A federal judge on Monday green-lighted a settlement that calls for riders to pay a 30-cent surcharge aimed at making more taxis wheelchair accessible.
Calling the tentative deal “historic,” Manhattan federal Judge George Daniels rejected claims that the policy could create a poorly administered Taxi & Limousine Commission “slush fund.”
The charge will fund upgrades to 7,500 yellow cabs to make them wheelchair accessible by 2020.
After hearing concerns voiced by the medallion-owners group Greater New York Taxi Association last month, Daniels had asked the city to show how the surcharge — a result of a 2011 disability-lawsuit settlement — is calculated.
“I believe the numbers, at this point, appear to be reasonable,” the judge said.