Black Car Assistance Corporation

The Black Car Fund will be providing seatbelt stickers for their Member Bases for FREE in compliance to NY's latest seatbelt law requiring Drivers to remind their passengers to buckle-up. Stickers are available for pick up for Member Bases at Vital Transportation: 4124 38th St.... Queens, NY 11101 Available for pick up Monday-Friday, between 9:00 AM to 2:00 PM. Please be aware there is a limit of 200 stickers per Member Base request. Covered Drivers may request stickers, as well, but be aware there is a 2 sticker limit per Driver. For questions regarding stickers, please contact Charlie, Vital's General Manager, at 718.472.2500, ext. 3029. For questions regarding more information, write to BCF here: https://www.nybcf.org/contact #BCAC #TheBlackCarFund #NYBCF #BCF #BCFBenefits #TheFund #WeveGotYouCovered #EarnWhileYouLearn #WorkersCompensation #NYC #NYS #DriveSafe #BuckleUp #Seatbelt #ItsTheLaw

Despite the promises of Vision Zero, traffic fatalities have jumped 30% since the pandemic started. Mayor de Blasio has vowed to address this after a new report showed the NYPD has pulled back from enforcement against reckless driving. Read more: https://gothamist.com//traffic-deaths-mount-de-blasio-vows #NYBCAC

Due to severe weather, there is a travel ban in effect beginning now until 5:00 AM on 9/2. All non-emergency vehicles must be off NYC streets and highways.

Governor Cuomo announced that the U.S. Transportation Department has given NYC the green light to move forward with its next step towards implementing congestion pricing: an environmental assessment. Read more below: http://ow.ly/3WXc50EcvuU #NYBCAC #CongestionPricing

A new NYS bill aims to create an advisory committee within the MTA to draw up a plan for bike and pedestrian access on the agency’s bridges and public transportation stations. Read more below. http://ow.ly/RaMM50DUpfv #NYBCAC #BCAC #BlackCarAssistanceCorporation

Please be advised that due to the inclement weather, all TLC vehicle inspection appointments on 2/18 and the morning of 2/19 have been rescheduled. Drivers who have any questions can reach out to the TLC at [email protected] #WinterStorm #VehicleInspections #NYBCAC

Beginning tomorrow, Feb. 10, CitiField will serve as a vaccination site and half of all the appointments are being reserved for TLC Licensees and food delivery workers! You can make an appointment at vaccinefinder.nyc.gov http://ow.ly/c3ul50DvS6S #CovidVaccine #COVID19

The MTA's Congestion Pricing Plan is likely to have more support from the federal government under President-elect Joe Biden. Despite this and the MTA's optimism of implementation, some transportation experts are suggesting halting the program. John Corlett, director of public and government affairs for AAA Northeast said, MTA officials "need to hit the reset button". Adding a surcharge to drivers entering New York's "Central Business District", amidst the pandemic, will fur...ther hurt financially struggling drivers and discourage many workers from safely commuting to work. To read more points of view and to learn more about the project visit: http://ow.ly/GSUC50Cn2lu #BlackCarAssistanceCorporation #NYBCAC #BCAC

One of the biggest stories to come out of this election, is the passing of Prop 22 by California's voters. This result will likely affect how the rest of the country, including NY, addresses issues in the gig economy. Read more here: http://ow.ly/seIY50CbOI3 #BCAC #Prop22 #AB5

A transportation report conducted by Transportation Alternatives suggests New York City’s traffic likely to skyrocket. Factors include people returning to work, less public transit use, and more bicycles. http://ow.ly/5KLh50Bip1Z #BlackCarAssistanceCorporation #NYBCAC #BCAC

Revel mopeds are coming back to New York City after reevaluating their safety measures. City officials are looking to regulate ride-share mopeds further. City Councilman, Ydanis Rodriguez, introduced a bill to take additional safety steps related to shared mopeds. Take a look at this article to learn more about the situation. http://ow.ly/A4EB50BbQI8 #BlackCarAssistanceCorporation #NYBCAC #BCAC

The MTA is seeking additional federal funds to help cover deficits through 2021. Ceo, Pat Foye, recently shared that the MTA is losing 200 million per week due to the pandemic. Agency officials said We cannot continue to spend money unless we have assurance that we’re going to receive this federal support. The MTA is currently seeking $12 billion in federal relief loans. Some lawmakers expressed this figure was too much while MTA officials say the agency is too large and important to run on a month-to-month basis. Read the entire article at http://ow.ly/4S3e50Ba3Bo #BlackCarAssistanceCorporation #NYBCAC #BCAC

Last week, a California state judge ordered Uber and Lyft to classify their drivers as employees and comply with AB-5. The companies appealed this injunction and made a public statement of intent to halt operations in California if they were forced to comply. On Thursday, a California state appeals court granted an emergency stay on this injunction, so Uber and Lyft are not required to immediately reclassify their drivers as employees. The ruling allows the companies to classify drivers as independent contractors until the first hearing, scheduled for October 13. Read more through the link below! http://ow.ly/Sy8X50B5VAC #BlackCarAssistanceCorporation #NYBCAC #BCAC

On Monday, Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi laid out his argument to the New York Times for a third way to classify gig workers. Khosrowshahi suggests workers keep their independent contractor status but all companies that rely on gig workers should be required by law to contribute to benefit funds that provide benefits to workers. He suggests that the amount of benefit dollars available to any gig worker should be based on the number of hours they have worked and workers should ...have access to the benefits regardless of which app they find work on. He estimates a driver in Colorado, averaging more than 35 hours a week, would have made about $1,350 in benefits last year, equivalent to two weeks paid time off. He also believes workers should be able to choose which benefits they have access to and not policy makers. Read more about this at: http://ow.ly/34c150AWQV4 #BlackCarAssistanceCorporation #NYBCAC #BCAC

NYC will begin setting up checkpoints to educate individuals traveling and enforce the statewide quarantine rules. The sheriff and other officials said they will deploy checkpoints to Penn Station, airports, bridges, tunnels, and on major roadways. The sheriff also said the stops will be randomized. Mayor de Blasio was adamant that civil liberties would be respected. http://ow.ly/x2eQ50ASGFb #BlackCarAssistanceCorporation #NYBCAC #BCAC

Following two fatal crashes over the last 10 days, Revel has temporarily shut down their service throughout NYC. Mayor de Blasio has stated that Revel will not be allowed to restart business until it "meets the city's safety standards and concerns." While it's unclear what these standards are, Revel has stated in a tweet that they are currently "reviewing and strengthening our rider accountability and safety measures." Read more at The Patch below:... http://ow.ly/xXgt50AKjYT #BlackCarAssistanceCorporation #BCAC #NYBCAC #Revel

State lawmakers, in 2019, voted to implement a congestion charge on passenger vehicles entering Manhattan below 60th Street. Just recently the MTA Chief Development Officer, Janno Lieber, said the initiative has been delayed through 2020. It is also very possible that we don’t see this congestion pricing scheme through 2021. The MTA is putting the blame of the delay on the federal government. The MTA needs to complete a federal environmental review process and be given feder...al approval. Once this review process is complete and federal approval is obtained, the MTA executive estimated that it will take about a year to construct the congestion pricing infrastructure. Read more at: http://ow.ly/BNbB50AzoNe #BlackCarAssistanceCorporation #NYBCAC #BCAC #CongestionPricing

Attention members! Next Wednesday, July 15th, at 1:30pm, we will be hosting a webinar focused on the basics of Social Media and how it can be applied to promote and support your businesses. Our team will be presenting the webinar, which was put together exclusively for our BCAC members! You don't want to miss it! Please note, this webinar will only be made available to members who are in good standing. If you want to attend, please RSVP by email to Lionel Morales at [email protected]. On Tuesday, July 14th, we will send you the link to join the webinar via Webex. You must RSVP in order to receive the invite link! Looking forward to seeing you all next week!

Corey Johnson’s 1.3-billion-dollar plan to expand bus lanes, bike paths, sidewalks and reduce vehicles on the roads of NYC is now delayed due to Coronavirus. This is coming in the wake of a 9-billion-dollar budget deficit. The Department of Transportation was tasked with a study that was meant to be complete by late December, 2021 but unfortunately is months behind due to the inability to conduct traditional neighborhood outreach. The plan called for 250 additional miles of b...ike lanes, 150 miles of dedicated bus lanes, signal priority to public transportation at 5,000 lights and a large increase in pedestrian walk space. In a recent statement Corey Johnson said The benchmarks laid out by the streets master plan were passed into law for a reason and they should not be delayed, especially now. Learn more about this plan at http://ow.ly/LDBq50AuYyL #BlackCarAssistanceCorporation #NYBCAC #BCAC

Tomorrow, July 9th, at 11:00am, Ira Goldstein, our Executive Director, will join a panel of local trade group leaders representing the taxicab, green cab, livery, black car, and luxury limousine industries. The panel will discuss how their drivers kept busy delivering food and packages during the shutdown; whether federal and local grants and relief were sufficient; and how base and taxi owners are planning for a new, safer re-opening, with cleaner cars, partitions and other potential business opportunities. The panel will also discuss which government policies helped the industry and how businesses will survive by reinventing services and operations. Register now at http://ow.ly/5Y4H50Atdg7 #BlackCarAssistanceCorporation #NYBCAC #BCAC

Happy Independence Day! May your day be filled with blessings and cheer. #IndependenceDay #NYBCAC #BCAC

Attention! Due to the City’s curfew being lifted, effective immediately, there will no longer be any restrictions on FHV service. Drivers and operators can resume business as usual, while continuing to take all necessary precautions against COVID-19.