Bill Summary: A08691

• Authorizes New York City to issue up to 2,000 new taxicab licenses exclusively for vehicles designed to transport persons with disabilities, with licenses issued through public sale and fully transferable.

• Authorizes issuance of up to 18,000 "HAIL" (Hail Accessible Inter-borough) licenses to for-hire vehicles that can pick up passengers by street hail outside Manhattan below 96th Street east and 110th Street west, with 20% of licenses in first issuance restricted to accessible vehicles.

• Authorizes up to 450 non-transferable "hail base permits" for for-hire vehicle base stations affiliated with HAIL license holders, issued for $3,000 with automatic renewal.

• Establishes a $54 million grant program providing up to $15,000 per grant to purchasers of HAIL licenses for accessible vehicles to purchase or retrofit vehicles for accessibility compliance.

• Imposes a 50-cent tax per trip on taxicab trips and HAIL vehicle trips originating in New York City, with tax liability on taxicab owners and hail bases, and requires accessibility inspections every eight months for all accessible vehicles.