Transportation Alternatives, a 5,000 member group which represents NYC pedestrians and bicyclists and is a leading advocate for traffic safety, has called on the Mayor, City Council and Taxi and Limousine Commission to couple tougher safety standards with higher pay for cab drivers as part of a campaign to improve public safety and professionalize the taxi industry.

"The public has a right to expect professional, safe behavior from cab drivers. In turn, drivers deserve a living wage that encourages them to drive safely and gain experience. You get what you pay for. Poorly paid, overworked drivers who leave the garage with a $120 hole in their pocket are bound to be unsafe drivers 3/4 no matter how draconian the traffic penalties.."
3/4 Noted John Kaehny, Executive Director of Transportation Alternatives

Four Point Plan For A Safer, More Professional Taxicab Industry
1. Higher insurance requirements, stricter safety standards (Mayor's Plan.)
2. Reform TLC. Bolster accident tracking, data collection and analytical capability.
3. Raise fares to provide better pay for drivers who abide by higher standards.
4. Raise drivers pay to get higher driver quality and more experienced and safer drivers.

Transportation Alternatives strongly supports the Mayor's higher insurance and safety requirements. However, one of the TLC's priorities must be encouraging cab driving as a career choice, not just an interim job. Driver safety (as judged by the number of summonses received) is length of service is directly related to experience. Drivers with 5 or more years of experience average only 20% of the summonses of those with less than five. The best way to encourage longer tenures and more professional behavior is to pay drivers more. Lease regulations passed in 1996 are supposed to ensure drivers get a bigger share of any fare hikes.

Irony of Stricter Standards: An Army of Inexperienced Drivers?
Industry experts have observed that cab drivers' earnings plummeted in the early 1990's while accidents increased by 40%. Since then, driver incomes have recovered and accident rates declined. A potential result of stricter safety standards and higher insurance requirements is higher leasing rates and thus lower pay for drivers leasing medallions. This in turn could produce a "churn" effect as new drivers enter the industry and are washed out quickly by stricter standards and lower pay. Ironically, the result of the new strict standards might be a permanently inexperienced and dangerous army of cab drivers.