Buckle up and click it, because the integrated tiedown rear retractors and occupant restraints are the most talked-about features of the new PV5 E_WAV, which is looking to make its way into New York City’s taxi and rideshare business.
In early April, Able News was invited to an on-site briefing of the unveiling of a BraunAbility concept vehicle, in collaboration with KIA, that reimagines New York City taxis and rideshare transportation as an ADA-compliant electric, purpose-built vehicle designed around riders, wheelchair users, drivers, and the city, at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center’s annual New York Auto Show.
Seat and shoulder belts on the PV5 are synced to a monitor that alerts both passenger and driver when a wheelchair user is fully strapped in, supporting a quicker and more consistent securement process.
Designed with extra space in mind, an 88 x 34-inch lightweight wheelchair ramp that folds out from the rear of the vehicle’s 56-inch-tall roof makes for a spacious cabin. A green laser beam light that is also visible at night helps guide wheelchair drivers onto a straighter, more controlled path to the rear end of the vehicle, with ultrasonic sensors providing audible feedback for optimal positioning. The interior features a two-row, five-passenger layout with a second-row bench seat.
“ This solves two problems for the city: It increases accessibility and it’s electric. So, it’s a game changer for the city,” said BraunAbility Senior National Account Manager Jake Craig, who gave Able News a sneak peek inside the next potential taxi vehicle for New York City.
“I look forward to leading a TLC that proactively protects its drivers, improves safety and accessibility for passengers, and works in harmony with the larger transportation ecosystem to ensure that the mobility needs of all our communities are equitably met,” said the newly appointed Chair and Commissioner of the Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC) Midori Valdivia in a press release that confirmed her nomination in late March.
During her initial stint at TLC, Valdivia played a vital role in building a yellow taxi, wheelchair-accessible fleet alongside a formidable disability advocacy coalition to achieve 50% accessibility.
From its initial planning stage, BraunAbility, North America’s leading provider of mobility solutions for people who use wheelchairs, hopes to bring the Kia PV5’s dedicated EV platform into service, enabling conversion partners to deliver optimal quality while reducing costs.
The goal is to set the price equal to the current Toyota Sienna model’s $70,000 price, even with tariffs, according to BraunAbility.
Proposed legislation (Senate Bill S8113) aims to establish a state tax credit of $7,500 for new and $4,000 for used EVs.
The vehicle’s rear wheelchair ramp. Photo credit: Christopher Alvarez
A week before the Auto Show, members from the disabled community and different city agency departments were invited for a free testing of the vehicle. Building on “phenomenal” feedback gathered from wheelchair users and mobility advocates, Kia and BraunAbility reps understand that the car still needs some accommodations to be right for the market and are willing to implement real-world evaluation inputs, such as accessible car hearing loop systems via Bluetooth and braille, by 2028. Other feedback and concerns from the disabled community that they will need to address are the installations of flip-down jump seats in the back for non-wheelchair users and personal care assistants to ride with their patients who are critically in need and lowering the height of the cab’s seats for users who use walkers or crutches.
“ We’re trying to do everything in accessibility” to convince TLC, fleet operators and New York State to bring this all-electric, wheelchair-accessible vehicle (E_WAV) to one of the most significant taxi and rideshare markets in the world, Craig said.
TLC implemented the Green Rides Initiative in 2023, mandating that all high-volume For Hire Vehicles (FHV) trips be in either zero-emission electric vehicles (EVs) or WAVs by 2030. However, only 7% of the fleet are wheelchair accessible vehicles, creating disparities in waiting times and vehicle availability for New Yorkers with disabilities and leaving them out of the benefits of the transition to more efficient, safer, and less polluting transportation, according to a recent report from New York Lawyers for the Public Interest.
A current effort by State and local government officials are calling on Gov. Kathy Hochul to pass A.6635A / S.5552A, which would implement a surcharge as a means of financing and increasing the number of accessible vehicles in the Uber and Lyft fleets, while also mandating that all vehicle models for new taxis and FHVs be both accessible and zero-emissions.
That would mean taking over 103,000 vehicles currently in the system out of service and replacing them with cars accommodating this condition in four years, a move that people with disabilities are concerned about.
Jean Ryan, president of New York-based disability activist group Disabled In Action, said, “we care about the climate but removing and replacing all vehicles to be electric by that timeline, there’s no way,” she said. “The system is already discriminating and this will only limit our transport methods even more.”
Another community member asked to trial run the cab, loved this new model that demonstrates how accessibility and sustainability can coexist, moving electric transportation options forward, while keeping accessibility at the center of innovation, but also noted that fully electric vehicles are not safe, “it’s placing a disabled person tied-up in a blender without control,” Julia Yepez said.
“ If they’re gonna get to a hundred percent, that means a lot of vehicles have to be retired and then replaced,” Craig told Able News. “It’s a big challenge. That’s a lot of vehicles in four years. So I, I don’t know if it’s a realistic goal, but you have to have a goal, right?”
A TLC spokesperson told Able News in an emailed statement that it is too soon to speculate when the Kia EV_WAV model will be brought into market, but incoming leadership looks forward to examining universal design standards to increase accessible options.
When asked by City Council if she fully supported the mandate for all EVs to be accessible in mid-March, TLC Commissioner Valdivia said, “accessibility should be the center, but an EV vehicle that’s a wheelchair accessible vehicle in today’s market is very expensive. So, that’s going to be top of mind for me,” she said. “I do value the disability community and I mean it when I say I want everybody to be able to access our trips regardless of ability or zip code.”
Lastly, the PV5-KIA taxi car aims to reduce street hail discrimination through its built-in technology. The seat belt monitor that notifies the wheelchair is secured, helps tell accessible dispatchers when drivers are picking up wheelchair rides, allowing them to get paid correctly and decreasing the number of drivers who drive by.
“I learned about the high prices of wheelchair-accessible vehicles. So I know how that can be a burden to our small businesses, to drivers. And so maybe this is something where we really have to start thinking about: ‘What does the public, what does government need to do to think about closing this gap?’” Commissioner Valdivia said regarding the yellow cab fleet ignoring wheelchair-accessible street hails. “I’ve actually been really interested in improving vendor pools for transportation agencies, in particular the MTA. Service really matters. It’s not just about whether the cars are on the road.”