Community says ‘Ban the Vans’

Commuter vans are causing a public nuisance in some Queens neighborhoods, according to some outspoken critics of the alternate transportation service.
Residents from Community Board 5, which includes Maspeth, have complained about the commuter vans. They said the vans are noisy – honking horns to pick up passengers. They said the vans block driveways and double-park on narrow streets to pick up passengers. And they speed through the neighborhoods.
“I don’t understand why they’re shoving them down our throats,” said Rosemarie Daraio, president of the Communities of Maspeth and Elmhurst Together (COMET). “They’re causing more pollution and aggravation.”
The outrage has caused Councilmember Elizabeth Crowley to propose legislation that would require the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC) to make approval for commuter van routes transparent to community boards and notify the City Council of route approvals.
“They aren’t well regulated as of now,” said Kaitlin Moore, a Crowley spokesperson.
The TLC and Department of Transportation (DOT) accept applications from commuter van companies. The vans request specific routes and service areas that must be reviewed and approved by the TLC and DOT.
“We don’t tell them where they can and cannot operate within their particular service areas,” said Allan Fromberg, deputy commissioner of the TLC’s office of public affairs.
The only restriction is that the commuter vans cannot operate along bus routes in their service areas.
Daraio said the two city departments are issuing licenses, but are not regulating the commuter van companies that operate in the area.
Local commuter van companies could not be reached for comment.
Last year, the TLC began a pilot program that allowed commuter vans specific routes in communities where bus service was cut. It established routes in Kew Gardens, Little Neck, Bellerose and Glen Oaks. According to the TLC website, the Group Ride Vehicle pilot program now only services one area in Brooklyn.
In Maspeth and Middle Village, transportation isn’t much of an issue. With trains and buses nearby, the commuter vans aren’t necessary, Daraio said.
“It [commuter vans] shouldn’t be coming into communities that have adequate transportation,” she said. “We have plenty of buses.”