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NYTWA Statement on MTA Congestion Surcharge Proposal
"Yellow cabs should be exempt entirely. Once a day is still thousands of dollars a year for struggling drivers."
New York, NY: As the MTA moves closer to enacting a congestion surcharge with the release of today's report, NYTWA Executive Director Bhairavi Desai (she/her) released the following statement:
"Yellow cabs should be exempt entirely. Once a day is still thousands of dollars a year for struggling drivers. Yellow cabs have been paying their fare share since the MTA surcharge went into effect in 2009, at an average of $10,000 per year. Meanwhile, there is a record low number of taxis still operating and those who are working are mostly individual owner-drivers who would be hurt the most by this surcharge.
"The first $4 on the meter already now goes to the MTA and a TLC accessibility fund. How much more do drivers have to give up? This is just a money grab off the backs of a working class workforce that labors 60 hours a week to survive. We're going to fight it."
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About the New York Taxi Workers Alliance
Founded in 1998, the New York Taxi Workers Alliance (NYTWA) is the over 25,000-member strong union of NYC taxicab drivers, representing yellow cab drivers, green car, and black car drivers, including drivers for Uber and Lyft. We fight for justice, rights, respect and dignity for the over 150,000 licensed men and women who often labor 12 hour shifts with little pay and few protections in the city's mobile sweatshop. Our members come from every community, garage, and neighborhood. To find out more visit NYTWA.org, follow us on twitter.com/nytwa or like us on facebook.com/nytwa.
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