Shame on You, Mayor Bloomberg

As my family will attest, I rarely say "I told you so." (Come on, guys, support me on this one!) But this is just too good to pass up. New York's Taxis for All Campaign recently issued a public letter to New York Governor Andrew Cuomo that tells it like it is on the subject of accessible cabs in NYC. They're necessary and they're the right thing to do, period.

Unfortunately, neither the letter nor Gov. Cuomo could make magic on this one. Yesterday, NYC's Mayor Bloomberg and Nissan representatives introduced the "Taxi of Tomorrow," which is scheduled to fully replace all New York Taxis beginning this coming October. It's definitely NOT accessible to wheelchair users, and Mayor Bloomberg likes it this way. I just don't agree.

Less than 300 out of 13,000 yellow cabs are currently accessible to wheelchair users in the Big Apple. The subway doesn't cut it, as our family well knows, and buses are not an ideal option much of the time -- which is why 13,000 cabs remain in business, except to serve wheelchair users, of course. Similarly, if you are non-ambulatory and would like to hire a livery car, only 23 vehicles out of a fleet of 35,000 can accommodate you. Really? Really!

The Taxis for All Campaign's rather obvious assertion is that most ADA improvements help people with disabilities AND many others, including parents with strollers, older persons with mobility issues, and delivery people pushing carts, to name a few. We've all appreciated the lack of a step at times, I'm sure. It's simple universal design, and that's why it's called "universal."

Since my choice for Tomorrow's Taxi, the Karsan Kab, is out, I had high hopes that Mayor Bloomberg would be pursuaded by clear thinking and common decency as he made an important decision about public transportation and the future of the Big Apple. Alas, he didn't get it right and now people will continue to struggle -- unless they move to London, where all cabs are accessible and it doesn't seem to be an issue or a challenge. Maybe I should just rethink the American Revolution and try remembering why the US is better than the UK. Nah. I think I'll just go make dinner instead.