Transcript: Mayor Adams Makes Sustainability and Transportation Related Announcement

October 18, 2023

Commissioner David Do, Taxi and Limousine Commission: Well, good afternoon, everyone. I'm David Do, chair and commissioner of the Taxi and Limousine Commission. Just under a year ago, Mayor Adams charted a bold vision in the State of the City address to have a Working People's Agenda where the mayor outlined his vision for a more sustainable and accessible For-Hire Vehicle sector. And just a few hours ago, our city took a major step towards the mayor's vision when the Taxi and Limousine Commission voted unanimously in favor of Green Rides, TLC's initiative requiring all ride share trips to be either zero emission or wheelchair accessible by 2030.

I want to thank my fellow TLC commissioners for supporting Green Rides, including Commissioner Sarah Kaufman and Paul Bader who are here with me today. Thank you. I also want to thank Elijah Hutchinson from MOCEJ for their support throughout this process. I'd also like to thank a big thanks to my team at the TLC for working so hard and diligently throughout this process on this historic initiative. I want to especially thank [inaudible], whose birthday it is today, she's just behind us today.

We proposed this rule because our city and our world is slipping into a deeper climate crisis. 2023 is now on track to be the hottest year on record, and we're breaking records regularly. Green Rides is going to transform our city for the better. It will remove 600,000 metric tons of carbon emissions from the air that we and our children breathe.

It will ensure that anyone requesting a wheelchair accessible vehicle will get one in comparable time to a non wheelchair accessible vehicle. Operating costs for drivers and owners, and it will spur the development of the city's charging infrastructure. All of this will be happening over a period of six years. No rideshare vehicle and owner will be required to run out and buy an EV or wheelchair accessible vehicle tomorrow, next week or even next month.

This will be a gradual measured transition. If you're a TLC driver, you'll be able to switch to EV or a wheelchair accessible vehicle when the time is right for you. Our first goalpost is at the end of next year, is five percent of ride share trips becoming wheelchair accessible or zero emissions.

This exciting journey to a more sustainable and accessible future begins with a series of steps. The passage of Green Rides was the first big one. We are now going to take another big step today, and I have the honor of introducing my electrifying boss, Mayor Eric Adams.

Mayor Eric Adams: Thank you so much. And you know, I wish we could put this announcement out in robocalls in many different languages with my voice. We'll figure that out. Commissioner, you know, you have really just moved this conversation forward, and I want to thank you and your entire team. You could almost feel the electric energy in the air from what we're doing.

This is a huge, bold step that we are taking because we are making history and taking a big bold step towards the city's electric future. Many people thought it couldn't be done. We announce it at the State of the City, and today I am proud to announce that the Taxi and Limousine Commission has indicated, has voted clearly to approve the Green Rides rule, a major accomplishment on our part and a real partnership.

This is going to require all for‑hire vehicles including Uber and Lyft to be zero emission or wheelchair accessible by 2030 and setting aggressive annual targets in order to get there. And listen, we need to really hear what this means. New York City's entire For-Hire Vehicle fleet will be zero emission or wheelchair accessible by 2030. Huge undertaking.

And we are going to move forward to make it happen and get it done. This is, as you hear all the time, the first city in the United States to get this done, the first city in the United States. We came in with a clear, aggressive agenda on many areas, and here is another area that we're going to become the first city in the United States to get this done. And it is a signal how New York City is leading from the front with an amazing team, that's clear.

It means easier accessibility for our brothers and sisters in wheelchairs, and a cleaner, greener city for every single New Yorker. But we're not stopping there. Starting tomorrow morning, we are super charging our goal gold with the release of new TLC licenses for electric vehicles — or, EV — drivers. That means anyone with an electric vehicle can put in an application to be a ride share driver, put even more New Yorkers on the road to opportunity, jobs, employment, economic possibilities but doing it in a clean way.

And this is how we're going to continue to accelerate our transition to a green economy. And this is how we also support hard working entrepreneurs with green jobs. We also always talk about green economy, but we have to do it with green jobs, and everyone must move together.

As we take this historic step, we have to really thank our friends in the private sector. New York City companies including Revel and Hertz are leading the way in the fight against climate change. We rolled out an initiative with Hertz a few months ago; and earlier this year, we rolled out with Revel. They are really leaning into the possibility.

We're clear that Revel alone is in the process of tripling the city's supply of publicly available fast charging stations. We've got to build out the infrastructure. Government did not build all of the gas stations, so there's no way government can build all of the electric charging stations. But we have real partners in government, in private industry who are partnering with us.

Just this week, we moved forward on legislation that will require that all light and medium duty vehicles procured by the city after July 1st, 2025, be zero emission vehicles, all of those vehicles. And last fall, we met our 2025 goals in the New York City Clean Fleet Plan three years early.

New Yorkers are now served by a fleet of 4,000 electric vehicles, and earlier this year we announced funding to take an additional 1,000 fossil fuel vehicles out of our city's fleet. We're showing that electric vehicles are not just a passing fad, it is part of the infrastructure of our city and we're going to lead from the front.

New Yorkers are already experiencing the benefit of cleaner air, fewer greenhouse emissions and cost savings on fuel and maintenance. It is all part of our ambitious plan to tackle climate change head on. We must have a long term, mid term and short term plan. This is part of the mid‑term plan, and we have long‑term plans that you're seeing us roll out every day. We want to meet our goal of decarbonizing buildings and transportation sectors to reach our goal of carbon neutrality by 2050.

I also want to just really take my hat off to the TLC board and the leader for the TLC commissioner. I said it once and I'll say it again, David has been a real leader in this area and real laser focused on how to we use every sector of our society to green our economy, and vehicles are one of them. Job well done. Congratulations, and I look forward for us to continue to roll out these initiatives to make sure we clean up the emission crisis we're facing not only here in New York State, in America, but across the globe. Job well done.

Commissioner Do: Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Now I'd like to introduce a true defender of the environment, a person who has actively supported this initiative, President Julie Tighe of the New York League of Conservation Voters. Julie.

Julie Tighe, President, New York League of Conservation Voters: Thank you. Thank you. Thank you so much. I'm so delighted to be here today. I'm Julie Tighe, President of the New York League of Conservation Voters. We're a statewide advocacy organization with over 30,000 members here in New York City.

I'm thrilled to be here alongside Mayor Adams and Commissioner Do to express our strong support for the Taxi and Limousine Commission's Green Rides initiative and their commitment to 100 percent zero emission for hire fleet by 2030. And how exciting it is to be first in the nation. We should always be proud, New York City should be leading on these kinds of initiatives. So, kudos to Mayor Adams for making this a priority, to Commissioner Do for helping to deliver it.

You know, from apocalyptic wildfires and hazy orange skies to extreme flooding and record shattering heat — as Commissioner Do mentioned — it is evident that our planet is in peril. If we want to combat the growing climate crisis effectively, we must significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions across the board.

Transportation is responsible for 30 percent of New York City's greenhouse gas emissions — second only to buildings — and it is key that we achieve substantial reductions in the sector, and the way we do that is by trading in our gas guzzling cars for zero emission vehicles, as I myself have done.

Green Rides is a big win for the environment and it's going to bring benefits to drivers, riders and the entire city. But for this to work, we need businesses who have a financial stake in transportation to buy in. I'd like to extend my gratitude to Revel and Lyft and Uber for their commitment to the EV transition and for leading rather than resisting, for recognizing the role they can play in cutting pollution to our fleets, because while we can't drive our way out of the climate crisis and we must use more mass transit with more bus lanes and bike lanes and scooters. When we do need to drive — because we know some people don't have that option — we need to make sure that those vehicles are carbon free.

For many New Yorkers, the main obstacle to owning an EV is access to charging; and as the Mayor said, we're enlisting the private sector in this initiative. Green Rides is going to hasten the arrival of a more robust EV charging network across the city. It is a great example of climate friendly policy and market forces aligning in favor of clean energy.

So, as we called for this summer, we're glad to see that the resumption of licenses available for EVs in New York's for‑hire vehicle fleet, that's a crucial step forward to reducing air pollution and emissions from the transportation sector. And because the EV revolution cannot come at the expense of accessibility, we also applaud the exception for wheelchair accessible vehicles.

As air pollution wreaks havoc on our lungs with asthma being the number one cause of school absences, this is a public health imperative. One I like most is, as always, the Mayor is using a Get Stuff Done approach and we aren't waiting until 2030 to see progress; instead, he's making his yearly benchmarks so we can see results in the near term.

So, my fellow New Yorkers, I think you should be confident that this program is going to bring positive changes for environment to public health and a collective breath of fresh air to New York City. So, on behalf of New York League of Conservation voters, I'd like to thank Mayor Adams and Commissioner Do for this forward thinking initiative and your ongoing commitment to a greener, healthier New York City. Thank you.

Commissioner Do: Now I'd like to introduce Larry Gallegos from Lyft to talk about how he's going to achieve this and that, you know, he already talked about him and his company already made this commitment by 2030. And so, Larry.

Larry Gallegos, Public Policy Manager, Lyft: Good afternoon, everybody. First off, thank you, Mr. Mayor, thank you, Commissioner Do. This is an exciting day, super excited to be here. As a lifelong New Yorker, I've seen first hand the devastating impacts climate change could have on our city, and if we are to ever reverse its most extreme effects, we must work together on solutions.

Transportation is the single largest source of harmful greenhouse gas pollution in the U.S., and creating more sustainable ways of travel is crucial to combating climate change. Three years ago, Lyft pledged to be 100 percent EV on our platform by the end of 2030. Since then, we've seen substantial progress and interest from our riders, drivers and community partners in electrifying.

In the past year alone, the number of EV rides in New York City has more than doubled. But we still have a long way to go, and more can and must be done. That's why we are so excited to partner with the City of New York on our journey. New York City's plan to electrify our industry will accelerate an equitable city‑wide transition to electric vehicles for ride share. Combined with smart targeted investments and incentives and charging infrastructure, it will help tear down the barriers that prevent drivers from making the switch to electric.

Once again, I want to thank the mayor, thank the commissioner for their partnership on this ambitious plan, and we look forward to working together to create a cleaner, more sustainable New York. Thank you.

Commissioner Do: Last but not least, I would like to introduce Frank Reig, who is the CEO of Revel in Brooklyn, and he's going to talk a little bit about how we're going to get there with infrastructure. Frank.

Frank Reig, Co-Founder and CEO, Revel: Thanks, everybody. What an awesome day this is. Talk about taking action. When we started this company in all electric ride share in our fast charge infrastructure and our platform two years ago, I didn't think this day was going to come so soon. But that's what… This is what happens when you have an administration and a mayor that is prioritizing real action and not just talk.

When you have a city that is willing to put skin in the game, when you have a city that is willing to lead from the front, that is exactly what Mayor Adams and the TLC commissioner, this is what they are doing with the Green Rides initiative, they are leading from the front. A lot of cities are going to take notice today.

He's also shown us, Mayor Adams, that there is a path forward for EVs, there's a path forward for the EV transition in the cities, there's a path forward for the ride share industry to get off fossil fuels. There's a path forward for everybody in this room to breathe a little easier in this city in the years ahead. The ride share industry creates a lot of air pollution, let's get rid of some of that.

The biggest challenge of achieving his goal is access to reliable public charging infrastructure, there's no question. And let me just be even more specific, we need public fast charging, because this is an industry, ride share, where time is money. Drivers need to charge up their vehicles in minutes, not hours.

But there's some good news here. Revel single handedly right now is going to triple access to public fast charging infrastructure in the city in the next 12 months. We've already announced several large sites that we're building publicly, we have more coming. Neighborhoods like Harlem; Astoria, Queens; Long Island City; the south Bronx, neighborhoods that today have zero public fast charging, they're about to get a lot more and soon.

So, ride share, at the end of the day — the commissioner mentioned this — it's an accelerant for charging infrastructure. You electrify ride share, these vehicles charge a lot. Each ride share vehicle puts approximately about five times the amount of annual miles than an individually owned vehicle does. So, you electrify one ride share vehicle, it's like five New Yorkers' vehicles getting electrified.

That allows companies like Revel, other private companies to put capital towards this to build out infrastructure. This is an accelerant for everybody so that all New Yorkers can have access to public fast charging infrastructure and we can electrify this entire city. But it really does start today with this initiative.

So, there are benefits we're seeing firsthand. We know drivers, lower maintenance costs, lower fueling costs, and we could speak about that because we're doing it today. We're not talking about the future. We currently operate a fleet of over 500 EVs in the city, we employ over 1,500 W-2 drivers. We give them things like PTO, we give them access to the same exact health insurance plans that I do as CEO. We give them stable wages

I would just say, thanks to the TLC opening up EV licenses today, it allows companies like us to provide more sustainable jobs to drivers immediately. That's a benefit for all of New York, it's a benefit to the entire driving community, especially for those looking for a different way.

So, with that I'm proud to be here celebrating just a monumental environmental victory for New York City. And this is because of the people behind us. Mayor Adams, it's because of your leadership. TLC Commissioner David Do, it's because of your leadership. Deputy Mayor Meera Joshi, your leadership. So, thank you, everybody, to a cleaner, better New York City future here. Thanks.

Question: On topic. So, I know you mentioned...we're talking about taxis, but you mentioned the greening of the city fleet in general which is coming as well.

Mayor Adams: Yes.

Question: What about the size of the city fleet? Because it's the largest city fleet in the country, obviously, New York's the largest city. But the size of the fleet hasn't dropped dramatically; and in fact, as you know, city employees do a lot of driving, which leads to crashes, sometimes settlements. Has the city ever done something like a transportation demand management strategy or report to see why are city employees driving so much?

Mayor Adams: And listen, I'm with you. And what I would like to do with you is to sit down and show what I did from day one. We had, there were several areas that after I came in and I did an analysis, one area we had a lot of cars that were supposed to be turned back in because they were no longer supposed to be used, but agencies were holding on to them anyway. We did an analysis, I did a deadline. I brought all of my commissioners in and said, by this date, we want all of those cars turned back in.

The second thing we did, there was supposed to be monitoring devices on all of the vehicles to make sure people were not recklessly driving, speeding and did they actually need the vehicle, because some people were just using the vehicle to go home and back. We did a complete analysis. We made sure that every vehicle has that monitoring tool on it. Some of the agencies were saying, we never had to do it before, because our agency is different. And I said no, there's only one city, and everybody's going to comply. Then we did a real analysis, did you actually need the vehicles?

So, we would like to give you a complete list of what we did from day one, because I always knew we had an over use of vehicles. Many people were abusing the use of vehicles, and we should only use those vehicles if we have to use those vehicles. And I am really open to give you a real look at what we did and how we analyzed our city fleet. And part of that was, we had to electrify. We had too many gas vehicles. We had to find ways to electrify. David Do and his team did just that.

Question: So, what… 

Mayor Adams: I was going to tell him not to even call on you.

Question: What percentage are we at now of electric or wheelchair accessible? And then… Well, go ahead for that, and then the mayor's...

Mayor Adams: You get one question [inaudible].

Commissioner Do: So currently, our high volume For-Hire Vehicle fleet is at 80,000, 2,250 are electric and then 6,000, a little over 6,000 are wheelchair accessible vehicles. So, about 10 percent of our fleet are either wheelchair accessible or electric.

Question: And mayor, I don't believe your own SUV is electric, is that right? Do you intend to switch to an electric vehicle, and at what point?

Mayor Adams: If we can find something that would fit what is needed based on the security detail, I would love to. But my security detail is solely in the hands of Intel and NYPD. If we can find it, I would love to. I would like to join my girl, she switched from gas to electric. We would love to. Our goal is to have a 100 percent city fleet including the vehicles that we drive.

Mayor Adams: We're going to look into that, because I want to lead from the front.

Question: Yes. So, this is maybe a question best asked to the commissioner, but of the 80,000 FHV licenses that are out there, about 10,000 are owned by three companies [inaudible], there's a major leasing problem among the drivers. The past 2,000 EV licenses that were [inaudible] individual drivers not for large companies. Can you talk a little bit about how many licenses are going to be opened up to part of this [inaudible] set aside for individual drivers.

Commissioner Do: That's a great question. So, the mayor announced today that there's going to be an EV exemption. What that means is that now drivers are not going to be beholden to a predatory lease, now they can own their own small business and then they can also have a pathway to the middle class, that you know, that vehicles are important, and if you're putting 300‑plus dollars towards a weekly lease, that's money out of your pocket. And so we want to put more money into driver's pockets.

Question: [Inaudible] cap the number of licenses [inaudible] or how is that going to work?

Commissioner Do: Yes. So if a driver, if an individual driver or anyone else would like one of these licenses they would apply starting tomorrow. They would need a vehicle and then they would be able to get a license. And that goes as well for wheelchair accessible vehicles. And that has always been open for vehicle licenses.

Mayor Adams: Okay, yes. Thank you. [Inaudible]. Thank you.

As we promised when we stated we were going to do a once a week off topic, we stated that if anything is pressing that we were going to update you and we want to make sure that we keep you up to date. And what's pressing right now is what's going on in Israel and Gaza. And as we said last night, we mourn the loss of innocent lives in Israel and Gaza, and we are awaiting for the final confirmation from our intelligence community on how the terrible tragedy involving the hospital unfolded, but initial reports indicate that this explosion originated from Gaza.

Out of the abundance of caution and to accommodate any potential rapid mobilization, all uniformed members of service were required to report in uniform today following the explosion. But as a reminder, we also have members of the NYPD who you do not see monitoring activity on the ground, and we have increased our deployments at large gatherings and cultural sites to ensure public safety.

We are also aware of concerns stemming from posts online, and we continue to monitor online activity. The NYPD's intelligence and counterintelligence bureau deploys a wide array of resources to protect the city based on events unfolding here and around the world, and we are prepared for whatever comes our way. The New York City Police Department and the intel division have been really focused daily on how we can properly ensure New Yorkers are safe.

Remember that the events overseas, I say over and over again, those things that play out on the international stage, they play out on the streets of the City of New York. These things may have resonated here at home, and so we need all of our city's residents to help be our eyes and ears. If you see something, say something, do something by contacting your local authorities. And so we'll take a few questions on this issue.

Question: Mr. Mayor, are there any threats that have been noted specifically in the city, synagogues, Yeshivas, the culturally [inaudible] Jewish community?

Mayor Adams: No. No, there are no specific credible threats at this time. But I cannot emphasize the whole concept of the lone wolf. We are going to continue to monitor those sites, but the more vigilant New Yorkers are the more helpful the New York City police department and all about of our intelligence agencies will be able to identify and prevent.

You know, throughout the years, the New York City police department and our intel partners have been extremely successful in foiling events that wanted to harm New Yorkers, and we're going to continue to be steadfast on it.

Question: For hours, it sounded [inaudible] a lot had happened in Gaza in the hospital and who was responsible, and it really did inflame tensions both on social media, in the region. Can you talk a little bit about how that complicates your efforts to keep a lid on things in the city.

Mayor Adams: You are one hundred percent correct, and I'm really going to call on all established communicators to be, we should wait until preliminary investigations are done. I think some of the initial reports that stated it came from Israel, where our investigation and intel stated it came from within Gaza. Some of those initial reports that stated it came from Israel can only aggravate this matter.

There's a lot of tension that's taking place right now, and this can play out on our streets when misinformation is out there. We have thorough investigators, allow them to do their job before we give these absolutes that Israel or someone else bombed a particular location. Our preliminary intel is saying that this came from within Gaza, and we need to look towards who started this whole conflict in the first place. It is clear that the concern of human life is something that Hamas is not really concerned about. We are, and that is why we want to report as accurate as possible the information.

Question: Any updates on planning to visit Israel, and have you talked with Hochul either ahead of so far [inaudible] visit there?

Mayor Adams: I want to thank the governor and the senator for taking that trip. We are in communication with Israeli officials to decide what we're going to do, but I have an awesome responsibility right now during these extremely stressful times to make sure as people peacefully show their concerns that we can make sure nothing happens here in the City of New York. Okay. Thank you.