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The NY Taxi Workers Alliance says that its drivers will strike in September over GPS tracking systems will be coming to taxis starting in October. The city has said GPS systems will help passengers retrieve lost items (even if they don't have receipts or medallion numbers) because the Taxi and Limousine Commission will be able to find the taxi that dropped them off at a certain location.
But taxi drivers worry that GPS will be used to find traffic violations and say that GPS is an invasion of privacy. In fact, AM New York notes that the NYCTWA's statement offers this hack quote: "It beeps all day long if I don't log in, like an ankle bracelet they put on criminals." Well, it's questionable how well those ankle bracelets work, but point taken.
Taxi and Limousine Commissioner Matthew Daus told AMNY, "While most of the industry is honoring that promise – 73% have already chosen a system before the due date – I am puzzled that this group is not telling its members that drivers with the systems are making an average 18% more in tips!"
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Yowza, look at them cabbies in the photo.
What I wouldn't give to ride in their yellow... cabs... yeah...
Good. Strike away. Last time they had a strike, it was one of the all time best days in my life here. Traffic was light. Buses moved quicker. And I'm sure the environmental impact was good too.
Yeah, what's with the picture?
I think GPS is cool and all that, but what happened to the picture with the cleavage?
Go ahead and strike, won't bother me at all.
Let them strike then fire em' all.
PICTURE SWITCHER!
Yeah, I figured it was a boo-boo.
How about you actually force them to accept credit cards? The "machine is broken" excuse comes up every time I'm running low on cash.
so basically everyone knows that the Taxis speed, and stop at intersections and have traffic violations and are secretly sleeper cell jihadists. So if we put the GPS then they can't do that stuff anymore. BOO HOO!
Oops, now it's back. Is that Paris on the left?
Jen switched it back! Long live Jen!
I'm all for them striking. These guys bust their humps for little money as it is, having some blowhard in a suit miles away in an office somewhere dock them for picking up a fare "1 inch into the intersection" is absolute bullshit.
so the explanation is, as i learned from jen, in the quote in the entry, "It beeps all day long if I don't log in, like an ankle bracelet they put on criminals."
What's with the picture> 18% more tits!
what does Paris and Linsday have to do with Taxis?
Cabbies with GPS installed are making 18% more in tips? Really? Why?
No, I mean, seriously. Passengers aren't tipping differently because of the GPS per se - they probably don't even know it's there. Presumably they're tipping better because the cabbies are driving differently (i.e. better) in some way.
Wow, that's a LOOOOOOOONG way to go to justify using that picture. Has Jen been spending too much time with Dobkin?
yeah can you please change the picture? this isn't perez hilton.
Perhaps there is a picture of Lindsay Lohan because she should be taking cabs instead of driving herself around.
#20: Prude.
#18: They're tipping higher because this just isn't GPS - it's a touch screen system in the cab with a bunch of features including GPS, credit-card payments and other features. As people use credit cards and enter their tip separately, it makes it easier to leave the exact tip you want, instead of asking for strange amounts of change.
I'll betcha it's because Lindsay is wearing an ANKLE BRACLET.
Hence, the fragile connection to taxi drivers.
"Well, it's questionable how well those ankle bracelets work, but point taken."
what a great excuse 2 put up a picture of lindsay! seriously, y don't these rich girls hire someone 2 b their designated driver?
Thanks [23], that makes sense. I haven't been in a cab with that kind of setup, but I could see how it would lead to better tipping.
If I'm reading the AMNY article correctly to mean that the drivers union agreed to this a few years ago as a condition of the fare increase, then it's a dick move to start complaining about it now.
The girl on the left is clearly telling Lohan, "I hear that cabbies who use the GPS device make about 18% more in tips. And also, I'm a huge slut."
FUCK THE CAB DRIVERS. #1) this is part of the deal of the fare increase and #2) Taxis are a PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION SERVICE hence they have NO PRVACY WHILE DRIVING THEM.
Fuck them. If they don't like it they can go back to to whereever the hell it is they came from.
No sympathy here. NONE.
fuck em! they complain too much. not enough money, gas, traffic, air conditioning, heat, music, etc etc... how about cell phones. they're very tracable...
i think the tlc should be doing a little more to stop these cabbies from talking all day on their phones. I had a driver the other day refuse to stop talking on the phone. he was trailing a bus while traffic was passing us by... when he got off the phone finally, he realized he was working and starting driving like a damned maniac (i'm paying for maniac driving, not cell phone usage)...
gps will help these twits drive to other destinations with ease. i had a driver the other day who was using his own GPS and got me and my date from point A to B within brooklyn easily.
Do they know the new cabs that are outfitted with those news/weather/sports tv's have GPS in them too?
I have heard both sides of this straight from cabbies:
Cabbie #1 was furious (ripshit even) because he was getting tracked and it was an invasion of privacy. He told me he would strike.
Cabbie #2 said he couldn't care less. It's not his responsibility to maintain or install the devices. He claimed cabbie #1 wasn't reporting all of his fairs, and that this device would hurt his earnings via the IRS.
I rode in a cab with one of them, and it scared me. I turned it off.
Fares too. Crazy homonyms.
Spoke to a cabbie and his complaint was that they have to pay to maintain, insure and replace all these bells and whistles. I hate all these add-ons personally. I am looking forward to the day when I get in a cab and am forced to listen to ads (since the on/off switch will be non-existant or broken) and I will freak out.
PS- remember those "remember to buckle up" announcements- yeah the cabbies still have those machines (that someone paid for) in their cabs- just sitting there.
You know, I've been reading more articles about this, and as I do, it's so obvious, that Taxi drivers are just total SCUM.
taxi drivers are AL QAEDA!!!!!!
I drove a cab for a while back in the day.
I lasted 6 months. Most punishing physical and mental job I ever had. I try to tip these guys well since I know that they don't really make much money. (unless they own their own medallion, etc. and even then there's insurance, maintenance, etc. Its a not easy money...)
Regarding the GPS post -
I understand their indignace. But I have to say that this kind of thing is the wave of the future (cameras, general surveilance tech, etc) and its not just about the war on terror. Should we resist it? Should they? Is it "better service"? Or just more big brother? Difficult question.
Lots of drivers are ridiculously bad. But like I said, its a skill that's hard to develop given the punishing nature of the work. The other thing that occurs to me is that driving a cab is one of the few "independent" jobs for some folks in the city. And that cowboy independence is hard to give up.
How many of these cabbies would make it in London? Strict qualification tests must be passed there. NO SYMPATHY FOR NEW YORK CAB DRIVERS.
Cry me a river.
And in other corners of the globe (Quebec) cabbies have been fighting for years to get GPS units in their taxis:
Quebec Gives Green Light to GPS Navigation Units
the most eye opening thing about these comment sections is the anger that people spew on any side of an issue, get a grip people. driving a cab is a tuff job, i certainly don't want to do it. some of the drivers are jerks, some aren't. rules and controls need to be in place but then many rules go to far. lets try something wonderful and new in our general interaction with the world and stay with the particular issue and the merits or lack there of.
These jihadi cabbies are afraid that the authorities can track them when they meet up and plot against us.
Why are we even allowing evil muslims in this country? This is a Judeo-Christian society. If the muslims had their way, they would exterminate us all, the way the nazis tried to exterminate the Jews.
Muslims are evil, and mohammed (may his name be erased) was the devil incarnate.
i wish they would test cabbies better. they drive wild and they don't obey any laws!!! i dirve for a living these guys don't get into much accidents but they sure hell has cause them by forcing cars into other cars etc....
Well, It is an invasion of privacy . It's something that may be necessary, To bad the TLC's using this new Technology for all the wrong reasons . It's all about the money ! Posted by; "Still Not Amused"
This is just like the whole snit at Stuy Town with the electronic keys and the Chelsea Hotel with the management. The ones who are raising a ruckus are the ones who are shady and know this is will get them caught.
Let them strike. A small proportion of the city uses cabs anyway. They are so expensive they are essentially a luxury and you can get a car service for pretty much the same prices these days. No one would really care if cabbies went away.
edEX had a date??
No more privacy whatsoever. Improving the efficiency of the Stalker State.
Who could afford to take cabs nowadays?
I know I sure can't unless it was an emergency and those times were for trips to the emergency room.
I'm with the cabbies, I don't want more stupid tech in a cab. They're talking about booking hotels, boarding passes, who the F are these people who do this? OH, I know, people who THINK they are important.
I don't understand all of these people saying that no one takes cabs. Are you recluses? Do you not know anyone who goes out on weekends? Do you live in Connecticut or Staten Island or something? A lot of women that go out on the weekends take cabs to get home, especially if they live in Manhattan and it's only $5-10. How that's expensive is beyond me. It's less than most drinks. I can do without a drink if it means not having to test out my self defense training by taking the subway at 4 am.
Oh and car services?! No way. Every time I've taken one the driver said or did something creepy and disgusting. I don't mind yellow cabs - they're too busy talking on their cellphones to ask me what bra size I am.
I recently visted my sister in San Diego. The buses there have GPS tracking to make sure they stick to the schedule and don't stop at non-designated bus stops. I really don't see it as problematic.
The problem is that SELF-EMPLOYED medallion owners are forced to put something in their own business that they don't necessarily want, and are having to pay for it OUT OF POCKET. You people are vile, ignorant, racist yuppie scum.
Gothamist sucks.
No #[49] . The Gothamist Sucks when they employ those "Gestapo" type tactics when you post contain comments here . Posted by; "Still Not Amused"
Re comment #10: I couldn't agree with you more about the credit card scam. An honest driver once explained it to me: it's completely optional to have a credit card machine (and accompanying window stickers). The downside is they get hit with a commission and have to wait for their fare. The upside is that they get called to the front of the line at the airports when passengers request them. The crooks who pretend their machines are broken are trying to have the best of both options.
The opposition to this proposal by many cab drivers reminds me of their 1-day strike several years ago. One of the primary reasons was the increased enforcement of traffic laws--as if it was their constitutional right to violate any traffic laws they choose!
I think the city should consider a hybrid rate system for cabs, by combining a lower distance-based component of the fare, and a time-based component. This would significantly reduce the incentive for speeding, aggressive driving, etc. Currently, time is only a factor in stopped or very slow traffic.
A purely time-based system would encourage cab drivers to drive too slowly--also a bad idea. A hybrid fare structure--with a target total price that is equivalent to fares they receive under the current distance-based system--would be ideal.