NYC sees flood of electric vehicle for-hire license requests

New York City's Taxi and Limousine Commission has been flooded with new electric for-hire vehicle license requests after a Manhattan Supreme Court judge ruled the agency will be blocked from accepting new applications, according to the agency.

The TLC last month lifted a cap on new for-hire licenses if the vehicles are electric, prompting a lawsuit from the New York Taxi Workers Alliance, which represents yellow-cab, livery and app-based drivers.

As of Friday evening, the agency received approximately 7,000 applications for electric vehicle licenses since the cap was lifted.

On Wednesday, Justice Machelle Sweeting issued a temporary restraining order barring the TLC from processing applications received past Monday at 9 a.m. As of Wednesday, the agency had received 1,746 applications.

The New York Taxi Workers Alliance charged the new policy would result in a surge of vehicles on the road and harm drivers, who have still not regained pre-pandemic trips and ridership numbers, according to the lawsuit.

“The addition of an unlimited number of new cars to the roads will have a disastrous impact on driver income,” the lawsuit states. According to the lawsuit, Uber and Lyft ridership has only returned to 86% of its pre-pandemic level and trips for livery-based, green cabs and limos recovered to 52% of pre-pandemic level.

The TLC said there are 25,000 less for-hire vehicles on the road than in 2019.

“Resuming the issuance of EV licenses not only promises long-term environmental benefits but also relief for drivers stuck in predatory leasing arrangements," TLC First Deputy Commissioner Ryan Wanttaja said in a statement. "A halt on this initiative is nothing short of a loss for drivers who dream of small business ownership in an environmentally friendly and sustainable way.”

The agency said it will continue to fight their case in court.

Bhairavi Desai, founder and executive director of the New York Taxi Workers Alliance, said the mad dash of new licenses started as soon as the lift on the cap was announced, with drivers rushing to buy new electric cars. 

Lifting the cap “hurts all the drivers because there just aren't enough trips. It's going to hurt new EV owners because there's not enough charging stations and it will hurt the drivers that continue to rent because the TLC has not done anything to regulate those rates,” Desai said.

Uber spokesman Josh Gold said allowing drivers to apply for new EV taxi licenses would only benefit them.

"The TLC's change would not have impacted congestion, would not have flooded the market with new cars given the other rules on the books, it just prevents hardworking drivers from getting out of being forced to rent from these fleet owners," Gold said.