Times used to be, the person who could stick a couple fingers in her mouth and whistle down a yellow cab on the streets of New York City was envied by the silent, cabless masses. But now that a judge has smacked down a lawsuit against a new “e-hail” program in the city, anyone with a smartphone will be able to hail a cab with nary a sound. [More]
taxis
Trying To Pay Your Cab Fare With Marijuana Will Probably Not Go Over Well
By 4.2.13
Many people who have taken taxis regularly enough have had to face that dreaded moment when you realize you don’t have enough cash — or you lost your wallet — and you won’t be able to pay the fare. There are ways to handle this, but offering the driver marijuana as barter is probably not the best idea. [More]
Do You Still Tip Your Cab Driver When He Gets Lost?
By 1.18.13
If your waiter accidentally brings you someone else’s food, you’re probably still going to tip him, provided that he takes it back and eventually gives you the correct dish. But when your cabbie gets lost, that meter can keep running while he tries to correct his course. So does he get a tip? [More]
Forget The Whistle: NYC Taxi & Limousine Commission Changes Rules For Cab-Hailing Apps
By 12.13.12
You can use an app to order a pizza, another to refill your prescriptions and there’s probably one out there that will just tell you you’re pretty, so why not an app to hail a cab? In New York City, the issue of taxi-hailing apps has been a hot issue, as the apps go against rules that forbid cabs from making pre-arranged pick-ups. That’s all about to change, as the city’s Taxi and Limousine Commission voted to approve a temporary new set of rules that will allow such apps. [More]
With Planes And Trains Out Of Service, Dr. Pays $750 For Cab Ride From Philly To Boston
By 11.2.12
We’ve heard a number of stories in recent days of people whose flights or train trips between various cities in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic were canceled or delayed for days as a result of Hurricane Sandy. Many of them stuck it out, while others rented cars to get to their destinations. But one UK doctor chose to hail a cab to make the 300+ mile trip from Philadelphia to Boston. [More]
Cab-Hailing Apps May Give NYC Users Unfair, Illegal Advantage
By 9.5.12
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]
Cab Company Balks At Cleaning Up After Driver Caught Pooping On Sidewalk
By 7.18.12
You may already have heard about the icky cab driver here in Philadelphia who was caught on camera using a street corner as his personal pooping ground. What you may not know is that — even though the man and his cab company have been identified — no one has come out to actually do much about removing all the offending fecal matter. [More]
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]
NYC Taxis To Start Asking Passengers How Much Money They Make
By 10.26.11
If you’ve ever thought your New York City taxi driver was too talkative, the taxis there are about to get a whole lot nosier. The screens in NYC taxis are now going to start asking passengers how much money they make. That’s a bit presumptuous! [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]
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]
Passengers Stiff Cabbie For $1,427 Fare
By 5.27.10
Usually when we write about taxi-related horror stories, it’s cab drivers trying to scam passengers out of cash. But this time the tables have been turned in big way, after a driver in Ohio was stiffed on a $1,427 fare. [More]
NYC Cabbie Returns $21,000 Left Behind In Cab
By 1.14.10
An Italian grandmother was visiting family in New York and forgot her handbag in the backseat of Mukul Asadujjaman’s cab. Inside the purse was about $21,000 in cash, as well as jewelry and passports. Asadujjaman found an address in the bag and tracked down her family in Long Island, about 50 miles outside of the city, to return it. [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…
Blessed Limo Provides Hellish Prom Service
By 5.16.09
Who wouldn’t want to start their prom by watching a stretch limo cruise down their street an hour and a half late before crashing into their parent’s car? Apparently a bunch of high school students in Washington state, that’s who. And they’re not the only ones angry that they booked with Blessed Limo. The notorious local operator apparently has a knack for showing up late and then stranding kids at prom. Complaining to state authorities only goes so far because these guys don’t even bother with bureaucratic backaches like “operating licenses.”
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.
