Gothamist: Hacks Don't Want To Be Tracked

New York Hack

Mon, 03 Oct 2005 12:59:46 -0500

Do you seriously believe that all cab drivers drive like maniacs? Granted, there are some who indeed do, but certainly not all. Not even half. There are, however, many other drivers on the streets of New York that drive far worse than any cab I've ever seen. Yes, it is true that getting a passenger to their destination as quickly as possible is important for us to make a decent living. But we know the city and we know the streets, and our reflexes are sharpened from spending 12 hours on the road each day. I avoid about five to ten accidents a shift by hitting my brakes or swerving in time to avoid a civilian (not cab) driver that makes an idiot move. And, sure, GPS would punish us if we drove like maniacs. But it would also punish us for making that illegal U-turn that the passenger begs us to make. Or for going 35 in a 30 MPH zone. Or for going 55 on the FDR.

tien

Mon, 03 Oct 2005 12:40:47 -0500

jim, the faster they drive, the more fares they pick up. the more fares they pick up, the more money they make.

Jim

Mon, 03 Oct 2005 11:48:08 -0500

Serious, if confrontational, question for a cab driver: how much if a necessity for the job is it to drive like a maniac? My first reaction to this was that if it makes cab drivers take it easy on the roads, then great. Of course, a few more traffic cops would also do the trick and probably be a lot cheaper.

New York Hack

Mon, 03 Oct 2005 11:16:23 -0500

The protest is at 2:30 p.m. today. You should go if you can! Personally, I don't really care about the fuel surcharge, mainly because I think it will make people take fewer cabs. I mean, come on, people are still complaining about the rate increase from May 2004, which was the first increase in EIGHT years! But the GPS thing is pure evil. Word at the garage is that, a year or two after they institute GPS, they will be adding bar codes to our hack licenses. Then we get to swipe in to work everyday and the government will be able to track our every move (not to mention our every dollar). Additionally, they've been talking about automatically-issued tickets for moving violations picked up by the system. If that happens, we will all lose our licenses in one single shift. Say no to GPS!