Desai’s Inconsistent Positions Show her as a True Hack – But Not for the Drivers…

http://www.bhairavidesai.com/desais-inconsistent-positions-show-true-hack-drivers/

Yesterday the City auctioned off 200 wheelchair accessible taxi medallions, some of which earned the highest bids on record for New York City taxi medallions. The community of advocates for people with disabilities was thrilled that the Taxi and Limousine Commission is putting more Wheelchair Accessible Vehicles on the streets, but Bhairavi Desai, head of the Taxi Workers Alliance is not pleased.

While Desai was supportive of the Borough Taxi initiative that will see 18 thousand green taxis enter the streets of New York, she feels that the added yellow wheelchair accessible medallions will add to the competition that drivers already have catching fares. Run those numbers and you may see what is more egregious; the added 200 WAVs or the 18 thousand new semi regulated borough taxis.

Consider that a taxi driver must be specifically licensed to operate a WAV, and that very few drivers have that training and certification. Then consider that when advocates have pushed for every single taxi driver to be trained to operate a WAV, so that anyone has the possibility of driving an accessible vehicle, Desai has fought back and maintained that drivers need not be trained unless they have a WAV taxi to drive. Then the numbers become clear, that the 200 WAV medallions will add very little actual competition to Desai’s drivers, the vast majority of whom are not licensed to operate the WAVs. Whereas the 18 thousand borough taxis that are entering the streets will cut into profits a great deal more.

Who is she kidding and why does Bhairavi Desai continue to reject the idea of training her drivers to operate wheelchair accessible vehicles?