Inside the Dollar Van Wars

The "fares are low." How low exactly? The reporter should work the math backwards: How much is the average van in base cost? Maintenance? Gas? Insurance (if applicable)? How many passengers per hour? Somewhere in the mix here is the reality between the practical necessities of our society and why major systems don't come close to price efficiency. Will the driverless automated über with the robot DJ really be able to replace this? Will there be a job to get to? Or will the Rombot replace the workers on their way into their "menial jobs?" in a luxury condo tower filled with empty mega apartments comprised of money laundry purchases? How much of this is "Plus ca change. . . c'est la meme chose?" and how much is the future? The city's taxi business was challenged during Prohibition by Larry Fay and his fleet of toughs backed by the mob and supplemented by booze distribution in the 20s. How many of theses shuttles are displacing the Gypsies and the Greens? What about the Chinese Megabuses? We live in a melange of system and disfunction - which is why stories like this are fascinating, but also with more in depth reporting and analysis - more than 'local color,' There is a real story here consisting of how we really live v. what the record will show.

Not so sure about the "around 1980" origin date. My Mom was taking a Dollar Van in Bay Ridge to the 77th Street R Train stop in at least the early 1970's. It may not have been called a "Dollar Van" back then, it was just a retired guy named Louie, but it was a dollar, and it was a van.

On Flatbush Avenue, the ones with Pennsylvania license plates seem to be especially reckless in their driving.

I love these comments about how reckless and dangerous and awful these drivers are: Given how atrocious the majority of drivers are in New York, it feels more than a little bit silly to pick these drivers out for extra criticism and/or condemnation. Anyone who rides a bicycle often—as I do nearly every day—will know what I mean: honking, riding up on you, flashing lights, just generally being menacing. And that goes for private cars, as well as taxis, delivery vans, and (perhaps most notoriously) the private carters who handle commercial garbage collection in the city overnight every night. I'm aware, though, that commercial vehicles have tight timetables to keep to or else they'll lose out on crucial paycheck money and/or rest time—so, if anything, they have more of an excuse to act like that, and yet it tends to be the people in their garishly expensive BMWs, etc., who behave the worst. The only people who I don't think have ever harassed me are city bus drivers. Look, I'm a New Yorker by choice, and I love this city with all my heart and soul; but the culture of aggressive driving here is as bad as I've seen anywhere, and I've lived in several other cities in other regions of the country. There's no changing it now—it seems imbricated with the frantic pace of the city, which I otherwise love dearly and wouldn't want to change—but to blame it on these dollar van drivers seems a bit rich to me.

A few years ago, I took one of these by accident late at night when mistaking it for an MTA bus. I didn't have any cash on me, but the driver still dropped me off pretty much next to my apartment because he didn't want to force me to wait outside when it was so late. This article really makes me miss Flatbush

Great story, please follow up! The (licensed and inspected) vans and buses serve an important function for those too far from any reasonable subway service and not able or willing to pay for car service, including Uber, Lyft & Co. I really want to hear what the city, specifically the TLC, are and will be doing to help those who are trying to operate properly licensed,equipped and inspected services, while also cracking down on illegal vans. This is a real opportunity to help, not harass, those operators and drivers who are trying to make it in a "legit" way, while keeping illegal operators off the street. Among the things I would love to read more about are: safety records of such buses and vans, are the seats equipped with safety belts, why are there (apparently) no such lines in or to and from the Bronx.. Well, plenty for follow-up stories. Lastly, there might be an opportunity to incentivize operators to use low- or no emission vehicles, such as vans running on CNG or otherwise fulfilling PZEV limits, or , maybe, a pilot program studying feasibility of all-electric vans or small buses. Time to be creative!

for one or two bucks? It clearly serves a need for those far from the train stations and subways of NYC and NJ but it is lonnnnng commute thru crazy dense traffic, especially from NJ. Personally I would walk to the nearest station even if it is a mile away -- ultimately faster on a train. Speaking from experience in both NYC and NJ. If you can afford the train tickets these vans are not compelling.

This entrepreneurial spirit, if properly regulated, can provide a much needed service for commuters, and jobs for drivers. The drivers with illegal vans tend to be aggressive, rude and oblivious to traffic rules. On any given Monday to Friday, between 4:00 pm and 7:00 pm, illegal commuter vans block the bus stops on Archer Avenue between 153rd Street and Parsons (Jamaica Center) while trying to get passengers. These illegal drivers create a dangerous situation as City buses cannot get into the bust stop and have to stop in the street, and passengers have to walk between illegal vans parked in the bus stop, in order to board the City buses. This might be an interesting follow-up story.

These vans are rarely properly licensed, i.e. most have personal and not commercial plates with limited insurance in the event of an accident. They also block repeatedly - at the height of rush hour - key intersections of downtown Brooklyn, causing backups. They need to be regulated and have designated NYC approved drop/pick up locations.

Ahh, the dollar van where I ( a 15 yr old Jewish kid) would after class ended at Midwood HS hop on at Flatbush and Nostrand to my after school job at V&S Variety on church and Flatbush, I absorbed so much from my fellow riders, the varied accents of the West Indies would float around me along with the slang that was different for every island, along with the coco bread and ginger beer, grocery bags filled with freshly cut sugar cane or oxtails, What I miss the most would be my semi regular driver William who would shout out (as we passed Beverly Road) “ errgh white boy get up with ya we’re coming unto church Ave” Another great thread from a The richly woven tapestry that is NYC

these unsafe vehicles need to be removed from the roads. Drivers cut you off,weave in and out constantly and clog up Flatbush Ave which is already a mess with too many trucks and extremely bad road surface. MTA needs to step it up ,stat so these ancient mariners can become extinct!

I know they're cheap, but the drivers drive recklessly and dangerously. Many-a-morning they've cut me off, missed near accidents, run red lights, etc. I'm amazed there aren't daily accidents because of them.