‘United Front’: TRSA Eyes Delivery Costs in New York

TRSA Vice President of Government Relations Kevin Schwalb recently held a conference call with several TRSA members and a consulting group based in New York to discuss opportunities for the association to advocate on behalf of linen, uniform and facility services operators regarding congestion pricing for companies making deliveries into New York City.

Paul Thomas and Harry Giannoulis of the Parkside Group, a New York-based consulting firm, joined Schwalb on the call to discuss the issue. The Parkside Group previously worked with TRSA when the association and its members successfully met with several New York City Council members while the Clean Act was under consideration.

In a nutshell, there are two groups pushing congestion-pricing plans for trucks to make deliveries into New York City. One is called Move New York, which is a coalition of business, civic and labor groups. The other is called Fix New York, a blue-ribbon commission put together by Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D).

“The Move New York plan is extremely aggressive,” Giannoulis said. “It involves increased tolls, very aggressive congestion pricing and limits on delivery times. The Cuomo blue-ribbon commission came out with something that is a little bit less aggressive, but still aggressive. Their plan is talking about $12 per trip for cars, $5 for taxis going into the zones and $25 for trucks per trip into the city. They are talking about switching around some of the tolls, making them a little bit more equal and then having congestion pricing affecting 60th Street and below. They’re also talking about a tiered system where in the next year, taxis and Uber drivers get hit with the fees. Then, in 2019 and 2020, trucks begin to get hit with the fees. They’re also proposing limits on when deliveries can occur.”

In order to get this legislation passed, both houses of the New York state legislature would have to agree on a bill, which Gov. Cuomo would then sign into law, Giannoulis said.

Schwalb summed up the potential impact on the linen, uniform and facility services industry, before letting TRSA operator members ask Giannoulis and Thomas questions about the issue. “The concern is the direct and immediate costs of delivering,” Schwalb said. “Every truck that runs in the city, you’re adding $25 per trip. It’s an added tax. Between that and the delivery times, you can only deliver at certain times when your clients are open. I doubt they’re going to want to get somebody to receive deliveries at midnight if they close a lot earlier. That’s going to create some headaches for you as a business owner. Another aspect that we’re concerned about is if this moves forward and they find a decent income stream, it’s going to go other places. We want to stop this now. We want to get involved. We want to show a united front. We want to show a strong force so we can get ahead of this.”

Schwalb closed the call by informing attendees that TRSA will be setting up several meetings on this issue in the near future, including a visit to the New York state capitol in Albany to talk to key legislators about this issue and discuss in detail its effects on the industry. Stay tuned to Textile Services Weekly for more information on this issue and upcoming meetings.

For more information, contact Schwalb at kschwalb@trsa.org.