The New York City taxi union, Uber, a private‑equity firm, city lawmakers and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority have united to press for a city surcharge to be directed into a health fund for taxi drivers. Their demand follows four recent taxi driver fatalities that highlighted the lack of a dedicated health‑care safety net for drivers.
At present, New York City taxi drivers do not have a specific health‑coverage program. Advocates say the surcharge collected for the MTA could be repurposed to establish the proposed fund.