The pilot program will allow drivers who are taking a break to feed the meter for up to three hours at an additional 13,000 commercial metered spaces. The change was initially limited to Uber and Lyft drivers before the city Department of Transportation proposed extending it to include taxis.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you have to go, you have to go, there is no choice,\u201d taxi driver Bhupinder Dhillon, 46, told The City Reporter while parked Monday in a taxi relief stand on Lexington Avenue. \u201cThe city needs to do something and if they make more parking spaces available, it will be highly appreciated.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Bhupinder](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/IMG_4501.jpg\")
Bhupinder Dhillon, 46, parked in a taxi relief stand on Lexington Avenue, between East 27th and 28th streets. Credit: Jose Martinez\/The City Reporter<\/p>\n
The Transportation Department on Tuesday will hold a 10 a.m. virtual public hearing on the one-year pilot program. Midori Valdivia, commissioner and chair of the New York City Taxi & Limousine Commission, said the measure is vital to an agency that licenses just over 180,000 drivers.<\/p>\n
More than 27% of those who responded to a TLC driver survey<\/a> earlier this year flagged poor access to bathrooms<\/a> while on the job as a leading source of frustration.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cImagine having to worry about being ticketed and losing income every time you take a bathroom or a meal break,\u201d Valdivia said. \u201cThat\u2019s a daily reality for TLC drivers, and ensuring that they have dignified and humane working conditions is one of our top priorities.\u201d<\/p>\n In a notice of the hearing<\/a>, the Transportation Department pointed out it is frequently asked to provide more taxi relief stands. If the pilot is approved, the city will determine whether to make it permanent after its initial one-year trial, which would end in July 2028. The start hinges on several procedural steps.<\/p>\n Bhairavi Desai, head of the New York Taxi Workers Alliance, said a lack of places to park can leave drivers facing very uncomfortable situations while on the road.<\/p>\n \u201cThey won\u2019t urinate, and that\u2019s what leads to illnesses for people,\u201d Desai said. \u201cNo worker should have to make these choices.\u201d<\/p>\n Drivers have long pushed the city for increased access to commercial parking spaces, citing the risk of being ticketed if they park illegally and the amount of time they spend looking for places to park. They also have access to the Taxi Clubhouse<\/a>, a West 22nd Street spot offering a place to eat, rest, exercise and go to the restroom.<\/p>\n \u201cIn some places, it\u2019s very difficult,\u201d said taxi medallion owner Md Soltan, 45, who was parked in a relief stand along Lexington Avenue near East 27th Street. \u201cYou look a long time, maybe 30 minutes sometimes and then it\u2019s gone.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSo you have to go someplace else and that is tough,\u201d Soltan added.<\/p>\n
![\"Rafael](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/IMG_4504.jpg\")
Rafael Gonzaque, 62, a New York City taxi driver for 36 years, said open parking spots at taxi relief stands can be tricky to land. Credit: Jose Martinez\/The City Reporter<\/p>\n