New York Court Approves NYC Taxi Expansion Plans

More cabs outside Manhattan and livery vehicles will be able to pick up street fares

New York State's highest court on Thursday unanimously reinstated the city's plan to expand street-hail taxi service beyond Manhattan, overturning a lower-court ruling that had stalled the action last year.

The 6-0 decision by the Court of Appeals allows the city to issue up to 18,000 "hail licenses" for livery cabs in northern Manhattan and the other boroughs, upholding a cornerstone of Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg's taxi policy that represents a broad culture shift in the way cabs operate in New York.

The ruling also clears the way for the city to generate as much as $1 billion by auctioning off 2,000 medallions for wheelchair-accessible yellow taxis; as originally passed, the measure required that 20 percent of new vehicles be wheelchair-accessible.