High-Tech Taxis: New Yorkers, Drivers Brace for Showdown Over New Systems
Travel Blog • Ben Keene • 07.27.07 | 10:44 AM ET
When they went green, nobody complained. But the announcement that New York City’s taxis are going high-tech hasn’t been met with quite the same enthusiasm. Especially among cabbies. In particular, the New York Taxi Workers Alliance, which represents several thousand drivers, objects to new rules mandating pricey equipment in each of the 13,000 vehicles in the city’s fleet. Passed by the Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC) following several public hearings this spring, the regulations require medallion taxicabs to install an entertainment-cum-global positioning system before January 2008.
Some riders may be glad to find a TV with sports, weather and news; a touch-screen display map of the five boroughs; and a credit/debit card reader in the back of their Crown Victoria. But some cabbies see the enhancements in a different light. For starters, the systems are expensive to install, and monthly vendor charges could amount to $800 less in their pockets every year. Then there’s the matter of card processing fees, an issue that hasn’t yet been resolved. So while the TLC touts the safety and convenience of the Passenger Information Monitor and the Automatic Vehicle Locator, Bhairavi Desai, executive director of the alliance, remains unconvinced. In fact, she’s threatening a strike in September.
“It’s 24-hour surveillance on workers in an industry where the workers are already so exploited,” she told the New York Times recently, referring to a proposed GPS system that can track any cab’s whereabouts. “It’s intrusive. It’s a complete invasion of privacy.”
Whatever the outcome, I think that after our experience with a transit strike in 2005, most New Yorkers would prefer to avoid another transportation-related showdown. Having already been in one of the newly equipped cars I can see the appeal of the technology, but anyone who’s ever wound up with a talkative driver knows that a couple of interesting stories can be a great way to pass the time, too.
Related on World Hum:
* The U.S. Taxicab Capital is…Bethel, Alaska?
* What Kind of Tip Do the Drivers Get for This?
* China to Female Taxi Drivers: No Chunky Earrings!
Photo by Seamus Murray, via Flickr (Creative Commons).
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