New york taxi drivers protest against high fees

by RadioFreeTaxi on January 24, 2012 · 8 comments


“Stop the greed and lower the lease”

Instead picking up fares, taxi drivers held up signs. Demonstrating in front of one of the city’s largest fleet operations, cabbies are protesting what they call high and unfair leasing fees charged by the owners of the cab companies.

Ali Memon is from Pakistan and has supported his wife and three daughters as a cab driver 12 years.

Most of New York’s 13 thousand taxicabs are owned by one of these large companies who then lease them out to drivers. The license fees are capped but not the finance charges for the car itself. Many here complain some owners with interest; charge as much as 60 thousand dollars on a vehicle that only costs 25 thousand.
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Hailing the Wrong Taxi

by Brooklyn Mark on January 8, 2012 · 16 comments


WHEELCHAIR users have long been deprived of a quintessential New York City experience: riding in a taxi. So after years of discussion, litigation and experimentation, the governor and the mayor of New York last month announced a deal to put 2,000 wheelchair-accessible cabs on the streets, setting aside up to $54 million in subsidies and loans to retrofit vehicles for wheelchair use or buy new wheelchair-accessible vehicles.

The plan is well intentioned but might not achieve the desired results. Rather than improving access for the disabled, it will require taxpayers and the taxi industry to foot the bill for taxis that will in all likelihood rarely be used by the target ridership. A more sensible alternative would be to set up a small fleet of wheelchair-accessible cabs that disabled passengers could call upon, through a centralized dispatch system, at any time of day or night, as part of the region’s mass transit system.

Advocates estimate that there are about 60,000 wheelchair users in the city — and that’s not counting out-of-town visitors. No one doubts that getting around New York in a wheelchair can be daunting. Most subway stations are not accessible; many bus stops are too distant for wheelchair users to reach; and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s van program for the disabled requires registration and making a reservation, usually days in advance.
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Happy New Year 2012

by RadioFreeTaxi on January 1, 2012 · 4 comments

40 New Stirring Happy New Year 2012 Wallpapers

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Just let the liveries pick up street hails

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Now that he has taken responsibility for remaking New York City’s taxi and livery industries, Gov. Cuomo needs to demonstrate that his plan can work before he and the Legislature write the overhaul into law. Cuomo was widely hailed — pun intended — last week for devising a scheme that would: add 2,000 yellow cabs, [...]

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Justifications for Refusing Passenger 54-20 (b)

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The following are permitted reasons for refusing to transport: (1) Another Passenger is already seated in the Taxicab. (2) The Driver has already ac- knowledged a hail from another person, and that other person is being picked up or is about to be picked up. (CAUTION: A Driver must not acknowledge the hail of one [...]

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NYC DOT Announces Giveaway of Free Taxi Rides During the Holidays

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Thousands of free taxi, livery cab and transit rides distributed as part of “You the Man” campaign, reminding New Yorkers to celebrate responsibly and plan for a designated driver New York City Department of Transportation (DOT) Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan today announced the return of the “Safe Rides Home” giveaway, with thousands of free taxi, livery [...]

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Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Tuesday that he and the Legislature have agreed on a plan that greatly expands New York City taxi service to the outer boroughs and brings an anticipated $1 billion in revenue to the city to ease a budget shortfall. “The new law will make getting around town easier, safer and less [...]

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Hack Attack: Somebody Shot Out A Cab Window In Alphabet City Last Night

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Well, seems like somebody didn’t like their cabbie last night. East Village Grieve this morning has two disturbing photos of a cab on 14th Street and Avenue A in which the passenger side window had been blown out. According to EVG’s source, “The police were on the scene. According to [the tipster], the driver was very shaken up… He [...]

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