May 2009

Safety Concerns Over Taxi Sharing Plan

by Brooklyn Mark on May 31, 2009 · 0 comments


It might be cheaper and greener and a great way to meet new people – but that doesn’t mean New York cab riders are eager to share hard-earned taxis with total strangers.

“I feel I should be more open to it,” said Allia Zobel Nolan as she waited outside Grand Central Terminal Thursday. “But I feel there’s less chance of something bad happening on my own.”

Nolan, the daughter of a taxi driver, said she’s shared cabs from Manhattan to her home in Norwalk, Conn. She said she’s a little worried about climbing inside one with someone she doesn’t know.
“I’d feel safer if I was by myself,” she said.
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Plans for Strangers to Share Cab Rides

by Brooklyn Mark on May 28, 2009 · 8 comments


The singular experience of riding in a yellow cab in New York may soon change.

The Taxi and Limousine Commission plans to introduce two pilot programs that will transform many taxi rides into something like car-pooling with strangers, with two or more passengers riding together to nearby destinations.

The proposals were inspired by methods used during the transit strike in 2005, when yellow cabs were allowed to pick up more than one fare during a single trip.

The proposals are intended to make it easier to find a cab at peak times and to make cab rides cheaper by creating discounts and flat fares.
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Pedicab vs. Taxicab

by Brooklyn Mark on May 24, 2009 · 6 comments

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Taxi Appreciation Day – Drivers get Free Lunch

May 20, 2009

Gladys Tito, 50, from Queens holds up one of hundreds of free sirloin burger lunches distributed by the owners of Ben and Jack’s Steakhouse. Fifth Avenue has never seen a more orderly line of yellow cabs before. Taxis queued up outside of Ben and Jack’s Steakhouse for free steak burgers and fries Wednesday afternoon. They [...]

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Wrongly Jailed Cabbie Receives $1.5M

May 17, 2009

A 34-year-old New York City taxi driver who was jailed for nine months after a police officer mistakenly identified him as a drug suspect has received a $1.5 million settlement from the city. The settlement was made Tuesday in Bronx Supreme Civil Court. Jesus Diaz Delossantos was arrested and jailed in 2002 on charges of [...]

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Bloomy Gives ‘em Hail

May 17, 2009

Mayor Bloomberg took another shot at the taxi-tax portion of the state’s MTA bailout plan yesterday — saying he doubts revenue collectors will be able to concoct an effective system to collect the cash from drivers and garage owners. “The [Legislature] is collecting 50 cents a ride from the taxis. I don’t know how you’re [...]

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Hack to School

May 16, 2009

LEARNING CURVE: Andrew Vollo, who offers training courses for taxi drivers, says the city needs more rigorous continuing-ed courses for cabbies in such basic things as knowing their way around the streets. Here’s a tip to cabbies who struggle with English or don’t know their way around town — there will be a test! The [...]

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