The Latest Lawsuit Against the TLC

Another lawsuit against the TLC was filed today, this one challenging the TLC's hybrid cab rules, a program pushed by Mayor Bloomberg. The case is being prosecuted mainly by taxi fleet owners, not taxi drivers, who I have represented. The fleets say that the hybrid cars have nit been tested against the rigors of 24-hour driving on NYC streets. Legally, the major claims are that the TLC's rules regarding minimum mileage standards for taxi cabs are preempted by federal laws that mandate that only the federal givernment may regulate gas mileage standards. The lawyers on the case are from Emery Celli, a prominent civil rights firm that has some recent successes in strip search class action cases.

Given that NYC taxis drive almost exclusively in dense urban traffic, where a hybrid's advantage in mileage is most pronounced, why are the taxi fleets so adamantly against Mayor Bloomberg's plan? The answer is taxi economics.

While the taxi fleets (and other non-driving taxi owners) purchase and maintain cars, the taxi drivers pay for gas. So the fleets bear the costs of maintaining more expensive vehicles, which may be more costly to maintain, but the drivers get the benefit of better mileage. And the fleets have never much cared about drivers.

In stark contrast to the draconian programs that affect drivers, which have been enacted without any legitimate process, it is clear even from the complaint in the fleet's action that the TLC, in promulgating the mileage regulaitons, allowed for public hearings, notice and comment.