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Early Addition
Whether you felt they were cool or an annoyance, the city decided to cancel the TV in city taxis program after barely a year. Initially compelled to install the TVs for their potential to broadcast public emergency messages, the Taxi & Limousine Commission says "New Yorkers didn't embrace these units like they could have. Our surveys indicated that those who experienced the units showed either indifference or negativity. We saw no compelling need to keep them around."
The companies that offer taxi TVs are planning to file a court injunction against the order for removal. I Love Taxi TV claims that there would be more informational programming but who really noticed any of it amidst the really aggressive, poorly produced ads? A spokesperson from another company, Interactive Taxi, says, "It would have shown New York was a wired city. To take these out of cabs will set us back by 50 years. I can't imagine removing them now. It's like, why?" This might be the essential problem with these taxi-tv companies: They think simply having a TV is being wired.
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I don't know, riding in a taxi to watch television might be cheaper than my cable bill these days.,
I don't know...the tv's in cabs made me a little bit queasy and the people talking on them were always WAY too enthusiastic. I always say that a little irony goes a long way.
Those TV's would be cool if you could play Crazy Taxi during the ride...
Right, if there was a gaming console or something, even WebTV, it'd be worthy. But the way it is now? Nope.
remember that hyper happy woman that took us on a trip around "Chelsea!"? Man, would i zone out one the way home at 1AM...
the thing i found most annoying was the way that the programming treated anyone riding in a cab as a tourist. there's more chance that local city-dwellers catch cabs, and puhleeze, we don't need to "discover chelsea".
My first experience with TVs in cabs was in Tokyo. But over there, the TVs were installed above the front window so the drivers could watch baseball while they worked. Didn't inspire confidence.
It could work well -- have an interactive guide to restaurants and bars, stores, attractions and such (some of the "interactive" taxis already have this, but it's not terribly comprehensive, and you have to wait for Windows to boot each time you get in), couple it with a GPS receiver and moving-map display, and you could really have something useful if the UI was right.
Yeah, I got into a cab with one of them and had to fill out a survey. I was in the "indifferent to negative" category. Crappy programming, crappy ads, yes you could turn it off, but it's still an annoyance. "Not wired"? Give me a freakin' break. They sucked, plain and simple.
MAN, do i remember that botox cheerleader in the first 'chelsea' spot.
it became nearly impossible to focus on doing bumps of coke in the backseat with that voice tolling the great shopping on 9th ave.