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The 40,000 livery cabs, black cars, and limos prowling NYC streets may soon get a bit less sketchy, as the TLC votes today on a new set of regulations to better identify drivers and their companies. The new rules [PDF] would require livery cars to display the name and phone number of the base company, as well as a city-approved window sticker, which limos and black cars would have to attach to their vehicles. And all drivers would be required to display their TLC-approved picture and license in the backseat, just like in taxis.
The new rules come in the wake of a recent incident in which a livery cab driver allegedly raped an inebriated female passenger. According to Fernando Mateo, a spokesman for the NYS Federation of Taxi Drivers, there are anywhere from 5,000 to 10,000 unauthorized drivers on the road every day. He tells the Post, "Illegal drivers are preying nightly, they hang by bars and lounges and wait for drunk people to come out and get into the first black car they see. Now, at least they have identifying marks to look for."
The regulations would also require for-hire vehicle [FHV] bases to quote passengers a firm price for a ride that will not change after it is quoted, mandate periodic inspections of FHVs at the TLC’s Safety & Emissions facility, and impose a penalty system that would give garages and drivers points when the vehicles don't meet inspection requirements or when drivers don't follow the law. While the taxi business has improved recently, the FHV business has suffered, and livery driver advocates hope the new regulations will weed out the illegal competition.
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Now can we develop a system where they don't have to honk at everyone walking down the street? Maybe a "for hire" light? Anything?
That's what I was going to say. How about a regulation that they can't honk at me everytime I'm trying to cross the street?
In black/poor/lower class areas they only honk at white people, especially white women, as if you need to be rescued out of the ghetto.
This is long overdue—having the driver's name and company info seems like the minimum of what's needed.
This is all well and good, but how will we know if the car's being driven by a teenager?
or even worse, a teenager from jersey.
Easy: It's the one that just hit you on the sidewalk.
What took them so long to come to this conclusion?
People demand all these regulations and oversight and then bitch when the fares go through the roof. You can't have it both ways. If you want a cab with accountability, take one. If you're feeling adventurous, hop in a gypsy cab and haggle for your fare.
You must be a man who never leaves Manhatten because you could die of old age before for a yellow cab to comes by in brooklyn on a saturday night these cars are sometimes are only option for a safe ride home and they should remain safe putting a sticker in a window wont or shouldn't make fares go uo
I wave them off, they stop anyway...
They yell "Where are you going?"
I say "...Do you take credit card?"
They say "...Where ARE YOU going?"
I say "...EXACTLY!"
Did you need an interpreter to conduct this conversation?
Perhaps. It's definitely the condensed version of the convo.
My point is, besides the obvious reasons, I don't take them because they don't take credit card but they never, ever GET that.
I am happy to see this - in other places where Taxi crime is rampant - Like Mexico City... this makes me feel better that these guys are being regulated. The Livery Cabs are a potential for Expess Kidnapping among other things. These guy are totally sketch.
About time.
Is their a way we can report unsafe drivers now that we know the name of the company & license plate???
This is everything that's wrong with this country.
The government nannies us and thinks we can't enter voluntary contracts anymore. It's absurd. This won't stop the dirtbags who rape women. All it does is create a monopoly for the existing TLC members. But government knows best, right?
Voluntary contracts people. If I, an adult, consent to contract a guy to drive me somewhere for $10, I should be able to. He should have to jump through hoops for it to be legal for him to drive me.
It's still public transportation on public roads. By definition it's in the public interest to regulate this.
It's public transportation?
lol wut? it's private transportation.
You can get a guy to drive you anywhere you want for whatever price you agree on. You just can't do it by hailing some car on a public street. It's a reasonable public interest to regulate the taxi business. Or maybe you'd prefer that just whoever wants to should drive around trying to pick up people off the street? Have you considered what that would actually be like?
The larger livery companies with dozens of drivers are ready to this NOW. They already know who is driving which car and have to be organized (can't afford to lose a fare). It's the fly by night operators I would worry about.
At what point is taking a livery cab ever worth it? Everytime they stop I'm quoted an estimate that's somewhere between $10 to almost double what it would cost me with a regular cab. Seriously, what's the trick here?
The trick is livery cabs operate where yellow medallion cabs don't.