A taxi fare hike of 16 to 20 percent is looking increasingly likely. Monday's surprise announcement that the TLC would be looking into a hike, just 76 days after they said they wouldn't, not only seems to have the full support of the Mayor, but it also has the backing of TLC chair David Yassky.
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Results tagged “taxi”
TLC Chairman Says Fare Hike Is Totes Aprops
You Might Pay 20% More For A Cab Ride Very Soon
Remember when TLC Commissioner David Yassky told us in March that a fare increase was "not on our agenda?" What a difference 76 days makes, because today Yassky indicated that fares may go up by as much as 16% to 20% this summer. "The fare hasn't changed since 2006, so it is reasonable for taxi drivers and fleet owners to put this on the table,” he tells the Daily News. Woah, if Yassky keeps it up he might just earn himself the title of Deputy Commissioner of Public Information for the NYPD.
People Like Puke Green Cabs...Especially Those Who Won't Have To Look At Them
Last month, the city unveiled the new Boro Taxis in a low-key ceremony—Bloomberg took pains to describe their color as apple green, NOT "something resembling the putrid product famously coughed up by Linda Blair in The Exorcist," seriously, why do you guys keep bringing that up? It turns out that most people are satisfied with the color—especially people in Manhattan, who won't have to see their streets awash in puke-colored cabs along with all the puke-stained sidewalks.
Video: Jon Hamm Freestyles Taxi Theme Song With Reggie Watts
Have you ever wanted to hear Jon Hamm freestyle as one-man-band Reggie Watts worked his magic alongside him? Have you ever hoped that when he did this his rhymes would be loosely based on the 1970/80s sitcom Taxi? Dreams come true, people.
Man Struck, Killed By Taxi As He Was Crossing 6th Ave
A man was struck and killed by a taxi early this morning as he attempted to cross Sixth Avenue at Watts Street. According to police, 29-year-old Dan Fellegara was "attempting to evade oncoming traffic" at around 4:30 a.m. when he fell down in the street and was "inadvertently struck" by a yellow cab. Fellegara, a Baltimore native, was transported to New York Downtown Hospital where he was pronounced dead, and the cab driver remained at the scene. No criminality is suspected, and the investigation is ongoing.
Legal Street Hail Livery Cabs Get Green Light From TLC
Though taxi medallion owners are going to fight it in court until the last second, Bloomberg's dream of a legal street hail livery cabs is now much, much closer to reality. In a 7-2 vote the Taxi and Limousine Commission approved the plan. Not that the vote was an easy one.
Photo: Insane Midtown Taxi-Tractor Trailer Crash
So, somehow, when a taxi cab collided with a tractor-trailer at Lexington and 48th Street and then crashed into a hotel, the three people involved were not seriously injured. The incident occurred around 2 a.m. and photos show the wrecked cab and a jackknifed tractor-trailer. One witness said, "It sounded like a bomb. I came up to see what happened and the passenger got out of the taxi and was wandering around in a daze. He didn't know what happened. He said, ‘All I remember is we were heading south on Lexington.'" Taxi passengers, PLEASE BUCKLE UP.
Ex-Governor Paterson Happily Debuts Taxi TV For The Blind
Former NY Governor David Paterson summed up today's announcement of new "audible touch screen taxi technology" by Councilman James Vacca and the taxi TV company Creative Mobile Technologies (CMT) this morning on the steps of City Hall quite nicely: "This is the first time I'll be able to use a credit card by myself in a taxi cab—and I was the Governor of New York!" Slowly and steadily, New York's fleet of cabs are being made accessible. Though handicap access is still tricky, this news should at least make the lives of 362,000 blind or visually-impaired New Yorkers just a little bit easier.
Deaf Parents Watch As Deaf Boy Is Hit By Cab
A deaf 5-year-old boy visiting NYC was hit by a cab in Brooklyn Saturday afternoon—and it happened right in front of his also deaf parents. Timothy Keith and his parents, who were visiting from DC, were going to see the Brooklyn Bridge when Timothy darted between parked cars onto Hicks Street in Cobble Hill, and a yellow SUV cab hit him. “I was with my son. The(n) he walk to road. I say NO to him,” wrote mother Eva Keith in an interview with the Daily News. “I saw taxi yellow so fast. Driver hit my son but my son can’t hear.”
Only You Can Help Prevent Airport Taxi Scammers
After a long, unpleasant flight you've landed at one of our local airports and just want to get home. You really aren't feeling our airports "mass transit" options and the line for cabs looks long. Still! Please, please, please, don't just take a ride from one of the hustlers calling out to you. Because you will get ripped off. Plus, the Port Authority would much rather arrest those guys. And then arrest them again and again and again.
Handicap-Handicapped Taxi Of Tomorrow Meets The Press
Last night, Nissan and the city held a press conference to show off a model of the new Nissan NV200, A.K.A. The Taxi of Tomorrow. Wine was served, fancy snacks were passed, Nissan execs were schmoozing, Mayor Bloomberg talked and crowds of photographers rushed the single minivan as if it were Britney Spears shaving her head again. Still, despite being mentioned more than once, one group was physically absent from the affair: the handicapped. Though the space where the event was held has wheelchair access, the entrance used was up a steep flight of steps.
City's Oldest Cabbie At 92 May Also Be Its Slowest
Yes, the city's oldest cabbie—92-year-old Johnnie "Spider" Footman—must have an "encyclopedic" knowledge of the city given he's been picking up fares since 1945. But will he get us the hell off the BQE in time to make our flight? "He goes about 12 miles per hour," the co-owner of Footman's depot tells the Post. "I drive more slowly now," Footman says. "I don't pass anybody, hardly."
Man Insists On Paying Cab Fare With Credit Card, Cabbie Sprays Him With Chemicals
In the annals of crazy cabbie credit card horror stories, this one stands out from the pack. An unidentified Hoboken man says a New York cab driver sprayed him in the face with an unknown chemical substance when he tried to pay with a credit card. The victim told police he hailed the cab early Sunday morning after a work function in NYC Saturday night. The Star-Ledger reports that the man told the driver he had no cash, only a credit card, and the driver said it wouldn't be a problem.
Adorable Video: Little Kid Loves NYC Taxi Driver
In today's edition of the cutest taxi-cab confessions, three-year-old Kellen takes his first New York City cab ride and is moonstruck by the motorist. Watch as Kellen adorably tells his driver he loves him but regretfully cannot help man the rest of the shift because of his duty to his family. Keep the love coming, Kellen, NYC could use a for more kind hearts. But next ride, wear a seatbelt!
More Handicap-Accessible Cabs Hit The Streets
There is still an appallingly limited number of handicap-accessible taxi cabs driving around New York City but at least it is getting a teeny, tiny bit better? To that end, the TLC has again approved Viewpoint Mobility's vehicle conversions which make cab models, in this case the Toyota Sienna, rear-accessible to wheelchairs. Some of them conversions have already hit the streets!
Cab Driver Etiquette: When The Music Is TOO LOUD
Taxi TV is ear-shattering enough but at least there's an easily accessible "off" button. Sometimes, however, your driver may provide the entertainment. As part of the Taxicab Rider Bill of Rights, passengers have a right to control the volume of music—it states you have the right to "a noise free trip: no horn honking or radio." But, you know, it happens... and sometimes (like when alcohol is involved, mostly) it can even be sort of fun to whip through the city streets with a stranger behind the wheel while the music is turned up to 11. But not all the time. One man took this below video from the back seat of a cab this week to document the volume of the music the cab driver was playing—turns out you can go past 11 on the volume control!
Please Buckle Up: Taxi Crashes Into Park Avenue Building
Reminder to anyone who steps into a cab: PLEASE BUCKLE UP. If a cab suddenly stops and/or gets in an accident and you're not buckled it, you may suffer serious injuries when you slam into the hard plastic partitions. For instance, earlier today, a cab crashed into a doctor's office at Park Avenue and East 67th Street. Stacey Stowe Tweeted, "Taxi smashes 650 Park Ave just before 11am today. Female passenger, bleeding with head wound but alert. No seatbelt."
Photos: Taxi Jumps Curb In Midtown, Injures Two Pedestrians
A yellow cab jumped a curb at Third Avenue and 43rd Street this afternoon, striking two pedestrians and crashing into the facade of a Duane Reade. An FDNY spokesman tells us that the incident occurred around 1:13 p.m., and that two pedestrians were rushed to Bellevue with serious but not life-threatening injuries, while the driver of the cab was treated at the scene. The NYPD's press office said no criminality is suspected at this time, but that the incident is still under investigation.
Taxis Are Seriously Dangerous, So Buckle Up
It never occurred to us to buckle up in a cab because they never, ever get into accidents and nothing kills the buzz of having a personal chauffeur like a seatbelt. But the Daily News reminds us today that people often suffer serious injuries when their faces slam into the hard plastic partitions during an accident or when the cabbie has to make a sudden stop. "This is a New York City tragedy and public health issue that has not changed in almost two decades," Dr. Lewis Goldfrank, a chairman of emergency medicine at Bellevue & NYU Langone said. Another ER doctor agrees. "Ask any ER doc in Manhattan, and they will tell you they see it very frequently. People have a false sense of security in the backseat of a cab."
Allegedly Stabby Banker Pleads Not Guilty To Hate Crime
The Morgan Stanley executive charged with assault, theft of services and second-degree intimidation based on race or bigotry after allegedly stabbing a cab driver in a dispute over a fare pleaded not guilty to hate crime charges today. William Bryan Jennings, who has been placed on leave from his $2 million-a-year job as co-head of fixed income and capital markets at Morgan Stanley, left Stamford Superior Court without commenting to reporters. But the Post was there to document the lines on his face, saying he was "sporting a misplaced smirk on his mug throughout this morning’s appearance."
Good News Taxi Riders! No Fare Hikes Planned For This Year
The City Council's Transportation Committee meeting may have had grim news for straphangers yesterday, but it did have some good news for taxi riders. Though the MTA will most likely have fare hikes coming in 2013 and 2015, the TLC most likely won't be increasing the cost of a cab ride. Not in the next year at least.
Allegedly Stabby Banker Insists He Was Abducted By Cabbie
This week, an executive with Morgan Stanley was charged with assault, theft of services and second-degree intimidation based on race or bigotry after allegedly stabbing a cab driver in a dispute over a fare. Yesterday, cab driver Mohammed Ammar described the incident to the Post, claiming that William Bryan Jennings screamed, threatened and stabbed him after he refused to pay the full fare. Today, Jennings lawyer talked to the Post to once again insist that his client had been abducted by Ammar. But it was also revealed that Jennings flew to Florida the day after the incident for a well-timed vacation.
Cabbie Claims Stabby Banker Screamed: "I’m Going To Kill You”
This week, an executive with Morgan Stanley was charged with assault, theft of services and second-degree intimidation based on race or bigotry after allegedly stabbing a cab driver in a dispute of a fare. Cab driver Mohamed Ammar described the incident in detail to the Post, telling them that William Bryan Jennings, Morgan Stanley's co-head of North American fixed-income capital markets, screamed and threatened him when he refused to pay the full fare: "You should go back to your own f--king country...I’m gonna kill you, motherf--ker!”
Apple In The Big Apple: Taxi iPad Pilot Program Gets Greenlight
New York City's taxis are changing left and right! Not only are the lights atop cabs getting simplified but, as we predicted, the TLC has approved a pilot program to replace some of those annoying Taxi TVs with iPads equipped with credit card readers from Square (a San Francisco based company from one of the guys behind Twitter). But will they have Angry Birds pre-installed?
"Confusing" Taxi Lights Are Being Kicked To The Curb
Well, the lights atop taxis were fun while they lasted. But, as threatened, they are soon to be a thing of the past. Starting in the fall taxi medallion owners will start taking down the old lights and installing less "confusing" lights with the binary option of being on or off duty.
Video: "Occupy Baby" Born In Back Of Taxi!
Oh sure, most moms-to-be would love to rent out entire hospital floors to deliver their precious bundles of joy, but contracting mothers can't be choosers: a Brooklyn activist and Occupy Wall Street participant gave birth to a healthy baby girl in the back of a cab on Tuesday in Greenpoint. And the baby's father was there to document the whole thing—watch the SFW footage below!
Forget Taxi TVs, Taxi iPads Are (Probably) Coming Soon
The days of the Taxi TV, like the days of the "buckle up" celebrity announcements before it (Eartha Kitt, RIP), may be numbered. The Taxi and Limousine Commission is getting ready to vote on a pilot program to replace 50 taxi boob tubes with iPads equipped with credit card software from Square, a San Francisco company that just happens to share a co-founder with Twitter. Which is to say, don't be shocked when this program gets a green light on March 1. And don't be upset!
Taxi & Car Collide, Injure Pedestrian On Upper West Side
At around 12:15 p.m. this afternoon, a taxi and another car were involved in an accident at 97th Street and Broadway. According to the FDNY, a pedestrian was struck by a vehicle and sustained head injuries. The identity of the victim is unknown, but they've been transported to St. Luke's Hospital. No injuries to the passengers in the vehicles were reported, and the NYPD couldn't tell us whether any criminality is suspected.
Receipt Advertising Coming Soon To A Cab Near You
Taxi drivers bothered by racy ads on top of their rides are about to have another thing to worry about. The Taxi and Limousine Commission today votes on whether or not advertisements should be allowed on taxi receipts [PDF]. We have a very strong feeling it'll pass.
Fare-Gouging Taxi Tip Default Settings Die This Week!
Good news for drunk taxi passengers (or just riders with bad math skills) is less good for taxi drivers. After this week the auto-suggested tips for rides under $15 in taxi cabs with VeriFone Taxi TVs will stop being $2, $3 and $4 options and instead resort to the standard 20, 25 and 30 percent defaults already available in the Creative Mobile Technologies Taxi TVs. Hurrah!
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