The New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC) today successfully auctioned 89 new taxicab medallions, 87 of which are earmarked for use with wheelchair accessible vehicles. This will bring to 231 the number of New York City taxicabs capable of offering ramp entry service to wheelchair users.
 
The medallions made available today represent the final portion of the 150 additional medallions that Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, TLC Commissioner Matthew W.Daus and New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn successfully sought State legislation to authorize. Two Independent/Individual Alternate-Fuel Medallions were also successfully auctioned today.

“Thanks to the vision of Mayor Bloomberg, we now have the highest number of wheelchair accessible taxicabs in the nation” said TLC Commissioner Daus. “We remain committed to continuing to make progress in the area of enhancing transportation options for persons with disabilities. Congratulations to all the successful bidders! The auctions today are the last of several successful auctions held where a total of 1,050 medallions were sold since 2004, bringing more and better service for our passengers”.

The process today involved the public opening of sealed bids that were submitted to the TLC between Monday, April 28 and Thursday, May 1, 2008. On May 2, the amount of each bid was read aloud and processed by a team of speciallytrained TLC staff. A large screen flashed the ranking of the bids, allowing bidders to monitor their progress and ultimately determine whether their bids were successful. The opening took place at the Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings, neighbors of the TLC’s 40 Rector Street headquarters, on the sixth floor.

Winning bidders will be invited to attend a bid winner’s workshop at TLC headquarters at a date to be announced to become familiarized with the processes and procedures that will assist them in getting started.

http://www.nyc.gov/html/tlc/downloads/pdf/press_release_medallion_auction.pdf