Tuesday, February 12, 2008 |
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Edith Prentiss: Testimony on behalf of DIA before City Council Testimony to the City Council's Transportation Committee Oversight: Oversight - The Taxi of the Future: A Review of the Design Trust for Public Space's Taxi Plan February 7, 2008 I am Edith Prentiss, the Vice President of Legislative Affairs of Disabled in Action of Metropolitan New York, the President of the 504 Democratic Club and a member of the Taxis For All Campaign. I would like to thank the Committee and especially the Chair, Council Member John Liu, for the opportunity to address the Committee on the Design Trust for Public Space's Taxi Plan. I must also thank former Council Member Margarita Lopez and its sponsors for Intro 84, as well as Council Member Oliver Koppel and its sponsors for Intro 378. I believe they who will be remembered in NYC's disability community's history as leaders when NYC's taxi fleet is finally accessible. This plan does not move us any closer to that goal. I hope after hearing us testify for years, you all know, we believe, accessible taxis are a basic civil right. The lack of accessible vehicles adds to the huge under and unemployment rate for PWDS. The lack of equivalent transportation options impedes our ability to run from place to place and meeting to meeting like every other New Yorker. Having to utilize buses, due to the inadequacy of accessible subway service, and the problems of Access-A-Ride puts mobility impaired New Yorkers and visitors at an extreme disadvantage. Now I have to admit the Taxi '07 Road Forward was interesting and pretty with its beauty shots of cabs and quotes from 500-plus New Yorker who completed the Design Trust's online survey. Of course, in the appendix we learn "some respondents with disabilities reported difficulty accessing the survey, perhaps limiting their response" In the Design Trust's intro Deborah Marton stated that the stakeholders who were interviewed and who peer reviewed the document included "accessibility organizations". We assume by that they mean that their sole responsibility to include the disability community was met by interviewing Jean Ryan of DIA and Terry Moakley of United Spinal's Taxi for All North America who are both members of the Taxis For All Campaign. But unlike other stakeholders, we were not invited to peer review the document. In the TLC's intro., Matt Daus stated "progress is a "two-way street"involving the "give and take" of all identifiable stakeholders" I certainly feel as a wheelchair user we not even part of the discussion. Commissioner Daus further stated that the TLC is no longer referring to the project as the "Taxicab of the Future"but rather as the "Taxicab of Tomorrow." I guess wheelchair using PWD are neither part of the future or tomorrow as we continue to be left on the side walk." The plans includes the following which has me shaking my head asking so? "Hailing a cab, with its promise of freedom, power, and anonymity, is the quintessential New York City act. Stick an arm in the air, and a taxi will take you where you want to go at any time of day or night. ...The system also includes the streets and sidewalks that taxis and passengers rely on and that every New Yorker maintains with tax dollars. This civic investment in taxi infrastructure, buttressed by laws that oblige taxis to service anyone who hails them, point to an important fact: taxis are an extension of New York City's public space. The Design Trust for Public Space and the TLC have collaborated to develop these principles as a foundation for the TLC's future goals: 1. taxi system should offer taxi services that are safe, comfortable, and easy to use for all passengers and drivers; 2. provide a good economic value to passengers and service providers; 3. efficiently match the supply of taxi services with passenger demand; & 4. Contribute to the environmental sustain-ability of the city. " Although the plan for or five times touches on wheelchair uses and once on "riders with visual disabilities" it fails to mention the piloted assistive listening systems (loops that transmit amplified sound into hearing aids) taxis. Also neglected are closed captioning on monitors as well as any adaptive technology for the fare machine. The plan further fails to address the inadequate marking denoting an accessible taxi. Until February 1st, there were blue/white and one black/white wheelchair and the green/white ear symbol. The new wheelchair symbol looks like a Cirque du Soliel hoop dancer. I challenge any of you to actually hail an accessible or looped taxi first find one lit up then look at the panel over the rear wheel and fight off other taxi seekers. (See http://www.nyc.gov/html/tlc/html/home/home.shtml) A true example of the plan's lack of consideration and inclusion is in the index. Wheelchair is cross-referenced to accessibility which is defined as: "a broad term that can include both availability and physical access and user comfort. How enjoyable a cab ride is depends in part on sufficient accessibility, but also on more intangible qualities, such as intuitive ease of use and pleasure provided by good design." Good design does that include the total lack of leg room in the hybrids? "The necessary level of vehicle accessibility is a matter of some debate: Manufacturers advocate a solution that addresses the majority of people with disabilities who have sufficient mobility to transfer to a lowered car seat (approximately 60 to 70 percent) rather than the minority who require fully wheelchair-accessible transportation." The plan fails to recognize that many PWDs can transfer to a "lowered seat" but that our chairs can't be folded and stowed in a trunk. "The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 requires all transportation services to provide equivalent service for persons with disabilities. However, the ADA defines accessibility requirements only for vans and buses, not for passenger sedans. In New York City s case, this lack of Federal standards essentially exempts yellow cabs from accessibility standards." But in the soon-to-be-post Crown Vic era, what sedans will we have left? Then won't the ADA kick in? The Taxis For All Campaign questions the will and intent of the Mayor and the TLC. If the Mayor can mandate green why can't he mandate accessibility? If the TLC were truly interested in providing transportation to all, why has it failed even at enforcing the For Hire Vehicle Regulation? Whether this is the Taxi or the Future or Tomorrow, the design demonstrates all the more as to why we need Intro 378 to be enacted. The Design Trust's plan totally ignores the transportation needs of the disability community citing a longer time line. While it proposes using taxis to replace lowly utilized bus routes. Excuse me, but in the out lying and distant reaches of New York City, it is unlikely that there are subway much less accessible subways. Now they propose using inaccessible taxis to replace under utilized buses. I'll remember that the next time I'm wheeling home from 220th to 186th St (from the Allen Pavilion's) ER at 3 AM in upper Manhattan when bus service is greatly curtailed. Labels: City Council, Design Trust, Disabled in Action |
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Note: I called this DIA testimony because that was the letterhead Edith used.
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