Anyone who has ever stood on a cold New York City street corner without a cab in sight has wished for some magic way to summon up a taxi with the push of a button. But now that a new smartphone app promises to make this dream a possibility, the Big Apple may also need to re-visit some of its strict pick-up policies. [More]
cabs
NYC Taxis To Finally Clear Up The Whole On/Off Duty Thing
By 2.29.12
For years, people trying to hail a cab in New York City have been confused by trying to decode the many permutations of taxis’ “Off Duty” lights. If those words are illuminated, the cab may still be available, but only if the medallion number light is also on — and if you happen to be heading in the direction the cab is driving. It’s confusing enough to NYC residents, and downright confounding to most visitors. But that’s all about to be cleared up. [More]
Minneapolis Looking To Stop Cabbies From Using Cell Phones
By 11.30.11
Most of us who’ve lived in major city for long enough have had those experiences of sitting in the backseat of a cab, irritated and possibly concerned by the driver’s incessant yammering on his/her phone. Wouldn’t it be nice if such distracting chit-chat was illegal? [More]
UK City Forcing Taxi Drivers To Record All Passengers
By 11.15.11
You’re probably familiar with the long-running HBO special “Taxicab Confessions,” in which cab passengers –often under the influence of some sort of intoxicant — open their hearts, minds, and sometimes their blouses to drivers of taxis rigged with multiple hidden cameras. Now the UK city of Oxford is turning its entire fleet of cabs into rolling recording devices. [More]
New Yorker Finds Out What People Will Do For A Free Cab Ride
By 9.28.11
Many of you may remember comedian Mark Malkoff as the guy who raced — and beat — a New York City bus while riding a big wheel or the man who tested the limits of Apple Store employees’ hospitality using a goat and a Darth Vader costume. Recently, he hired a NYC taxi for 14 hours and offered to pay the fare of anyone who Tweeted him for a ride. [More]
Some New York Taxi Drivers Anger Businesses By Rejecting Racy Ads
By 9.19.11
Claiming their free speech has been violated, advertisers are speaking out against the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission’s decision to let taxi drivers decline to post ads featuring scantily-clad women on their vehicles. The companies are bitter that they apparently wasted the money they paid to create ads they now can’t use as widely as planned. [More]
Cab Driver Locks Doors, Holds Passenger Hostage For Trying To Pay With Credit Card
By 8.30.10
There’s a driver for Pittsburgh Yellow Cab Company who doesn’t like it when you try to pay with a Discover card, even though the company’s website says they accept it. When Adam tried this, the driver accused him of trying to avoid paying, then locked the doors and initially refused to let him go to an ATM 15 feet away unless he left all of his belongings behind. While Adam called the cab company to complain (he was routed to a voicemail inbox), the driver called the police. Twice. [More]
Don't Stiff Your Cab Driver Or He Might Crash Into Your House
By 8.5.10
A couple months back, we wrote about the New Orleans cab driver charged with holding a passenger hostage because she refused to tip as much as he wanted her to. Now here’s another tale of a cab driver gone rogue over a fare dispute that landed a cabbie in jail after ramming his taxi into the house at which he’d just dropped his passengers off. [More]
If You Don't Tip Your Cabbie, You Might Get Held Hostage
By 6.16.10
We know that tipping is a touchy topic, but a cab driver in New Orleans appears to have gone a teensy-weensy bit too far in his attempt to wrest a 10% tip from his passenger and he’s now facing charges of extortion, simple assault and false imprisonment. [More]
Unlicensed Cabbie Welcomes Tourists To New York With High Speed Police Chase
By 6.28.09
Jean-Jacques Dulugat learned yesterday why you should never let an unlicensed cabbie give you a lift from the airport. Police tried to stop Dulugat and his family as they got into a van driven by a pair of known solicitors, but the duo took off and led cops on a high-speed chase through Brooklyn…
Woman Says NY Cabbie Punched Her In The Face Because She Wanted Pay With A Credit Card
By 2.1.08
Tamara Perez caught a cab to her Manhattan home Tuesday, when she noticed that she didn’t have enough cash. The cab had a credit card machine, so she decided to pay with credit.
Yes, New York City Cabs Take Credit Cards
By 12.15.07
New York taxi drivers have resigned themselves to a fate with credit cards, according to a New York Times investigation. Cabbies struck twice this year to protest regulations forcing them to accept credit of all stripes. To see if cabbies are following the new rules, the Times asked five reporters to hop in twenty cabs each with one question: “I’ve only got a credit card, is that O.K.?”
DC Scraps Zone System, Cabbies Threaten To Strike
By 10.20.07
Cab rides in Washington will soon be cheaper thanks to Mayor Adrian Fenty’s decision to scrap the DC’s antiquated and expensive zone system in favor of the modern meter system found in any respectable city. Cheaper fares for residents means less profit for cabbies. Said one: “There is no way we can make a living on a [time-and-distance] meter.”
“The talk of a strike is in the formulation plans,” said Nathan Price, a driver for Yellow Cab Company of D.C. Inc. and a spokesman for the D.C. Professional Taxicab Drivers Association (PTDA).
