In the lead-up to Thursday’s New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission meeting, a plan to allow for on-street hails (just like with yellow cabs) of livery car drivers to carry guns has been proposed.
Livery Base Owners has asked the Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC) to let drivers bring their licensed guns to work with them to protect themselves from would-be robbers and violent passengers.
“We are always concerned about the safety and security of drivers in our industry,” the group’s spokeswoman, Cira Angeles, said.
The TLC is expected to vote on the rules Thursday, but officials will likely shoot down the idea of drivers stashing their pieces in their glove compartments.
“It is important for public safety and perception to disallow any weapons in the vehicle,” the TLC wrote in response to the suggestion.
But the Livery Base Owners represent 128 bases that dispatch about 9,700 livery cars.
Yellow taxi and livery cab advocates say a hack’s job is one of the most dangerous in the city, with more than 400 robbed in 2010.
That year, a Queens hack was shot dead over a $12 fare. In 2011, a livery driver was fatally shot in the head during a $71 robbery in the Bronx.
