NYC TLC Board to Vote on 'Uber TV', New Insurance Rules & WAV Wait Times

NYC Taxi & Limousine Commission Board will vote on WAV wait time restrictions for FHVs, interior advertising provider licenses, and new insurance rules regarding 'non-admitted' carriers

By Automarketplace

The NYC Taxi & Limousine Commission (TLC) will hold a Board of Commissioners vote at 10am next Wednesday, January 29th. According to a meeting agenda published earlier today, the eight active TLC Commissioners (a full board consists of nine), including Chair David Do, will vote on rules that were the subject of several public hearings, including:

• Interior Advertising Provider Licenses

• Insurance Requirements for TLC-Licensed Vehicles (we assume this relates to a recent public hearing about the use of admitted / non-admitted hybrid policy structures)

• Wait Time Restrictions for FHVs (we assume this relates wheelchair accessible vehicles (WAV))

Source: NYC TLC

Source: NYC TLC

Anything Changing?

As previously mentioned, there were several TLC public hearings regarding the rules being voted on next week. The purpose of public hearings is for the regulator (policymakers) to gather feedback from various industry stakeholders, which can sometimes lead the TLC to amend some of its original proposals based on testimony.

“A great deal of detail and analysis goes into rule making along with a lot of back and forth with stakeholders. We take public comments incredibly seriously and the hearing reflects that. We held a public hearing on the proposed rules for interior advertising back in August. Got a lot of feedback, and we went back to the drawing board to incorporate a lot of your comments. We're going to do that again today.”- NYC TLC Chair & Commissioner David Do Opening Remarks, NYC TLC Public Hearing on January 9, 2025 (Intro)

In our observation, when a public hearing causes the TLC to significantly change originally proposed rules, the regulator typically holds a second (and sometimes a third) public hearing before the TLC Board, including the Chair, votes on a final rule package. For example, the TLC held two public hearings on proposed interior advertising rules: one in August 2024 and another a few weeks ago.

What’s confusing, though, is that the TLC does not publish the final rules to be voted on by the Board ahead of a Commission vote. While we understand that the regulator is not seeking further feedback on what it has decided to propose and vote on, it would still be helpful to know whether any (further) changes were made based on public testimony.

Interior Advertising Provider Licenses (‘Uber TV’)

Of the three rule packages to be voted on, the Commission vote on ‘Interior Advertising Provider Licenses’ will likely be the least controversial, at least from a gathering public feedback standpoint. Two public hearings were held, and significant changes were made following the first hearing in August 2024.

The official passage of interior advertising rules for non-taxi for-hire vehicles (FHVs) will mark a major milestone in the NYC for-hire transportation industry and perhaps in the city’s broader culture. The infamous 'Taxi TVs,' which so many drivers, New Yorkers, and tourists love (or love to hate), will now effectively be allowed in the much larger FHV sector.

‘Uber TV' is now set to debut in NYC. It will be interesting to see how drivers and passengers respond to the tablets, the associated driver and fleet earnings, and how advertisers value the on-screen ad space.

“When TLC asked 22,000 residents to name their least favorite part of the taxi experience in 2011, 31% chose “Taxi TV is annoying.”- Wall Street Journal. ‘The Next Ad Battleground Will Be the Back Seat of Your New York City Uber’. By Patrick Coffee. April 23, 2024 9:01 pm ET.

“For a $4.15 million listing at 15 Hudson Yards, Ms. Cutbill Lenane restricted the ad to play only on the east and west sides of 14th Street to 79th Street, spending $1,000 for a four-week run. Another ad of hers, highlighting two listings on the Upper West Side, originally played from 57th Street to 86th Street on the west side and from 50th Street to 86th Street on the east, but she recently extended the campaign to run from 57th Street to 96th Street on the east and west sides.”- New York Times. Real Estate Agents Take Over a Smaller Screen: Taxi TV. By Matt Yan. September 18, 2024.

As a reminder, in-vehicle advertising was initially opposed 🛑 by the TLC but was ultimately approved through a City Council vote led by Council Member Amanda Farías.

“Some of you maybe asking, why did I introduce this bill? Why does the City Council decide if our drivers get to have in-car advertising or not? The New York City Taxi & Limousine Commission regulates interior and exterior vehicle advertising…over the last five years, drivers have been subject to the slow, bureaucratic process…what makes today so important, is that drivers will no longer be subject to TLC policy changes and their opportunity for advertising will be cemented into law, for years to come.”- NYC Council Member Amanda Farías

TLC Public Hearing On Dec 11th

The TLC held a public hearing on Wednesday, December 11, focusing on newly proposed insurance rules and wheelchair accessible vehicle (WAV) dispatch requirements for FHVs.

New TLC Insurance Rules (“Non-Admitted” Hybrid Policy Structures)

There was only one public hearing related to new (or clarifying) technical, TLC insurance rules that are set to most immediately impact large FHV rental fleets, including Voyager Global Mobility (VGM)-owned Buggy and Fast Track.

These larger fleets, supported by commercial auto insurance startup INSHUR, have been using hybrid “admitted” & “non-admitted” policy structures to help them meet NYC’s unique FHV insurance requirements, specifically (and notoriously) the $200,000 no-fault (PIP) mandate.

These fleets were able to utilize these innovative policy structures because, unlike individual owner-operators or smaller fleets, they are large enough to self-insure through 'captive' arrangements.

Given that NYC’s FHV commercial insurance marketplace is now characterized by limited options and the technical insolvency of TLC insurance giant American Transit, representatives of these fleets and INSHUR gave passionate testimony opposing the TLC’s new rules, which would eliminate their ability to use hybrid admitted / non-admitted insurance structures.

“These insurance rules show, to me, that the Commission’s understanding of the current insurance crisis is uninformed, irresponsible and ill-timed. We’ve seen what happens when TLC makes quick rule changes without proper research, process planning or consultation with the important stakeholders. The chaotic and surprise release of the EV licenses is proof of that.”- Jeremy Moskovitz, Voyager Global Mobility

“The Public Motor Vehicle Guaranty Fund, meant to protect the TLC policyholders, currently has a net balance of a whopping $7.5 million, while we have $1 billion of unfunded liabilities from the insolvent carriers the TLC accepts to this day. Each TLC licensee will be held responsible for [over] $10,000 per vehicle in unfunded claims expenses…this number is growing because this Commission has allowed insolvent carriers to satisfy your insurance requirements. This is just wild.”- Dan Bratshpis, INSHUR

However, others argued that allowing hybrid admitted / non-admitted insurance policies into the NYC FHV marketplace would be dangerous and expressed support for the TLC’s proposed rules.

“…I only have one question to [non-admitted carriers]. If you’re such an A-rated carrier and so superior to the current admitted carriers, why not become an admitted carrier and show them how it’s done?”- Avik Kabessa, Carmel Car & Limousine Services, , The Livery Round Table (LRT)

“It’s not a good situation where 65% of the policies are written by a company that is the weakest financially of all the insurance companies…how do you think that should be dealt with? (Paul Bader, TLC Board Commissioner)I think [the] solution is baked into adequate pricing, appropriate and reasonable regulation and enforcement of the existing rules…I think that priority number one is to minimize disruption to the streets of New York City, priority number two is to stop the bleeding of any additional insolvency through adequate, actuarially determined rates and then to incentivize and encourage other carriers into this marketplace…” (Keith Greenbaum, Hereford Insurance)- Interaction between Paul Bader, TLC Board Commissioner, and Keith Greenbaum, Hereford

Our specific opinion on the new rules was (is) that large fleets that self-insure should be allowed to use non-admitted carriers and create 'hybrid' surplus coverage structures. Individual drivers and smaller fleets, however, should only be insured by New York State DFS-admitted carriers.

It’s surprising to us that the TLC is not holding a second public hearing on this topic, given the divisive nature of the testimony. Based on Bloomberg reporting and some of our recent conversations, New York Governor Kathy Hochul’s administration has officially proposed new bills that aim to address broader issues in the NYC TLC insurance market (we will elaborate on this in an upcoming article).

Whether those new initiatives have impacted the TLC’s final rulemaking decisions, or what the final rules being voted on next week actually are, remains unclear.

FHV Wait Times For WAVs

As mentioned above, on the same day TLC’s new insurance rules were discussed, the regulator also held a public hearing on new rules proposing that 90% of all non-taxi WAV dispatches be serviced within 10 minutes, an increase from the current 80% requirement.

“To encourage accessible vehicle dispatchers and their associated FHV bases to continue prioritizing and improving the quality of accessible vehicle service, TLC is proposing amendments to its rules that would require that dispatchers serve at least 90% of WAV requests in under 10 minutes. The rules would also remove outdated compliance benchmarks.In addition to amending the wait time requirements, these proposed rules make other changes related to FHV accessibility, including by requiring high-volume for-hire services to report on scene time so that TLC can better compare WAV and non-WAV wait times.”- NYC TLC. Notice of Public Hearing and Opportunity to Comment on Proposed Rules.

Similar to the insurance portion of the hearing, there was one side in favor of the rules and another that sought changes. At the time, we wrote “TLC’s proposal to boost the non-taxi WAV dispatching threshold from 80% in under 10 minutes to 90% in under 10 minutes comes from a good place. However, it might be wise, as mentioned in the public hearing, to more gradually increase the requirement (i.e., 80% to 85% (vs. 90%)) as a way to help smaller, financially constrained individuals / bases that are already meeting “best in the nation” WAV dispatching requirements.”

Whether the public testimony has impacted the TLC’s final rulemaking decisions, or what the final rules being voted on next week actually are, remains unclear.