In low-income New York neighborhoods with no yellow cabs and sparse public transport, residents have long relied on livery cabs
In the outer boroughs and low-income neighborhoods of New York City, where yellow cabs rarely go and sometimes public transportation is sparse, residents have relied on livery cabs for years, but the business is dwindling rapidly.
According to the city Taxi and Limousine Commission, more than 100 livery cab bases have closed their doors since 2015, when apps began to provide a large number of trips.
Drivers and owners of the car bases, many of them Latino immigrants, say they are being crushed by excessive regulation and have become the unintended victims of a cap on vehicle licenses aimed at giants like Uber.
TLC Acting Commissioner William Heinzen says livery cabs are exempt from some of the new regulations that affect ride-hailing apps.