Image: David Do, NYC TLC Commissioner; former TLC Commissioner and Deputy Mayor, Meera Joshi; NYPD Commissioner, Edward Caban and awardees. 

Gracie Mansion hosted a special ceremony on Tuesday, June 4^th, honoring NYC Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC) licensed drivers and for-hire vehicle bases in recognition of their outstanding commitment to safety and impeccable driving records. The event—known as the Vision Zero Honor Roll—brought together hundreds of drivers who have gone at least five years without serious crashes, traffic violations, or violations of TLC’s safety-related rules.

The event honored 8,425 drivers and 40 bases for their exceptional safety records. The drivers each made at least 1,000 trips during the previous year and had no crashes involving injury or death, traffic violations, or TLC safety violations in at least the last five years. 

“I’m proud that an inaugural ceremony held more than a decade ago to put a spotlight on the true guardians of street safety is now cemented in the traditions of our great City” said Deputy Mayor for Operations Meera Joshi. “TLC Honor Roll drivers and businesses are the hardest- working safety advocates in the nation. Every day, every minute and every mile, roadway safety is the unwavering priority– and it shows in their unblemished record. These men and women not only make the roads safer for all, they also serve as mentors for all drivers. On behalf of every person who uses NYC streets, thank you for making our City safe.”

“Making Honor Roll is a formidable achievement, and all New Yorkers should be proud of the drivers we celebrate today. From my limited experience as a TLC driver, I know that it takes patience, concentration, and dedication to safely complete a just single trip. There are no shortcuts to safety, and these drivers have all completed thousands of trips without any significant incidents,” said TLC Commissioner David Do.

Matthew Daus, former TLC Commissioner and President of IATR said, “On behalf of the IATR, I would like to applaud the efforts of the City of New York and the NYC TLC for continuing the tradition of honoring drivers and emphasizing safety with goal directed awards to save lives. I had started the tradition of honoring drivers at annual Driver Recognition Ceremonies during the Bloomberg administration, and continue to be pleased that NYC Deputy Mayor Meera Joshi and Commissioner David Do have brought such well deserved recognition to the next level. IATR was proud to sponsor this event, supporting the TLC as a prominent member of our organization. Congratulations to all of our outstanding and dedicated honorees, and to the TLC for its commitment to safety.”

Image: Matt Daus, former TLC Commissioner and current IATR President, and driver awardees at Rooftop Garden at 620 Fifth Avenu in May 2007.

IATR, the Black Car Fund, and FR Conversions were among the sponsors of the event.  Black Car Fund Executive Director Ira Goldstein said, “We were proud to be a sponsor of the 10th Annual TLC Safety Honor Roll. It was truly a privilege to honor our city’s drivers for their spotless records and unwavering commitment to safety and accessibility. Safety is in our blood, and for twenty-five years, The Black Car Fund has provided a vital safety net to thousands upon thousands of Covered Drivers across New York. A huge congratulations to all the drivers who were recognized at today’s event.” “New York City’s for-hire vehicle drivers are proud to deliver safe rides to half a million residents, commuters and tourists in our city each day. The Drivers Guild is proud to offer all New York City Uber and Lyft drivers continuing education classes in safety, defensive driving, customer service, wellness and English as a second language. We also now offer TLC renewal classes. New York’s FHV drivers are truly the gold standard for safety, meeting and passing rigorous standards, testing, and inspections, for both drivers and their vehicles,” said Brendan Sexton, President of the Independent Drivers Guild, the nation’s largest driver organization and a Machinists Union affiliate. “It was a privilege for the FR Conversions’ team to be highlighted at this important NYC event. Such events applaud the efforts of drivers to ensure the consistent safety of their passengers and the greater New York community, and celebrate the importance of what we do for drivers of accessible vehicles in NYC and across the nation,” said Mindy Ginsberg of FR Conversions. Source: NYC TLC Press Release Click Here to Read More

Hundreds of U.S. cities and nearly 1,300 communities worldwide have “achieved” Vision Zero, a new report claims — but a lot of them got to zero fatalities because their streets are so dangerous and car-centric that few people dare walk or bike on them.

In the 10th edition of its annual road safety report, the German safety inspection company DEKRA found that 1,274 cities across 26 countries had recorded at least one year with zero traffic deaths since the analysis was first conducted. A whopping 235 of those communities were in North America alone.

That list — which excluded places with fewer than 50,000 residents and scores of South American, Asian and African countries for which data was not available — did include some the most ubiquitous poster children for the movement to end traffic deaths and serious injuries, including safety-focused cities in Finland, Sweden, the Netherlands, and more.

It also includes Hoboken, N.J., which made international headlines for an aggressive intersection “daylighting” program that helped eliminate crash deaths in the Mile Square City for seven years in a row.

Source: Streetsblog USA

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Revel’s Latest Pivot: Ditching All-Employee Ride-Hail In Favor Of Gig Worker Model

Revel is pivoting once again to abandon one of the main things that made its ride-hail service unique: The startup is laying off its over 1,000 drivers and embracing a gig worker model similar to that of rivals Lyft and Uber.

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Bee-Line Bus Service, Including ParaTransit, Will Once Again Be Free This Summer

Westchester County Executive George Latimer says the county will once again lift the fares on the Bee-Line Bus system, including Bee-Line ParaTransit, starting on July 1.

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Seeing Promise in Data, Utah to Expand Connected Vehicle Work

The Utah Department of Transportation will continue its partnership with Panasonic on deploying connected vehicle technology. It intends to add more vehicles to the project and make collected data actionable.

Click Here to Read More

Ride-Hailing Company Started in Thunder Bay Hopes to Set up in Brandon

Canadian company Uride told the Brandon city council Monday that it wants to have a fleet of drivers in the Wheat City by the end of the year. Founder and CEO Cody Ruberto says the company focuses on smaller Canadian cities that may have limited transportation options.

Click Here to Read More

Biggest Bridge to Ever Connect Canada and US Nears Completion

After nearly six years of construction, the biggest bridge to ever connect Canada and the US is now just 11 meters away from completion. And because it’s a Canadian bridge, it’s named after hockey legend Gordie Howe and resembles a hockey stick taking a slap shot.

Click Here to Read More

As TTC Strike Deadline Looms, People Fear Spike in Traffic, Lack of Transportation

A looming job action at Canada’s biggest transit agency, where the main Toronto Transit Commission union is in legal strike position as of Friday, is raising alarms about a spike in city traffic and many people being left without a way to get around.

Click Here to Read More

France: Driverless Minibus Hits the Clay Courts at Roland-GarrosRenault, a premium partner of the French Open (Roland-Garros), the French Tennis Federation, and WeRide, a globally leading autonomous driving technology company, are providing a L4 driverless minibus shuttle service for this Grand Slam tennis tournament held on the red clay. Click Here to Read More UK: Former Taxi Driver Convicted after Offering Unlicensed Private Hire ServiceA former taxi driver, Jamie Rimmer, has been found guilty of operating private hire services without the necessary licenses. Click Here to Read More Fuel Prices Drop, but Drivers Still Overcharged, RAC Analysis RevealsFuel prices dipped slightly in May, yet drivers are not experiencing the full benefit of falling wholesale costs, according to RAC Fuel Watch. Click Here to Read More

Egyptian Taxi Driver Starts Mobile Book Service, Hopes to Encourage People to Read MoreDriving through the streets of Egypt’s coastal city of Alexandria, taxi driver Mohamed Azzam has started a mobile book service, hoping to encourage people to read more. He started the initiative two years ago and called it “Taxi Book,” aiming to make books accessible and affordable for whoever finds his service. Click Here to Read More  Should Ride-Hailing Platforms Do More to Verify Their Drivers?As ride-hailing platforms like Uber compete with conventional taxis for passengers in Hong Kong, the question of who is responsible for ensuring drivers are operating legally has come under scrutiny. Click Here to Read More University of Rwanda Researchers Study Feasibility of Turning Rwanda’s Fuel Taxi Motorcycles into ElectricResearchers from University of Rwanda’s College of Science and Technology (CST) are investigating the feasibility of transitioning thousands of fuel-powered taxi motorcycles into electric as one way of providing e-mobility solutions. Click Here to Read More

Bloomberg’s Rachel Meltzer writes: 

“The technicalities of urban planning don’t often make the news. As someone who has studied and promoted the importance of urban neighborhoods for two decades, I was pleasantly surprised when the “15-minute city,” a neighborhood-based planning approach that seeks to place essential services and amenities within a 15-minute walk, headlined dozens of articles recently.

In the glow of the limelight, however, there was still an important point not being made: The economics of the 15-minute city don’t really work.

The merits, even if aspirational, of the model are worthy. Making sure residents are within a half mile of retail offerings, open space, schools and employers would reduce traffic congestion and minimize tedious commutes. Indeed, 15-minute cities are an actionable way, one that has been time-tested in many European cities, for planners to put into practice a bigger and better vision of what cities can and should be.

However, there are real gambles with a vision that promises a “city” within a 15-minute walk. This kind of approach could exacerbate already troubling economic and resource inequalities in cities. Access and convenience, as a policy, would be a privilege…”

Source: Bloomberg

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