ATLAS: $30,000 Grant Toward an Accessible Taxi Loan

In short: ATLAS (Accessible Taxi Loan Assistance Service) is a TLC pilot that helps owners of a single medallion replace their taxi with a wheelchair-accessible Toyota Sienna. The Disability Opportunity Fund (a nonprofit lender) makes a low-interest loan, and the full $30,000 Taxi Improvement Fund benefit is applied to the purchase up front instead of being paid over four years. The pilot is funded at $8 million for 100 loans. TLC checks your eligibility; the Disability Opportunity Fund decides the loan. Don't buy a car first.

ATLAS launched on June 12, 2025. It exists because every new taxi hack-up must now be accessible, and accessible vehicles cost more. This guide covers who qualifies, what you get, how to apply and how it fits with TIF.

Who runs it

TLC's Industry Notice 25-02 names the partners: TLC, the Disability Opportunity Fund (DOF), Empire State Development (ESD), the New York Taxi Workers Alliance (NYTWA) and Hillside Toyota. Each has a separate job:

• TLC screens owners for eligibility only. "TLC is not involved in the loan approval process."
• DOF reviews and approves the loans and helps with the purchase.
• Hillside Toyota supplies the accessible Sienna taxis, which DOF secures by partnering directly with Toyota.

What you get

Example loan payments from TLC's page, on a $50,000 loan (DOF decides real terms):

Shorter is cheaper overall. Using TLC's own examples (our arithmetic): 36 payments of $1,432.13 total about $51,557, 60 payments of $898.43 about $53,906, and 84 payments of $683.44 about $57,409. The 7-year loan has the lowest monthly payment but costs roughly $5,850 more in total than the 3-year loan. Pick the payment you can make every month even in a slow season; a missed loan payment puts the car, and your ability to work, at risk.

Why the pilot exists

Since October 18, 2024, every yellow-taxi hack-up must be wheelchair accessible, under rules TLC adopted after a federal court order. TLC's 2025 Annual Report says that for drivers, "purchasing and operating a WAV comes with added costs for conversion, maintenance, and fuel", and describes ATLAS as one of the ways the agency is offsetting those costs for eligible owners. TLC limits the pilot to "small medallion owners" who own no more than one medallion (Industry Notice 25-02).

Questions to ask before you sign

• What is my exact rate, term and monthly payment, and is there any fee to close the loan?
• What happens if I miss a payment, or if the car is in the shop for weeks?
• What insurance does the lender require, and who holds the title until the loan is paid?
• Does any part of the TIF benefit still come to me after purchase?
• What happens to the loan if I sell the medallion?

Eligibility

From TLC's ATLAS page and Industry Notice 25-02, you must meet all of these:

1. You own one medallion only and are the only named individual, as sole proprietor or as the principal shareholder of the company that owns it.
2. Your vehicle retirement date is within 120 days of your TLC pre-screening appointment. Exception: if you already have a wheelchair-accessible vehicle and it has been more than four years since you got a hack-up payment, you may still take part.
3. You owe no money to TLC or other City agencies.
4. If you got a grant through the Medallion Relief Program, that loan must be current and not in default. See MRP explained.
5. You sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with TLC.

Owners of more than one medallion are not eligible, according to TLC's FAQ.

How to apply

Questions: Owner/Driver Resource Center, 718-391-5511 or odrc@tlc.nyc.gov. TLC also posted an ATLAS information session presentation on the same page.

Need more time on your current car?

If your retirement date is close and you own only one medallion, you may get a one-time hardship retirement extension of up to six months (rule 67-18(d); request in writing at least 30 days before the date), and TLC's ATLAS page mentions an additional 4-month ATLAS extension while your application is reviewed. The extension is not automatic: complete TLC's Extension Request Form. Your car must keep meeting safety and emissions rules during any extension.

How it stacks with the Taxi Improvement Fund

ATLAS doesn't add new grant money on top of TIF; it changes when and how you receive it. Normally TIF pays a $20,000 hack-up payment and then $625 a quarter up to $30,000 over four years (TIF grants). Under ATLAS, TLC describes the benefit as "the full $30,000 TIF benefit upfront" applied to the car (Dec 3, 2025 presentation). That lowers the amount you borrow from day one.

Two consequences to ask DOF and TLC about before you sign:

• Whether any TIF quarterly payments still apply to that vehicle. The benefit is capped at $30,000 per vehicle under the TIF rules, and ATLAS applies the full $30,000 at purchase.
• If you lease the medallion to a driver, rule 58-21 gives the driver a $77 a week credit while the owner receives TIF accessible payments. Ask how that applies when the benefit was paid up front.

Results so far

The two TLC documents count different things (owners approved vs vehicles delivered) at different dates, so they don't contradict each other. We found no newer public figure as of October 12, 2026.

Where drivers see it

If you drive for an ATLAS owner, you will be in an accessible Sienna. Accessible taxis must serve wheelchair passengers, and drivers can earn $10 for accessible trips requested by phone through an e-hail app's call center. See accessible dispatch for taxi drivers and the WAV drivers page. The medallion term is in the glossary: accessible medallion.

Related

Buying a medallion · DOV lease-to-own · TIF surcharge summons 58-16(f)(3) (owing TLC money, such as unpaid surcharge, blocks ATLAS eligibility) · medallions hub.