This year Mayor Bloomberg has spent much time trying to make it easier to get a cab to take you out of Manhattan (or find a cab in the outer boroughs) but maybe first he ought to make it easier to catch a cab while black? Because if black City Councilman James Sanders's recent experiences are any indication those scare videos the TLC made in March ain't doing the trick. "It is horrible," Bloomberg said on his WOR radio show this morning. more ›

Taking a cue from Flatbush Avenue’s Dollar Vans, some yellow cabs will begin running on routes with predetermined stops where passengers can get on and off. Best of all, the credit card swipe for these “group rides” will be significantly less costly than in a single-payer situation. In Midtown Manhattan the group rides will be available during the morning rush hour from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. "The concept really boils down to: take less money out of passengers’ pockets, put more money in drivers’ pockets, put less pollution in the air, and give passengers more transportation options," said outgoing Taxi and Limousine Commission chief Matt Daus. more ›

MOVIE: Guess it's only fitting that Trey Parker and Matt Stone's Team America play somewhere tonight. This Bushwick theater is new and on an outdoor rooftop -- so check the sky before you head out. If it's all clear, get ready for food from their grill, drinks from their bar and the wind in your hair. more ›

Gothamist has a pretty standard taxi routine: get in the cab, say our destination, repeat our destination, repeat our destination a third time (we sometimes speakabitquickly), roll down the windows because the AC is off or sucks, wait, pay and tip the driver, get out. Occasionally we'll get into a conversation with the driver of the standard "where are you from" or "how's traffic" variety but most often we get too absorbed in looking out the window. Which is to say we haven't ever really had any problems with our cabbies, though admittedly we don't taxi that often. But many people have had problems, and now one company is trying to do something about it. Yellow Cab SLSJet, which has 700 cabbies in its employ, is starting to institute a charm school for its drivers. Over the next few months drivers will learn "cabby etiquette" (i.e. stay calm, don't talk politics, smile) and "grooming" (i.e. not so much cologne, stay clean, smile). Cabbies will also be told to lay off the cellphones and to tone down their cultural music. more ›