A rule requiring that half of New York City’s taxi cabs be accessible to disabled patrons by 2020 is not in conflict with an earlier statute encouraging taxicab medallion owners to use hybrid-electric vehicles, according to a state appeals court determination issued Thursday.
A collection of independent and corporate taxi medallion owners sued the city in December 2015 in Manhattan Supreme Court arguing that their rights under a 2005 city statute—Administrative Code § 19-533, “Clean air taxis”—were violated because they were being forced to comply with a 2014 Taxi & Limousine Commission rule that said half the city’s taxis must be accessible by 2020.
