New York Metropolis has lifted the cap on the variety of automobiles ride-hailing providers like Uber and Lyft can have on town’s roads — however there’s a main specification, as the brand new automobiles have to be electrical. The transfer is a part of a push by Mayor Eric Adams and the Taxi and Limousine Fee to shift the automobiles utilized by the ride-hailing providers from fuel energy to being both battery-powered or handicap accessible by 2030.
By the measure, town hopes to develop the fleet of for-hire automobiles within the metropolis again to pre-pandemic ranges of 100,000, whereas they’re at the moment round 78,000.
The transition will likely be gradual, as new laws would require that ride-hailing corporations transfer 5% of their rides in automobiles which are both electrical or can match a wheelchair by the tip of 2024. After that, 15% of journeys will likely be required to be electrical or wheelchair accessible by the tip of 2025, with 25% required by the tip of 2026. By the tip of 2027, the determine stands at 40% after which growing by 20 proportion factors per 12 months till fuel automobiles that aren’t wheelchair-accessible are completely phased out of ride-hailing fleets by the tip of 2030.
Initially of the 12 months, New York had specified that ride-hailing corporations should go absolutely electrical by 2030. Because the deadline approaches, it has been softened to grow to be extra inclusive for wheelchair-bound passengers.
“Anybody with an electrical car can put in an utility to be a experience share driver, put much more New Yorkers on the highway to alternative, jobs, employment, financial prospects however doing it in a clear approach,” stated Mayor Eric Adams, at a pre-rollout occasion earlier this week. The sentiment is shared by Commissioner and Chair of the New York Metropolis Taxi and Limousine Fee David Do, who stated: “This gradual, measured transition will profit the surroundings, town’s rideshare drivers, and anybody needing an accessible car.”
nyc.gov, nypost.com