The New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission has voted to approve a 30-cent cab fare surcharge to help pay for more wheelchair-accessible taxis.
The commissioners unanimously approved the surcharge on Wednesday. It will go into effect for yellow taxicabs as well as the green outer-borough cabs on January 1.
The money from the surcharge will be earmarked to help drivers and taxi cab medallion owners upgrade the vehicles to accommodate wheelchairs.
Currently, the vast majority of the city's taxis are not wheelchair accessible.
The city wants to boost that number to more than 7,500 by 2020, as part of the terms of a legal settlement reached last year by accessibility advocates and the administration of former Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
Copyright AP - Associated Press
