BY  Annie Karni    /
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS /
Wednesday, June 4, 2014, 2:30 AM

Late taxi driver training program, would cost drivers hundreds and shut down private hack schools.


The new schools — to be operated by CUNY — are planning to charge applicants $500 for a 40-hour driver training course, plus a $35 English proficiency test, a Taxi & Limousine Commission spokesman said..A Bloomberg-era plan to centralize training of taxi drivers is more than 18 months behind schedule, and could put private hack schools like Master Cabbie Taxi Academy run by director Terry Gelber out of business.
A Bloomberg-era plan to centralize training of taxi drivers is more than 18 months behind schedule — and would cost cabbies hundreds of dollars while putting private hack schools out of business.
The new schools — to be operated by CUNY — are planning to charge applicants $500 for a 40-hour driver training course, plus a $35 English proficiency test, a Taxi & Limousine Commission spokesman said.
That's a steep hike from the $150 students currently pay for a 24-hour course at Master Cabbie Taxi Academy in Long Island City, which will no longer be certified to provide the course work once the CUNY schools open.
The new schools — to be operated by CUNY — are planning to charge applicants $500 for a 40-hour driver training course, plus a $35 English proficiency test, a Taxi & Limousine Commission spokesman said.
Master Cabbie also charges an additional $60 for wheelchair accessible vehicle training.
"We're facing a great threat," said Master Cabbie director Terry Gelber, who has filed two lawsuits against the TLC. “The operational side of the TLC is depending on us, and the legal side is looking to quash our rights. We're still doing the heavy lifting, and the multi-borough school hasn't materialized.”
That's a steep hike from the $150 students currently pay for a 24-hour course at Master Cabbie Taxi Academy in Long Island City, which will no longer be certified to provide the course work once the CUNY schools open.
A public request for proposals issued by the city two years ago said the new taxi schools were to open Jan. 1, 2013. But the TLC said there is no longer any timetable.
“We are taking the time to get every detail right,” said TLC spokesman Allan Fromberg.
Master Cabbie director Terry Gelber has filed two lawsuits against the TLC.
Gelber’s suit charges the city with choosing a bidder with “no justification for its decision,” while more than doubling the cost of training for drivers.
The TLC would not comment on the pending litigation.
Gelber’s suit charges the city with choosing a bidder with “no justification for its decision,” while more than doubling the cost of training for drivers.
But it defended the price hike, arguing that the new courses would be taught by state-certified educators. “Applicants will have a superior experience once the CUNY taxi schools begin operation,” said Fromberg.
But fleet owners are still fuming that the city wants to close down the private schools that have been training their drivers for years.
TLC spokesman Allan Fromberg defended its price hike, arguing that the new courses would be taught by state-certified educators.
“There's no reason to put a guy like Terry out of business,” said fleet owner Guy Roberts. “His school does a good job.”