In late February, I walked into the offices of the Taxi & Limousine Commission as its newly-appointed commissioner. I was optimistic and ready for the challenge. I did not know it at the time, but one week later, I would get all I bargained for.
Every sector of our city’s economy was hit hard by COVID-19, and the taxi and for-hire vehicle industry sectors were no exception. Yesterday, the TLC — which has regulated the industry and advocated for the needs of drivers since 1971 — released a comprehensive report that presented new data on COVID’s impact. Just as importantly, our report outlined how we pushed back.
As any New Yorker could guess, the numbers paint a picture of a city in crisis. The daily demand for trips was down by 84% of pre-COVID levels in early April, and only 26% of drivers were still on the road. (Other transit modalities were hit similarly hard; the MTA, for example, saw April ridership down by 90% from March.) Trips to hospitals increased, and trips to airports plummeted. TLC licensees were rightly designated as essential workers, with many devoting themselves to servicing front-line staff proudly, grateful for the chance to help while still earning at least some of what the pandemic had cost them.
Even so, there was not nearly enough demand to keep drivers steadily employed. Thus, we found a solution that was both simple, and revolutionary: We employed drivers ourselves. Mayor de Blasio had vowed that no one would go hungry during the emergency, and other agencies had worked quickly to set up Grab & Go locations in schools and community centers. But some New Yorkers, including seniors, the sick, and people with disabilities, could not leave home. Therefore, we hired TLC-licensed drivers, at $53 a route, to deliver the free meals to the vulnerable New Yorkers’ front doors.
These heroic individuals have delivered more than 53 million meals and earned more than $29.5 million along the way. I have been privileged to speak with drivers who expressed gratitude for the chance to become such intrinsic partners in the city’s recovery.
“We did it out of love,” longtime driver Adil Benelkour told us. “You feel like you are helping a lot of people and making a lot of people smile.”
The work did not end there. We approved a plethora of temporary partition designs to keep drivers safe, gave for-hire vehicle drivers some flexibility by allowing them to pause insurance costs, and, for the first time, let drivers put their vehicle permits “in storage.” We also launched a virtual Driver Resource Center, which will predate a brick-and-mortar version we have envisioned for the future. Over 500 drivers have already received free financial counseling and legal services, and connections to government benefits, medical and mental health assistance.
While reflecting this worst-ever crisis, the numbers in our report did yield a few surprises. In one example, many high-volume app drivers had identical earnings this June and June 2019. One yellow driver with whom I spoke, has seen his number of daily trips reach pre-virus levels of as many as 30 trips in a single shift, a byproduct of the pandemic’s effects on competition in the transportation space.
As our city continues its phased reopening — and stays vigilant in flattening the COVID-19 curve — normalcy is beginning to return for New York’s 180,000 licensed drivers. But we know there will be more challenges yet to come.
Like all New Yorkers, TLC Licensees are ready, willing and able to work tirelessly to build a better future for their families. Like all New Yorkers, they walked through hell and back this spring and summer and did some good along the way. And like all New Yorkers, TLC Licensees deserve better than a return to the pre-COVID status quo; they deserve a fairer and better city.
TLC is committed to building one with them.
Heredia Jarmoszuk is the commissioner and chair of the Taxi & Limousine Commission.