The US Attorney's office has jumped into the fight over the Taxi of Tomorrow by opening an investigation into whether the lack of wheelchair-accessible taxicabs in New York City amounts to a violation of parts of the Americans With Disabilities Act. Though one of the initial goals of the Taxi of Tomorrow program was "universal accessibility for persons with disabilities" the TLC eventually settled on a Nissan model that is not wheelchair accessible (versus the Karsan design, which is), a development which irritated many.
Responding to the news of the investigation, the city points out that it does issue medallions for wheelchair-accessible cabs (240 of the nearly 13,500 cabs in the city are wheelchair-accesible!) and anyway since 2007 they have been in the midst of rolling out a program where the disabled can call to arrange for a taxi to come pick them up. Never mind the fact that a current pilot version of said program cost the TLC roughly $172 per ride last year.
The investigation came after Assemblyman Micah Z. Kellner filed a complaint in March with the Justice Department over the seeming discrimination. Asked about the development, Kellner told the Times that he was glad that government was taking a look but was “sad we have to turn to our court system for people with disabilities’ rights to be enforced.”
