Taxis For All Campaign

Activists wanted to be able to hail a taxi like other New Yorkers, but there were far too few accessible taxis. They formed a coalition called the “Taxis for All Campaign,” and asked the city council to pass a law to make more taxis accessible. In 2011, the city chose a new yellow taxi model from a design competition, but it was not the most accessible. Protestors held a roll-in at the taxi design expo.

A line of disability rights protesters in wheelchairs and scooters holding signs reading "NYC Violates Civil Rights – Justice Dep't" outside the NYC Taxi of Tomorrow expo tent.

Date: 2011

Image Description: A color photograph of roughly a dozen disability rights activists—most seated in manual wheelchairs, power wheelchairs, or mobility scooters—lined up along a sidewalk during a 2011 Taxis For All protest. Almost every protester holds an identical white placard with bold black text reading: “NYC VIOLATES CIVIL RIGHTS —JUSTICE DEP’T.” Behind them is a large black-and-yellow exhibition tent with a New York City skyline graphic and banner reading “TAXI OF TOMORROW,” inside which a bright yellow prototype Nissan NV200 taxi is on display.

Source: Disabled In Action (DIA) Collection

Two women in a wheelchair and a mobility scooter holding protest signs in front of a bright yellow "NYC Taxi" display vehicle with its sliding door open.

Date: 2011

Image Description: A color photograph taken at the 2011 “Taxi of Tomorrow” design expo showing two protesters positioned directly in front of a bright yellow display vehicle painted with “NYC TAXI” lettering and a black skyline graphic. On the left, an older woman in dark sunglasses sits on a mobility scooter holding a sign reading “NYC VIOLATES CIVIL RIGHTS —JUSTICE DEP’T”; in the center, a younger woman in a motorized wheelchair holds a protest sign in her lap right beside the taxi’s open sliding door, which reveals an inaccessible step-up entry and black passenger seat.

Source: Disabled In Action (DIA) Collection

Previous item

Next item