Help for Taxi & Livery Operators
MassDevelopment Announces Funding to Help Taxi, Livery & Hackney Operators Improve Competitiveness & Enhance Safety Capabilities through the Taxi & Livery Business Support Grant Program
May 02, 2022
Kelsey Schiller, 617-694-9695
kschiller@massdevelopment.com
BOSTON – MassDevelopment today announced the availability of funding from the Taxi & Livery Business Support Grant Program, a program that offers taxi, livery, and hackney 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 program is funded by MassDevelopment’s allocation from the Commonwealth’s Transportation Infrastructure Enhancement Trust Fund.
“Taxi and livery companies represent an important piece of Massachusetts’s transportation ecosystem, and their drivers a significant part of our workforce,” said Housing and Economic Development Secretary Mike Kennealy, who serves as chair of MassDevelopment’s Board of Directors. “The Baker-Polito Administration is glad to see MassDevelopment continuing to direct financial support to help these industries improve operations and remain competitive.”
“We encourage small businesses in the taxi and livery industries as well as industry associations to apply now for funding from our Taxi & Livery Business Support Grant Program,” said MassDevelopment President and CEO Dan Rivera. “These resources are intended to give operators a leg up through new equipment and other support in order to stay competitive in our state.”
Through this program, small businesses in the taxi, livery, and hackney industries can apply for grants of up to $40,000 for expenses including dispatch systems, technology-enabled ride-hailing systems, safety enhancements for drivers and passengers, business consultant services, and other equipment. Taxi and livery industry associations can apply for grants of up to $250,000 for systems or other aggregated improvements, including marketing campaigns, which will have a collective impact on the industry in Massachusetts. The full Request for Proposals is available at massdevelopment.com/taxiliverysupport. Responses are due by June 10, 2022 at 5 p.m.
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.
Created in 2020, the Taxi & Livery Business Support Grant Program awarded 85 grants totaling $4,465,619 through the first round of the program to support 104 small businesses operating in the taxi and livery industries and two taxi and livery industry associations.
MassDevelopment, the state’s development finance agency and land bank, works with businesses, nonprofits, banks, and communities to stimulate economic growth across the Commonwealth. During FY2021, MassDevelopment financed or managed 416 projects generating investment of more than $1.86 billion in the Massachusetts economy. These projects are estimated to create or support 6,578 jobs and build or preserve 1,909 housing units.