Taxi and Limousine Commission

The Taxi and Limousine Commission's 2014 Taxi Fact Book [PDF], released at the end of the Bloomberg administration, includes facts and figures on almost everything taxi- or livery-related, from trip length to passenger demographics. But there's one important thing the report fails to mention: driver safety.

The cab driver who killed a 5-year-old child in Brooklyn last year is still on the road. Meanwhile, the civil suit filed by the victim's parents was transferred to NYC this week from Texas, where the family lives.

Six weeks after cab driver Mohammed Himon drove onto a Midtown sidewalk and hit tourist Sian Green, severing her leg, Green is back home in England. Meanwhile, Himon is again driving a taxi, as no charges have been filed against him by NYPD or Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance.

After cabbie Mohammed Himon ran over English tourist Sian Green on a Sixth Avenue sidewalk, the city's Taxi and Limousine Commission announced it would seek a 30-day license suspension for the driver, who already had nine points on his record from an injury-causing crash, speeding, and red light running. The suspension summons, which brought a guilty plea from Himon, raised a nagging question: Given that Himon had enough points from TLC to warrant suspension even before he hit Green, why hadn't his driving privileges already been put on hold?

The Taxi and Limousine Commission is moving to suspend the hack license of the cab driver involved in Tuesday's curb-jump crash in Midtown, which would keep him off the job for 30 days. Meanwhile, the Post reports that NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly says police are investigating the crash.

At a press conference at Union Square this morning, DOT and the Taxi and Limousine Commission announced another facet of the LOOK! campaign, a new video and a decal reminding taxi passengers to exit on the curb side and check for cyclists before opening cab doors.

One morning in May, I was riding my bike up Park Avenue in the East 70s, a stretch that is rife with double-parking at that hour. Seeing a cab and another vehicle stationary ahead of me in the right-hand travel lane, I carefully checked behind and then pulled into the middle lane. As I passed the cab it began to move -- parallel to me and into my lane. It was quickly clear to me that the driver saw me but meant to occupy my space, whether or not I was in it. I shouted and swerved. The driver advanced a little more, then stopped and leaned on her horn. Then, seeing an opening, she whipped around me.

Streetsblog has filed a complaint with the Taxi and Limousine Commission over a crash that reportedly killed a pedestrian in the West Village.

Mayor Bloomberg delivered his tenth State of the City address this afternoon, laying out what he believed to be the city's accomplishments, challenges, and priorities for the future. And if the speech is any indication, taxis and ferries are at the top of his transportation agenda.