Appeals court overturns NYC accessible taxi ruling

Appeals court overturns NYC accessible taxi ruling

NEW YORK (AP) — A federal appeals court has struck down a ruling that would have required New York City to give taxi licenses only to wheelchair-accessible vehicles.

The Second U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled today that the Americans with Disabilities Act doesn’t require the city to demand that cabbies serve the disabled.

The court ruled that the ADA only bars the city from discriminating against disabled people seeking a license to drive a cab.

The lower court ruling had called access to wheelchair-friendly cabs “a basic civil right.”

The director of litigation for Disability Rights Advocates says he’s disappointed. But Sid Wolinsky believes his group could still win the case through other arguments that weren’t addressed by the appeals court.