Here’s a tip for cabbies — start shaping up because the city is considering handing out grades.
A bill being drafted by City Councilman Carlos Menchaca would for the first time keep scores on all drivers licensed by the Taxi and Limousine Commission.
Menchaca (D-Brooklyn) told The Post he’s still finalizing the details, which is why he declined to offer specifics on how drivers would be measured.
But it wasn’t difficult to come up with criteria, since the TLC maintains loads of data on rule violations, traffic summonses, vehicle safety checks and even passenger commendations.
The proposal isn’t the first time such an idea has been floated. TLC chief Meera Joshi acknowledged at a community meeting in April that her agency had been discussing a grading system.
A TLC spokesman declined to comment Tuesday.
As predictable as the near-impossibility of finding a taxi during downpours, transit advocates praised the idea and industry officials ridiculed it.
“It’s a great thing,” said Noah Budnick, a spokesman for the advocacy group Transportation Alternatives. “Accountability is essential to saving lives. It’s a very strong accountability proposal.”
Taxi-industry insiders were not enthusiastic.
“It’s a ridiculous idea. Drivers work 12-hour shifts with little pay. Council members targeting low-wage workers should be ashamed,” said Bhairavi Desai, head of the New York Taxi Workers Alliance.
Accountability is essential to saving lives. It’s a very strong accountability proposal.
- Transportation Alternatives Spokesman Noah Budnick
“I’m not sure it’s the right thing to do for this industry,” said Michael Woloz, a spokesman for the Metropolitan Taxicab Board of Trade, which represents large fleets.
“I’m not sure if it’s a fair way to judge the kind of service taxi drivers perform,” Woloz added. “There are tons of things that are out of their control.”
A string of horrible recent taxi accidents has prompted calls from victims for stricter enforcement and punishment.
A cab that jumped a curb in Midtown last year sheared off the leg of a British tourist, and this past January a 9-year-old boy was killed when a cab plowed into him and his father on the Upper West Side.
As part of his Vision Zero plan to eliminate traffic fatalities, Mayor de Blasio created a new honor-roll system this year that rewards taxi drivers with the fewest violations, tickets and accidents over the prior five years.
Last month, the TLC for the first time honored the top 295 drivers with the safest driving records.