For decades, commuter vans, more commonly known as dollar vans, have been providing transportation services to New York City residents mainly in Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx. The current law does not allow drivers to accept hails from prospective passengers, and the van’s drivers are depending on Governor Kathy Hochul to change this.
City council members on the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure met at City Hall for a hearing on December 7th and voted to amend the current commuter van law. This vote allowed the proposed amendment to be sent to the governor, and committee members await Hochul’s decision on whether this will become a law.
Legally, the vans can only pick up passengers who have pre-arranged rides with drivers. However, Leroy Morrison, the president of the Commuter Van Association of New York, which advocates for the rights of commuter van drivers and the legitimacy of the business, says that the drivers never pre-arrange rides, and so, the governor’s vote to legalize hailing is important to keep the business going.
Morrison, who also operates a commuter van in Brooklyn, came from Jamaica and said he started driving a commuter van in 1990 because he saw that there was a great need for better transportation, and the need has not changed.
“[When I came here], I saw that people were standing at bus stops for an hour…and they would be late for their job,” Morrison said. “And so, [I knew] I could get them to their destination quicker.”
Former Flatbush resident, Kinna LeBlanc, was a frequent user of commuter vans; to her, these vans were more than an efficient way to get around. She no longer uses the vans because it is not necessary for her commute.
“I grew up in Flatbush, Brooklyn, and dollar vans were a big part of the Caribbean culture in our neighborhoods,” LeBlanc said.
In fact, according to Morrison, most city commuter van drivers are of Caribbean descent.
LeBlanc thinks commuter vans are important to the community, but she hopes to see more safety regulations since she thinks some drivers can be reckless.
"The vans that run down Utica Avenue can be dangerous when they're re-routing; often holding up the buses, causing traffic accidents, and adding to the noise pollution," said LeBlanc.
The city’s Public Advocate, Jumaane Williams, shared similar sentiments in 2020 after a commuter van hit and injured a cyclist on its route. In a press conference, Williams said, “Commuter vans are a critical component of our city's transportation infrastructure, especially in areas underserved by the MTA-- but unauthorized, often uninsured operators pose a danger to the public, as we, unfortunately, saw last weekend.”
However, he has shown immense support for commuter van rights in recent years and even co-sponsored the bill that awaits the governor’s signature.
Morrison admitted that not all drivers are licensed, but says that more drivers are working on getting licensed to be in compliance with the law. But, the process is long, and insurance can be impossible to attain because it is unaffordable.
Applying for a commuter van license can take four to six months and can cost $550 in fees. Additionally, insurance for the vans can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars annually, according to the city’s Taxi and Limousine Commission website.
The commuter van industry has also received support from city council members Selvena Brooks-Powers and Althea Stevens who have seen commuter vans transport residents in areas far from public transit.
“As someone from a community that's considered a transit desert, we need as many options of mobility as possible,” said Brooks-Powers at a City Hall hearing earlier in December.
The commuter van association president says commuter vans help city residents have safe commutes late in the evening when MTA buses are not as frequent. Morrison also said that the vans are more cost-effective for residents since the fare at $2 is 75 cents less than MTA fares.
MTA representatives did not respond to a request to comment.
Now, Morrison is waiting for the Governor to sign the bill, and he says he will not accept the bill not becoming a law.
“My job and my responsibility is to make sure the bill gets passed. I won’t stop [persisting] until it gets done,” said Morrison.
The New York legislative session begins on January 5th, 2023, and during this period Assemblymembers and State senators along with the Governor will decide the fate of the commuter van industry. If the Governor chooses to sign the bill and allow commuter van drivers to receive hails, the law allowing this will go into effect immediately.