Gay marriage passing wasn't the only big news out of Albany last night. The State Senate also approved the "Big Ugly" omnibus bill and handed Mayor Bloomberg a major victory over the taxi lobby. Though Governor Cuomo could still hold it up, it looks like come next summer New York will have a whole new class of hailable taxi cabs roaming our streets.
Last weekend Bloomberg skipped the City Council and sent his plan to Albany where it was quickly passed by the Assembly. Last night the Senate approved the bill in a 40-to-21 vote.
The plan, which Bloomberg has been pushing for much of the year, would issue up to 30,000 permits, for $1,500 a pop, to a new type of livery cab that would be more like a taxicab. Think meter, set rates, roof lights, credit card machines and GPS to track trips.
The new cabs, which will be a different color than yellow cabs, will be allowed to pick up hails in the outer boroughs as well as in Manhattan, north of East 96th Street and West 110th Street. They will not be allowed to pick up fares at airports. All of the new livery cabs will also include a $.50 cent surcharge that will go to the MTA
But there is still a long way to go before those new cabs see the light of day. Even if Cuomo signs the bill into law it will likely face intense legal opposition from a portion of the taxi industry, which have been opposed to the idea from the get go.
