MassDevelopment has awarded 85 grants totaling $4,465,619 from the Taxi & Livery Business Support Grant Program to support 104 small businesses operating in the taxi and livery industries and two taxi and livery industry associations.
Several regional companies were among those receiving grant awards, including:
- Nicholas Transportation, New Bedford – $3,000
- Places To Go, LLC, New Bedford – $16,000
- Special Occasion Limousine & Coach Inc., Plymouth – $3,026
- Shore Transit Inc., Quincy – $16,800
- D and P Community Transportation Inc., Taunton – $15,220
- Mercedes Cab Company, Inc., Truro – $50,000
The first round of the Taxi & Livery Business Support Grant Program offers taxi and livery operators financial assistance to secure products or services that will aid in improving their competitiveness and enhancing safety capabilities in the rapidly evolving market of for-hire transportation. The grants will fund expenses including dispatch systems or other equipment, technology-enabled ride-hailing systems, safety enhancements, workforce training programs, and business consultant services, and will help industry associations fund aggregated improvements that will have a collective impact on the taxi and livery industries in Massachusetts. The Taxi & Livery Business Support Grant Program is funded by MassDevelopment’s allocation from the Commonwealth’s Transportation Infrastructure Enhancement Trust Fund.
“I’m pleased we can target this necessary support for the taxi and livery industries which make up an important component of the Commonwealth’s comprehensive transportation network,” said Housing and Economic Development Secretary Mike Kennealy. “These grants will support the competitiveness of the taxi and livery industries by helping them make critical adjustments to operate with the health and safety of both their workers and customers in mind.”
“MassDevelopment was tasked with using resources from the Commonwealth’s Transportation Infrastructure Enhancement Trust Fund to help taxi and livery companies improve their competitiveness, and today we’re pleased to meet that mission by awarding close to $4.5 million in grants to small businesses and industry associations,” said MassDevelopment President and CEO Lauren Liss. “These awards will assist taxi and livery operators by equipping them with the tools they need to advance their service, safety, and operational capabilities.”
The Commonwealth’s Transportation Infrastructure Enhancement Trust Fund was created by An Act Regulating Transportation Network Companies, which Governor Baker signed into law in August 2016 and is supported by a 20-cent assessment on every transportation network company ride in Massachusetts. One-quarter of the Fund is being designated to MassDevelopment to provide financial assistance to small businesses operating in the taxicab, livery, or hackney industries.
The remaining one-third of MassDevelopment’s allotment from the Transportation Infrastructure Enhancement Trust Fund is supporting the Taxi/Livery Partnership Grant Program, launched and administered by the Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC) in fall 2020, which is an operational subsidy program enabling municipalities, municipal entities, regional transit authorities, health and human service providers, and applicable nonprofits to expand transportation service capacity through contracts with licensed taxi or livery businesses.
