Mayor Bloomberg announced that the city was prepared for the possible two-day taxi strike that some taxi driver groups have threatened for tomorrow morning, starting at 5AM. About 7,000 of the city's 44,000 taxi drivers (there are about 13,000 cabs in total) have reportedly promised to strike over new technology that the Taxi and Limousine Commission wants to install in all cabs. Some drivers' issues with the technology, which includes GPS tracking systems and credit card payment systems, are that (a) the GPS has no navigational capabilities and (b) when the technology breaks down, the taxi fare meter breaks down, too, costing them money. The city,though, views these measures as necessary customer service initiatives. more ›

City Council member Gale Brewer criticized the Taxi and Limousine Commission's disorganized lost and found process and urged the TLC to make some changes. Brewer said, "A New Yorker misfortunate enough to lose her property in a taxi is more likely to find overwhelmed hotlines and contradictory instructions than she is to recover her missing possession. The TLC procedure is rarely followed and is hopeless without a receipt. The TLC’s system does not work, if it could even be called a system." more ›

Come October, your experience in the backseat of a taxi could be a little more high-tech. The Taxi & Limousine Commission unanimously approved touch-screen "passenger information monitors" for all 13,000 yellow cabs on the streets. In addition to showing information, entertainment, and advertising, these monitors will show a map of the taxi's current location using GPS. The new systems would also accept credit card payments. Some cab drivers expressed their opposition to the systems, citing the large costs and privacy issues of the GPS systems. The systems (medalion owners have 4 to choose from) are supposed to have a maximum three-year cost of $7,400. more ›

As the City Council debated a bill that would open 10 taxi stands in the outer boroughs, the Taxi and Limousine Commissioner Matthew Daus said cabbies wouldn't be interested. Daus says that only 8% of cab rides outside of Manhattan are for non-airport destinations. In fact, his words were actually: "When there's an ocean of water to drink in Manhattan, why would they go for a puddle in the outer reaches of the city?" more ›

Usually when Gothamist is riding in a cab in New York, we're just happy if we can communicate, get to our destination in one piece, and that the driver doesn't get lost. All reasonable expectations, we think. The Taxi and Limousine Commission announced their cab driver of the year yesterday, who, by most standards seems to have done his job very well. Hossam Abdalla, an Egyptian cab driver, has been driving a taxi since 1999, returned $1 million worth of gold, diamonds, and titanium left in his cab last year. With all that, he could have joined the some of those other millionaires out there. more ›

Members of one of the city's largest taxi driver's union are saying they'll strike if the Taxi and Limousine Commission doesn't raise fares and if the TLC installs GPS into the cabs. The union says the fare hike is necessary because of rising gas prices (they'd like a surcharge if gas prices are above $2). Newsday notes that neither Mayor Bloomberg or Fernando Ferrer have weighed in on the matter, and perhaps that's because TLC Commissioner Matthew Daus hasn't yet decided whether or not to "support or reject" the surcharge. Daus did say the TLC would "move forward" with installing GPS into cabs, which some union members feel will violate their civil liberties; the TLC wants to use GPS to direct cab drivers to areas where there are lots of customers waiting for cabs (Gothamist thought that's what the CB radios were for!). When Gothamist ask a cab driver if the last round of surcharges were helpful, he was dismissive. He did, however, warn us that we should never cross the street immediately when the light turns red for traffic, because many cabs have terrible brakes and we might get hit. more ›

The Taxi and Limousine Commission is looking to redesign taxi cab partitions for the future. The NY Times notes that the partition was originally created to prevent crimes, like robberies and murder, but now things like legroom and giving riders a view of the city are making the TLC wonder if they need to shake things up. The article also waxes nostalgic about cabbie conversations, but lately, Gothamist would imagine most riders think they are going crazy because they think the driver is speaking to them, but the driver is actually on the phone. And believe us, Gothamist loves talking to cabbies, but there have been times when we've been told we were going to die very soon (we've never had the luck to meet the matchmaking cabbie!). Perhaps taxis need roof windows (not sunroofs, because then there would be ways for the fare to cheap out) to show off the city's vistas. Gothamist's favorite quote was from the former TLC Commissioner, Jack Lusk: "Those partitions create a plastic surgeon's dream." No kidding - we've been people whose faces have crashed into the partitions when cabs stop short and it's not pretty, so buckle your seatbelts, even if it doesn't help with bumpy rides. more ›

The Taxi and Limousine Commission has given the okay to introduce hybrid cars as new taxi cabs, starting as soon as this fall. The six new car models, two Hondas, two Toyotas, a Lexus (!), and a Ford, will be more expensive than the old stand-by of the Crown Victoria, but they will be more fuel efficient. Commissioner Matthew Daus says the Crown Vic gets 18 miles a gallon, while the hybrids get at least 29 miles. The NY Times has a graphic that breaks down the models, their cost, fuel efficiency and more. The TLC stalled on the issue of hybrid vehicles because legroom would be compromised; most Crown Vics have about 46 inches of legroom whereas the hybrids have around 36 inches. The NY Post notes that Commissioner Daus is 5'8". Gothamist is pretty excited about the new cabs, but we can wait for the technology to remove gross bus exhaust (especially on a hot summer day)! more ›

Within the Taxi and Limousine Commissions's ambitious plans to bring technology to cabs might be a future where you can use Metrocards to pay your taxi fare. Sorta way: The NY Post reports that Cubic, a California-based company whose smart card technology NYC uses for Metrocards (San Francisco, Chicago, and DC use their technology too), has been looking into the possibility of new payment options, along with other possible vendors. The idea of a stored value card is one that Gothamist loves, although the current Metrocard material is too flimsy to hold up to it. However, as the MTA has debated Smart Cards to little avail, we think it's just cute that the TLC is even considering it. The TLC Chairman Matthew Daus doesn't want people to get their hopes up, either, as he emphasizes it's more important to put credit and debit payments options in place first - though they will consider plans that might offer a swipe system. What Gothamist would like to do next is figure out how to split cabs with people when you're all vying for the same one on those rain-flooded-subway work mornings. more ›

Actually, no. more ›

Can you explain what my rights are as a taxi passenger regarding EZ-Pass? I travel weekly, and when returning to the city, I want to avoid potential cash lines at the tolls. Therefore, when I enter a cab at the airport, if I don't see an EZ-Pass attached to the windshield (which is often) I ask the driver if they have EZ-Pass. I get a lot of grumbling, some lies, and last night a cabbie at LGA went ballistic and started screaming at me for asking! I promptly exited the cab and went to another, but was unnerved by the situation. On a couple of other occasions, cabbies have told me they had EZ-Pass at the airport and then paid cash for the toll. Am I supposed to pay the EZ-pass toll amount or the cash amount? The TLC website drivers rules explicitly state that the driver must have an EZ-Pass and the EZ-Pass discounts are to be passed on to passengers. If you can shed light on any of these areas I would really appreciate it. My experiences have been so varied that I think I may need to carry my own EZ-Pass with me! more ›

Here's the 60 Minutes website and a Museum.tv profile of Wallace. Wallace has admitted to having depression and participated in the HBO documentary about it, Dead Blue. And Christopher Plummer's portrayal of Wallace in The Insider is only one of many fine performances in that film. more ›