee. The MV-1, designed by The Vehicle Production Group, made in Mishiwaka IN and marketed by AM General.