Court lifts block on city's e-hail pilot
Karen Keis hails a yellow cab on Church street near Chambers street in Lower Manhattan. Credit: Linda Rosier
The city’s e-hail pilot program is now ready for testing by tech savvy New Yorkers, but the legal future of those apps, however, is still up in the air.
A state appeals court lifted the injunction against the city Thursday that bared it from releasing the apps while it hears the appeal of a lawsuit filed by livery cab owners who contend the program will hurt their business.
The Taxi and Limousine Commission wants to see the feasibility of apps that would allow people to hail yellow cabs just by tapping the screens on their smartphones.
The city began to approve several apps, such as Uber and Hailo, in April after the State Supreme Court dismissed the lawsuit, but in May an appellate judge issued the injunction after the plaintiffs filed the appeal.
In its decision Thursday, the appellate court said it will continue to mull the suit but the city’s corporation counsel said he's confident it will rule in favor of the TLC.
The plaintiffs could not be reached for comment.
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