Accessible Dispatch Ended: WAV Taxi E-Hail Trips Now

In short: TLC's Accessible Dispatch program for wheelchair-accessible taxis ended on March 1, 2026. WAV taxi trips are now sent through the Accessible E-Hail Program using the licensed apps Arro, Curb and Myle, and passengers can book by phone at 646-599-9999. If you drive a WAV taxi, keep your Technology System on; once you accept an e-hail at the metered fare, you must not refuse the passenger. You get a $10 bonus for each hotline trip if you are enrolled in the Taxi Improvement Fund (TIF).

Older material, including TLC's own 2023 driver sheet, still describes the old program: a dispatcher you had to accept, a dispatch fee, and cancellation payments. Those rules have changed. This page explains what applies now, based on TLC's Industry Notice 26-02 and the Accessible E-Hail rules adopted March 26, 2025, checked on October 12, 2026.

What changed, and when

Your duties in a WAV taxi now

The accessible-vehicle rule is 80-20(a)(6) in chapter 80. In plain terms:

1. Keep the Technology System on. You must not operate an accessible vehicle unless it is turned on, so it can receive accessible e-hail requests.
2. After you accept, you must serve. Once you accept an e-hail based on the metered fare, from the Technology System, a licensed e-hail app or the dispatcher, you must not refuse the passenger. Not providing service after accepting "has refused to provide service."
3. Go unavailable for street hails. After accepting an accessible e-hail, you must be logged on but unavailable for street hails in the Technology System (rule 80-25(c)). Rule 80-20(b)(15) lists this situation, having accepted an accessible e-hail and being logged on as unavailable, as a lawful reason to decline a street hail.
4. Assist the passenger. You must help a passenger who uses a wheelchair, or who has other disabilities, getting in from the sidewalk and out to the curb, and secure the passenger and mobility device as taught in TLC-approved training (80-20(a)(6)(iv): $50 and a suspension if you plead guilty, $150 and a suspension after a hearing; the suspension is dropped if you finish the Vision Zero and Accessibility Remedial course within 60 days). On request, you must also help with payment, such as reaching the card reader or counting cash aloud (80-20(a)(6)(vii), $50).

The penalties for (1) and (2) are TLC's mandatory refusal penalties under 80-02(e): $350 if you plead guilty before a hearing or $500 after one for a first violation; $700 or $1,000 and possible suspension up to 30 days for a second within 24 months; and revocation for a third within 36 months. All refusal-type violations count together on that ladder. See TLC service refusal rules.

These duties come on top of the general disability rules for every driver: no refusing wheelchairs or mobility aids (80-20(a)(3)), no requiring an attendant (80-20(a)(2)) and no extra charge (80-17(a)(3)). The service animals and accessibility guide covers those.

Green cab (SHL) WAVs: the Technology System must work

For wheelchair-accessible street hail liveries, the 2025 rules added rule 82-42(a)(1): while the vehicle is operating, the Technology System must be on and able to receive accessible e-hail requests. If it stops working, the licensee, agent or base must repair or replace it within 48 hours of TLC's notice, and the vehicle can't operate more than 48 hours without the fix ($250 and suspension until compliance). Tampering with the system or disabling its ability to receive accessible requests is a separate violation ($350 and/or up to 30 days' suspension). If your screen stops showing requests, report it to the owner in writing right away.

Why TLC ended the old program

TLC's statement for the 2025 rules gives the reason: in January 2018 there were only 2,223 accessible medallion taxis (16% of 13,587); by October 2024 there were 3,992 (41%). With thousands of WAV taxis on the road and e-hail apps already required to offer a WAV option, TLC said a separate dispatch vendor was "no longer necessary." Riders can still book by phone, now through the apps' call centers and the hotline. For drivers, the practical effect is that accessible requests arrive the same way as other e-hails, through your Technology System or app.

Getting paid: the $10 TIF bonus

Since July 1, 2025, drivers who complete accessible taxi trips booked through a call center get a $10 bonus on top of the fare, paid monthly by the Taxi Improvement Fund (Notice 25-03). Notice 26-02 repeats it for every trip serviced through the hotline and adds the condition: you must be enrolled with TIF.

The form is at nyc.gov/assets/tlc/downloads/pdf/tif_driver.pdf. For TIF payment questions, TLC lists TIFT@tlc.nyc.gov; the form itself lists TIF@tlc.nyc.gov. Questions about the Accessible E-Hail Program go to ODRC@tlc.nyc.gov.

Doing the trip safely

TLC's 2023 driver sheet gave safety tips that still describe good practice, even though its program details are out of date:

• Do a pre-shift check of the ramp, all four floor securements and the lap and shoulder belts. If something doesn't work, tell the owner and don't operate the vehicle for hire.
• Ask the passenger how to help. There are many types of wheelchairs and mobility devices.
• Don't touch or take a walker without asking.
• Use all four securements and the lap/shoulder belt; secure the front first, then the back. If the passenger declines some securements, respect their choice.
• Start the meter after the passenger is secured.

The old sheet also offered a free 15-minute ramp refresher through the Accessible Dispatcher. That vendor no longer runs taxi trips, so ask TLC (driversupport@tlc.nyc.gov) or see WAV training for current options.

Other trips you may see

TLC's 2023 sheet also described the MTA's Access-A-Ride on-demand pilot, which drivers of WAVs and non-WAVs could take but were not required to accept. Pilot rules may have changed since 2023; see do I have to take Access-A-Ride taxi trips. Owner-side WAV money, such as hack-up grants and loans, is in the ATLAS loan program, do WAV owners pay TLC vehicle license fees and what is the $77 WAV credit. WAV taxis at the airport: LaGuardia taxi line dispatch. App WAV data: WAV trip requests on Uber and Lyft. More for drivers: WAV drivers, the WAV glossary entry and the passengers topic.