October 22, 2007

Minimal impact from today's 24-hour NY taxi strike

As many as 75 percent of New York City cab drivers are on strike today, according to the Taxi Workers Alliance, but that number may be tremendously exaggerated judging by the availability of cabs on the street. "(T)he walkout appeared to have little impact on transportation," 1010WINS is reporting.

City officials also said the strike's impact was minimal. "We are monitoring conditions and at this point have not observed a significant drop in the number of taxis on the road," Andrew Troisi, a spokesman for the city's Office of Emergency Management, told the Associated Press.

amNewYork, which also reported the plentiful presence of taxis on the streets, said the leader of the Taxi Workers Alliance said most of the yellow cabs on the streets today are being driven by part-timers hoping to cash in with the zone-fare system used during the strike instead of the regular meter fare.

The strike is scheduled to end at 5 a.m. Tuesday.

The cab drivers are protesting the mandatory installation of new satellite technology in each cab which will allow riders to pay by credit card, watch the progress of their trip via GPS mapping and watch television. Many cabbies don't like the back-seat machines, which are expensive for them to install and maintain, and could invade their privacy by tracking their movements. The machines are also prone to break and when they do, it disables the fare meter, putting them out of business for the day. The equipment is scheduled to be in almost all city cabs by January.

Earlier: Credit cards coming to 'almost all' taxis by January
Severity of taxi strike in dispute: 20 to 90 pct off road

October 22, 2007 12:17 PM in Arrivology, Transportology

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