New York cabbies thwart congestion charge

via taxi-point http://bit.ly/2Raon0p

Five New York taxi fleet owners and four individual drivers have thwarted plans for New York City and state officials to implement congestion charging against the industry.

A judge has stopped the fee in its tracks after the cabbies sued, stating that the fee was arbitrary and capricious and unfairly harms taxi medallion owners.

The congestion charge was due to start on Jan 1, however nothing can be enforced until after a hearing on Jan 3.

Governer Andrew Cuomo approved the legislation to impose a $2.75 fee for trips to and from central and lower Manhattan ordered through ride-hailing apps such as Uber and Lyft and a $2.50 charge for yellow cab rides.

Patch have reported that the impending implementation of the charge has led to New York's beleaguered cabbies protesting against the new rule, and have argued that the fee will add to the heavy financial burden that many medallion owners are enduring.

Eight cabbies have committed suicide in the last thirteen months, with the families of some of the drivers citing heavy debts as a dominating factor.

December 21, 2018 at 12:42AM http://bit.ly/2UVulRY THESE POSTS ARE NOT OUR ENDORSEMENT