Bill George, CEO of zTrip

For decades, America’s taxi operators, many of them small, family-owned businesses, have played a vital role in keeping communities moving. They provide essential transportation for workers, seniors, people with disabilities, and those without access to private vehicles. Yet despite their importance, taxi companies have long faced a unique and often devastating legal exposure: being held financially responsible for accidents they did not cause.

The Graves Amendment was enacted to correct that injustice. Though little known outside legal and transportation circles, it is one of the most important federal protections for taxi operators and vehicle owners in the United States. For members of the Transportation Alliance - and especially for those in the taxi industry - the Graves Amendment is not an abstract legal doctrine. It is a safeguard that protects business viability, stabilizes insurance markets, and helps ensure communities retain access to safe, reliable transportation.

What is the Graves Amendment?

The Graves Amendment is a federal law enacted in 2005 as part of the transportation bill known as SAFETEA-LU and is codified at 49 U.S.C. § 30106. It limits the liability of vehicle owners who are in the business of renting, leasing, or providing vehicles when they are not negligent and have not engaged in criminal wrongdoing. Put simply, the Graves Amendment prevents a vehicle owner from being held legally responsible solely because they own the vehicle involved in an accident. Before its passage, many states allowed lawsuits based on “vicarious liability,” meaning a company could be held financially responsible for an accident caused entirely by a driver, even when the company itself did nothing wrong. Ownership alone was enough. The Graves Amendment replaced that patchwork of state laws with a uniform national standard that ties liability to fault, not just to asset ownership.

Source: The Transportation Alliance

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Image: Jeff McIntosh

Courtrooms and lawyers' offices in Alberta are set to become less busy next year, when changes to the province's auto insurance market take effect.

The province is moving to what it calls a "care-first," or no-fault, system from its current tort model starting Jan. 1, 2027.

That means insurers will be required to bolster medical and income support as well as other benefits for those injured in collisions, regardless of who is at fault, instead of parties having to battle it out in the justice system for compensation beyond the limited amount insurance now covers.

The Insurance Bureau of Canada has welcomed the change, saying it will drive down legal costs for its members and in turn lower premiums for drivers.

But a legal advocacy group has warned it takes away a crucial avenue for recourse and puts too much power in the hands of insurers.

Auto insurance premiums and delivery models vary province by province. Some, like British Columbia, Manitoba and Saskatchewan, deliver mandatory coverage through Crown corporations, whereas in Alberta, Ontario and elsewhere, it's left up to private insurers.

Albertans pay among the highest premiums for auto insurance in Canada and the provincial government has said the changes would shave off up to $400 per year of those costs. IBC has said rising legal expenses make up one fifth of what drivers pay.

Source: The Canadian Press

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Trump Administration Must Unfreeze Gateway Funds, Federal Judge Orders

A federal judge on Friday night ordered the Trump administration to unfreeze billions of dollars in funding for the Gateway rail tunnel project, a win for New York and New Jersey. The ruling from U.S. District Judge Jeannette Vargas of the Southern District of New York said that “plaintiffs have adequately shown that the public interest would be harmed by a delay in a critical infrastructure project.”

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Georgia Receives Approval to Join Initiative Advancing Connected Vehicle Technologies

The U.S. Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) recently granted the Georgia Department of Transportation (Georgia DOT) approval to lead the Vehicle to Everything Pooled Fund Study (V2XPFS), a collaborative inter-state initiative advancing connected vehicle technologies.

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Automotive Fleet’s Chris Brown Takes the Wheel in 2026 Corporate Soap Box Derby Challenge

Presented by Bobit Business Media in collaboration with the International Soap Box Derby and in partnership with The Hourglass Foundation, the Corporate Derby Challenge invites corporations, small businesses, groups, and community organizations to build, decorate, and race their own soap box derby cars in a team-based event designed for equal parts fun and friendly competition.

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Union Warns Job Cuts at Transport Canada Place ‘Canadians at Increased Risk’

According to the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat, 439 employees and 27 executive positions will be cut at Transport Canada as part of the comprehensive expenditure review. The department says 1,520 public servants and 50 executives have received notices warning their jobs may be affected.

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Canada Will ‘Build the Cars of the Future and Sell Them to the World,’ PM Carney Says

Canada will allow up to 49,000 Chinese electric vehicles into the country annually at a 6.1% tariff, with more than half priced below $35,000 within five years, Prime Minister Mark Carney announced in mid January after visiting Beijing. Carney announced last week a new auto sector strategy aimed at positioning the country as a leader in next-generation vehicle manufacturing.

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Quebec Public Transit: Intercity Carriers Denounce $200 Million Cuts

An organization representing intercity bus carriers is also denouncing the Legault government’s $200 million cuts to public transit. It argues that services on some local and regional routes are threatened. The Federation of Bus Carriers (FTA) joins its voice with other groups, including the Union of Quebec Municipalities, to ask the CAQ government to back down on its decision.

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Uber Acquires Getir’s Turkish Delivery Business

Uber is acquiring the domestic delivery business of Turkish speedy grocery company Getir from its controlling shareholder, as it looks to beef up its presence in the country.  The US ride-hail and delivery giant is buying the business from Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund Mubadala.

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Navigating Roadblocks to Accelerate Air Mobility

Electric and hybrid-electric aircraft are quickly progressing, reaching certifications, and getting ready to take flight. Christophe Lapierre, CEO of Sigma Air Mobility, discusses the future plans and challenges that lie ahead in launching these aircraft. “The end product for customers is not a vertiport or an aircraft—it’s an air mobility service,” Lepier said. “The operator has a central role in aggregating the entire value chain.”

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‘National Disgrace’: UK Airports Hike Drop-Off Fees while Continental Europe Keeps Them Free

Earlier in the year, London Gatwick airport raised its 'kiss and fly' fee to become the most expensive in the UK. Major airports in the UK have been increasing their passenger drop-off fees in recent years. The latest to hike the charge are Glasgow and Aberdeen airports in Scotland, where it now costs £7 (€8.40) for 15-minute access at their terminals.

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Toyota and Pony.Ai Launch Production of Bz4x Robotaxi

Chinese robotaxi specialist Pony.ai, in collaboration with Toyota, has commenced mass production of a robotaxi based on the electric SUV bZ4X. This year, more than 1,000 units of the vehicle are to be produced for Pony.ai's fleet.

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COSAS Demands Gauteng School Shutdown over Scholar Transport Crisis

Student organisation Congress of South African Student (COSAS) has called on the Gauteng Department of Education to shutdown all schools in the province until the learner transport challenge has been resolved. The ongoing strike by scholar transport operators has resulted in thousands of learners missing school. Learners across parts of Gauteng enter another week out of school, due to unresolved payment issues between scholar transport drivers and the education department.

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Hyderabad Commuters Hit by Transport Strike, Other Cities Affected Too

The nationwide strike on Saturday, February 7, called by the Telangana Gig and Platform Workers Union (TGPWU), the Indian Federation of App-Based Transport Workers (IFAT) and other labour bodies impacted delivery services and commute in Hyderabad and other major cities like Mumbai, Bengaluru and Delhi.

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Image: Mary Altaffer

The new head of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey pledged on Thursday to increase enforcement on illegal taxi hustlers at airports.

Kathryn Garcia, the former director of state operations for the governor’s office and ex-city sanitation commissioner, was sworn in as the Port Authority's leader on Thursday. The bistate agency has a $9 billion annual budget.

In December, Garcia’s predecessor Rick Cotton announced $100 million on new technology to track and surveil taxi scammers at JFK.

Soliciting a ride at the airports is a misdemeanor, with a maximum fine of $3,000 and 90 days in jail. The Port Authority said it has issued more than 2,400 summonses for the illegal solicitation of rides at JFK Airport between January and November of last year.

But recent visits to the airport’s international terminal by Gothamist found that hustlers were active as ever.

Garcia indicated she would consider asking state legislators to pass new laws toughening penalties for illegal cabbies if a crackdown is ineffective.

Source: Gothamist

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