Cabbies who are pinched to find parking anytime nature calls are set to get some relief from a new program that will allow taxis to be stationed in commercial metered spaces citywide.
Yellow cab drivers currently have access to just 151 taxi-only parking spots south of 60th Street in Manhattan’s central business district, along with 137 others in the zone that are shared with drivers for app-based ride-hailing companies. The spaces are within so-called relief stands where drivers are permitted to park and leave their vehicles for up to an hour.
The pilot program will allow drivers who are taking a break to feed the meter for up to three hours at an additional 13,000 commercial metered spaces. The change was initially limited to Uber and Lyft drivers before the city Department of Transportation proposed extending it to include taxis.
“When you have to go, you have to go, there is no choice,” taxi driver Bhupinder Dhillon, 46, told The City Reporter while parked Monday in a taxi relief stand on Lexington Avenue. “The city needs to do something and if they make more parking spaces available, it will be highly appreciated.”
The Transportation Department on Tuesday will hold a 10 a.m. virtual public hearing on the one-year pilot program. Midori Valdivia, commissioner and chair of the New York City Taxi & Limousine Commission, said the measure is vital to an agency that licenses just over 180,000 drivers.
More than 27% of those who responded to a TLC driver survey earlier this year flagged poor access to bathrooms while on the job as a leading source of frustration.
“Imagine having to worry about being ticketed and losing income every time you take a bathroom or a meal break,” Valdivia said. “That’s a daily reality for TLC drivers, and ensuring that they have dignified and humane working conditions is one of our top priorities.”
In a notice of the hearing, the Transportation Department pointed out it is frequently asked to provide more taxi relief stands. If the pilot is approved, the city will determine whether to make it permanent after its initial one-year trial, which would end in July 2028. The start hinges on several procedural steps.
Bhairavi Desai, head of the New York Taxi Workers Alliance, said a lack of places to park can leave drivers facing very uncomfortable situations while on the road.
“They won’t urinate, and that’s what leads to illnesses for people,” Desai said. “No worker should have to make these choices.”
Drivers have long pushed the city for increased access to commercial parking spaces, citing the risk of being ticketed if they park illegally and the amount of time they spend looking for places to park. They also have access to the Taxi Clubhouse, a West 22nd Street spot offering a place to eat, rest, exercise and go to the restroom.
“In some places, it’s very difficult,” said taxi medallion owner Md Soltan, 45, who was parked in a relief stand along Lexington Avenue near East 27th Street. “You look a long time, maybe 30 minutes sometimes and then it’s gone.”
“So you have to go someplace else and that is tough,” Soltan added.
Cabbie Rafael Gonzaque, 62, said the existing spaces at the relief stands are not enough, pointing to competition with what TLC data shows are more than 87,000 drivers for the app-based ride-hailing companies.
Drivers often must deal with shopkeepers and businesses that do not allow workers to use their facilities, he added.
“It’s not just the issue of parking, it’s the issue of being able to use the restroom,” Gonzaque said.
That leaves some drivers to carry bottles in which they can relieve themselves.
“I try not to do that,” Gonzaque said. “I like to go and use the restroom, because if you do that with the bottle, you’re going to spill and your cab is going to smell like urine.”
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