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. more ›

The "not my baby back" cabbie who made headlines last year for his questionable Good Samartian act has now officially been charged with first-degree attempted rape. Klever Saliema is accused of forcing himself on a female passenger who had passed out during her cab ride home from Astoria to Woodside in Queens. more ›

13-year-old twin brothers Oman and Kareem Elnahal are mourning the loss of their parents, Mohamed Elnahal and Mervat Saad Ibrahim, the livery cab driver and his wife who were killed in a hit-and-run crash yesterday on Staten Island. A friend and fellow cab driver told the SI Advance, "What are you going to do? You try and make a decent living, but sometimes life takes a different way." The driver of the black Mercedes that struck the couple, 24-year-old Theodore Ricks, has had his license revoked four times previously and suspended another 17. His passenger, 25-year-old William Knight (arrested on marijuana possession), revealed to police that they had sped through a red light going over 50mph before the crash occurred. The two were on their way to pick up some women before returning to the Bay Street Saloon, where they had been hanging out. The New York State Federation of Taxi Drivers has called for an increase in hit-and-run penalties from two to five years. more ›

A hit-and-run crash on Staten Island left two people dead and another in critical condition in the wee hours of Saturday morning. The 52-year-old male livery cab driver and a 50-year-old female passenger in the front seat were killed and 54-year-old female passenger in the backseat was taken to Richmond University Medical Center after the cab was struck by a black Mercedes at Victory Boulevard and Cebra Avenue around 1:30 a.m. Police eventually tracked down and arrested 24-year-old Theodore Ricks for leaving the scene and his passenger William Knight for marijuana possession. A witness told the Daily News, "One of them was yelling something like a maniac. They didn't even look at the car to see if the people were all right. They didn't think to call 911. They just began running." more ›

The City Council was expected to pass a bill of rights for passengers of livery cars today. The NY Post reported that "A placard outlining 11 rules will be installed in the back-seat area of some 40,000 for-hire cars, granting livery passengers similar rights to those already posted in yellow cabs." The rules will prohibit drivers from changing fares, but also allow passengers to be in control of noise/music, climate and cellphone use! Too bad nothing can be done about that cologne scent that permeates most cars. City Councilman Daniel Garodnick noted the importance of the bill, stating "when you get into one of these cars there is absolutely no indication of city regulation in any way and we thought that New Yorkers needed to know that this is regulated by the New York City Taxi Commission and there are rights with every trip." more ›