NYC Taxi Association Take Taxi Of Tomorrow Fight To Albany
Clutching dearly onto their fleet of Panthers, New York’s taxi industry is heading up to Albany to contest the $1 billion plan to replace their vehicles with Nissan’s “Taxi of Tomorrow” NV200.
Bloomberg reports the Greater New York Taxi Association will contest the appellate court ruling made this summer that declared the program — meant to bring 15,000 of the new taxis to the streets of Manhattan over the next 10 years — was flawed from the start:
The Taxi of Tomorrow as planned forces owners to purchase a single foreign-made vehicle, which is neither fuel-efficient nor wheelchair accessible.
The lawsuit process began in 2012, after the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission chose the NV200 as its new champion, and mandated all medallion owners to buy the vans to replace their Ford Crown Victorias at $29,700 a pop. The plan was blocked twice prior to the June 2014 ruling in favor, once for the lack of hybrid models, and again for overreach by the commission.
Seattle-based writer, blogger, and photographer for many a publication. Born in Louisville. Raised in Kansas. Where I lay my head is home.
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I still maintain that the best vehicle for the fleet was the LPG-powered MV-1. Built-in wheelchair ramp PLUS gobs of leg room for up to four passengers. Built in the good old USA, body-on-frame, with enough Panther parts to keep the oil-stained fleet managers happy. How bad would one of the buckboards mentioned above look after they reach 400k miles? Anyone been in Chicago or Hartford or Philly and ridden in an MV-1? Feedback welcome.
The BEST solution (which almost never occurs to government-types) is to let the cab owners decide which model(s) to buy and use. The best model will inevitably shake out. The cab owners and customers will be better served, although a few bureaucrats will be temporarily butt-hurt over the loss of expected graft and bribes.
Taxis aside, this article made me soak up Nissan's promo on the standard NV200. What an awesome product for 20K. If the mirrors are big enough, I don't need no stinkin' windows.
FICTION I cast one vote against Nissans as a prospecting medallion owner. In the mean time...I'll have my NY medallion meal as a Hybrid Lexus Double Wopper with extra cheese. -That'll be a 1 Million dollars for the Medallion/License and 50 cents for the Lexus. Here you go. -Oh yeah don't forget to stop by for inspection every year so you know make sure your wheels don't fall off and stuff. We wouldn't want that wheel that fell off hitting an innocent by stander. Haha what are the chance of that! One in a million? -That would be 9 cases yearly if it were(NYC pop. 9mil), way easier to check and prevent than trying to protecte you in 18 different scenarios from a phyco-passenger and vice versa in that Lexus you got. Alright man keep it up, still don't want that Nissan.