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FHV Accessibility Rules
All FHV bases licensed by the TLC are required to provide service to wheelchair-using passengers. As of January 14, 2019, the rules require each FHV base to either dispatch a minimum percentage of its annual trips, increasing each year, to wheelchair accessible vehicles (WAVs) (the Trip Mandate Rule) or work with an approved Accessible Vehicle Dispatcher to service WAV trips within certain wait time limits (the Central Dispatch Exception).
Bases may comply with the FHV WAV service requirement in one of two ways:
Trip Mandate Rule
From January 14, 2019 until June 30, 2019 the base must provide wheelchair accessible service by dispatching at least 5% of its trips to a WAV for-hire vehicle. Any base that does not choose to follow the exception below must meet this requirement.
Bases that follow this rule may- Send trips to any WAV green taxi, any WAV livery car or any WAV black car. The WAV can be affiliated with a different base and/or a different base class. For example, a livery base can send a trip to an WAV green taxi.
- Count any trip dispatched to a WAV toward meeting the trip mandate. The passenger does not have to request a WAV.
Central Dispatch Exception
Bases may choose to work with an approved Accessible Vehicle Dispatcher to service WAV trips rather than send a minimum percentage of trips to WAVs each year. Bases may opt into this exemption as either an:
- Accessible Vehicle Dispatcher, responsible for receiving and dispatching requests for wheelchair accessible vehicles, or
- Associated base that will send requests for wheelchair accessible vehicles to an approved Accessible Vehicle dispatcher. For more information visit Approved Accessible Vehicle Dispatchers.
Bases that choose the exception will have additional reporting requirements, as detailed on the Trip Record Submission Requirements.
For more details read Section 59B-17 (PDF) of the TLC rules or visit FHV Central Dispatch Exception.