Taxicabs of New York City
Encyclopedia
Taxicab
A taxicab, also taxi or cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of their choice...
s are operated by private companies and licensed by the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission. The Commission is a New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
government agency that is best known for its responsibility for the more than 13,237 taxis operating in the city. It also oversees over 40,000 other for-hire vehicles, including "black cars", commuter vans and ambulettes. "Medallion taxis," the familiar yellow cabs, are the only vehicles in the city permitted to pick up passengers in response to a street hail.
Late 1890s - The Electric Era
The first taxicab company in New York City was the Electric Carriage and Wagon Company, which began running 12 electricElectric vehicle
An electric vehicle , also referred to as an electric drive vehicle, uses one or more electric motors or traction motors for propulsion...
hansom cab
Hansom cab
The hansom cab is a kind of horse-drawn cart designed and patented in 1834 by Joseph Hansom, an architect from York. The vehicle was developed and tested by Hansom in Hinckley, Leicestershire, England. Originally called the Hansom safety cab, it was designed to combine speed with safety, with a low...
s in July 1897. The company ran until 1898 with up to 62 cabs operating until it was reformed by its financiers to form the Electric Vehicle Company
Electric Vehicle Company
-History:The Electric Vehicle Company was founded as a holding company of battery-powered electric automobile manufacturers made up of several car companies assembled by Isaac L. Rice beginning in 1897. It was taken over in 1899 by William C. Whitney and P. A. B...
. The company then built the Electrobat
Electrobat
The Electrobat was the first successful electric automobile. It was designed and built in 1894 by mechanical engineer Henry G. Morris and chemist Pedro G. Salom in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Both had backgrounds in battery streetcars and, as the battery streetcar business was fading, they teamed...
electric car, and had up to 100 taxicabs running in total by 1899.
1899 also saw a number of notable firsts for the Electric Vehicle Company. On 20 May 1899, Jacob German, driving an electric taxicab received the first speeding ticket in the United States. Later that year, on 13 September, Henry Bliss became the first victim of an automotive accident in the United States when he was hit by an electric taxicab as he was helping a friend from a streetcar.
By the early 1900s the Electric Vehicle company was running up to 1,000 electric taxicabs on the streets of New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
until, in January, 1907, a fire destroyed 300 of these vehicles which, in conjunction with the Panic of 1907
Panic of 1907
The Panic of 1907, also known as the 1907 Bankers' Panic, was a financial crisis that occurred in the United States when the New York Stock Exchange fell almost 50% from its peak the previous year. Panic occurred, as this was during a time of economic recession, and there were numerous runs on...
caused the company to collapse.
Early 1900s - The Checker Cab
In early 1907 Harry N. Allen, incensed after being charged five dollars ($113.66 in 2010) for a journey of 0.75 miles (1.2 km), decided "to start a [taxicab] service in New York and charge so-much per mile."
Later that year he imported 65 gasoline-powered cars from France and began the New York Taxicab Company. The cabs were originally painted red and green, but Allen repainted them all yellow to be visible from a distance. By 1908 the New York Taxicab Company was running 700 taxicabs.
Within a decade several more companies opened business and taxicabs began to proliferate. The fare was 50 cents a mile, a rate only affordable to the relatively wealthy.
By the 1920s, industrialists recognized the potential of the taxicab market. Automobile manufacturers like General Motors and the Ford Motor Company began operating fleets. The most successful manufacturer, however, was the Checkered Cab Manufacturing Company
Checker Motors Corporation
Checker Motors Corporation was a Kalamazoo, Michigan based vehicle manufacturer and tier-one subcontractor that manufactured taxicabs used by Checker Taxi...
. Founded by Morris Markin
Morris Markin
Morris Markin was a Russian-born American entrepreneur and businessman who founded the Checker Cab Manufacturing Company .-Early years:...
, Checker Cabs produced the large yellow and black taxis
Checker Taxi
Checker Taxi was an American taxi company. It used the Checker Taxi Cab produced by the Checker Motors Corporation of Kalamazoo, Michigan. Both Checker Taxi and its parent company Checker Motors Corporation were owned by Morris Markin....
that became one of the most recognizable symbols of mid-20th century urban life. For many years Checker cabs were the most popular taxis in New York City.
1930s - Medallion System Introduced
During the Great DepressionGreat Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
New York had as many as 30,000 cab drivers. With more drivers than passengers, cab drivers were working longer hours; additionally, there were concerns regarding the maintenance and mechanical integrity of the vehicles. In considering how to handle the situation, the city considered creating a taxi monopoly
Monopoly
A monopoly exists when a specific person or enterprise is the only supplier of a particular commodity...
. The plan was abandoned after Mayor Jimmy Walker
Jimmy Walker
James John Walker, often known as Jimmy Walker and colloquially as Beau James , was the mayor of New York City from 1926 to 1932...
was accused of accepting a bribe from the Parmelee Company, the largest taxi company.
In 1937 Mayor Fiorello H. La Guardia signed the Haas Act, which introduced official taxi licenses and the medallion system that remains in place today.
The law limited the number of licenses to 16,900, but the number dwindled to 11,787, a limit which continued until 1996 when the TLC added 133 cabs. Since then more medallions have been added to the fleet with the current total being 13,237 medallions.
Because the medallion system artificially restricts the number of cabs, it has been criticized as a barrier to entry to the taxi market that has created a market for illegal taxicab operation
Illegal taxicab operation
While most jurisdictions require taxicab operators to be licensed, many unlicensed cabs are in operation. Some of these are marked taxi vehicles , and others are personal vehicles used by an individual to offer unauthorized taxi-like services...
in areas underserved by medallion cabs. Because the cost of leasing a medallion is so high, the system may cut into the income of drivers and raise costs to passengers. On the other hand, some transportation analysts contend that cities with no barriers to entry to the taxi market end up with an abundance of poorly maintained taxis. They say that a medallion system helps the city to better regulate taxis and enables the city to raise the standards of all taxis.
The medallions which could not be sold for a simple $10 renewal fee during the 1930s are now worth hundreds of thousands of dollars with fleet medallions topping $1,000,000 in 2011. Over the years, many medallions once owned by individual drivers were sold to large taxi fleets. To preserve the opportunity for individual drivers to own and drive their own taxi, certain medallions were designated for owner-operators. These cabs must be personally driven by the medallion owner for 210 nine-hour shifts per year, after which they can, if the driver chooses, be leased out. Corporate medallions, on the other hand, cost more, and are required to be leased double shifts, 365 days a year. About 29% of all taxis are owner operated, the rest are leased.
1960s - Yellow Cabs
In the 1960s New York City experienced many of the problems of social unrest that engulfed other American cities. Crime rates increased along with racial tensions. As a result, a quickly growing industry of private livery services emerged.Unofficial drivers were barred from picking up people on the street, but they readily found business in under-served neighborhoods.
In 1967, New York City ordered all "medallion taxis" be painted yellow to help cut down on unofficial drivers and make official taxicabs more readily recognizable.
The wife of the president of New Departure, Nettie Rockwell, particularly liked the color yellow and it therefore became the color of the new Rockwell taxicabs. The Rockwell Service Cab became the Yellow Taxicab when Mrs. Rockwell selected that as her choice of color for the auto.
Taxi Security
One in four new Checkers bought were "partition equipped." Taxi partitions were still optional until September 1968. According to the New York Times (Saturday, August 17, 1968, page 37): "Taxi Partitions - The Checker Motors Corporation, Kalamazoo, Mich., received a patent this week for its Safe-Guard Cab, which has a robbery preventing partition between the front and back seats. According to Checker - the partition makes Checkers which are equipped with the 'Life Guard' partition, the 'second generation' of 'crime stopping' taxis." Crime can be abated, but never stopped. Partitions made knives less viable and made guns more viable. The Taxi & Limousine Commission in NYC has been accused of altering and fudging statistics and facts concerning taxi partition-mandate viability since its inception.The fleet owners weren't sure of the cause for the decline (in cab driver assaults). One possible reason cited was the increase during the year of the number of policemen who drove taxis during their off hours to supplement their income.
As many as 4,000 cops had been authorized and licensed as taxi drivers starting in September 1967.
The installation of partitions in some taxis has been mandatory since September 1968. Taxis owned by individuals, about 4,600 cabs, were not required to install partitions. That number grew through the 70s and 80s as fleet owners divided large fleets into mini-fleets for two reasons: to avoid the partition mandate, and to limit corporate liability.
Fleet owners felt that, without partitions, drivers would be less inclined to rent cabs at night.
The NYC T&LC enjoys how the partition mandate abates media pressure on their agency about slain cab drivers. Many cab regulators worldwide have considered partition installation mandates for their cities' cabs. Most often the idea is postponed or dropped. Some have adopted the rule and abandoned it later.
Some, like NYC, have enlarged the mandatory market to include more and more taxis, and then all livery cars (or Town Cars), while at the same time, begrudgingly, shrunk the market for partition purchases for use in the "medallion" taxis, because newer vehicle models have side-impact airbags which cannot deploy properly with a partition installed.
The TLC is reported to have plans to soon "crash test" the 'TLC-chosen' vehicle (Nissan NV200) with a partition installed. No crash testing of a NYC taxi partition has ever been conducted before.
Since side curtain airbags became mandatory 'standard equipment' in all US sold cars, a conflict has arisen. Since all side curtain airbags are contiguous from the "A" pillar to the "C" pillar, there is a deployment zone intrusion conflict, when there is a partition installed. This deployment zone conflict has been addressed by the TLC with a requirement for a six inch gap where the partition would ordinarily extend to the "C" pillar - to make space for the airbag deployment. It has been suggested that the partition should incorporate an integral airbag of its own, in the padding, to take the place of side curtain airbags, where partitions are used. This would require the end user to find a way to properly disable the side curtain airbag.
There have been several trauma surgeons who have raised the alarm about occupants slamming into partition metal covering the padding on the back of the front seat, coin trays and window edges.
All of the major motor vehicle manufacturers have notified the TLC that mandated modifications such as meter placement and partition installation might, or does, void the car makers' claim of "compliance" with federal standards.
1970s - New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission
New York City Police Department
The New York City Police Department , established in 1845, is currently the largest municipal police force in the United States, with primary responsibilities in law enforcement and investigation within the five boroughs of New York City...
. TLC Inspectors are New York State peace officers who carry batons
Baton (law enforcement)
A truncheon or baton is essentially a club of less than arm's length made of wood, plastic, or metal...
, pepper spray
Pepper spray
Pepper spray, also known as OC spray , OC gas, and capsicum spray, is a lachrymatory agent that is used in riot control, crowd control and personal self-defense, including defense against dogs and bears...
, and handcuffs.
In the 1970s and 1980s both the unofficial livery services and the medallion taxicab companies began finding more and more of their drivers in the growing populations of black, Latino, and middle eastern immigrants to the city as the previous generation of cabbies retired and moved out of the city. Crime in New York City
Crime in New York City
Violent crime in New York City has decreased in the last fifteen years, and the murder rate in 2007 was at its lowest since at least 1963 when reliable statistics were first kept. Crime rates spiked in the 1980s and early 1990s as the crack epidemic hit the city...
had become severe at this point, and cabbies were often the victims of robberies and street crime.
Taxi partitions, alleged—incorrectly, by the TLC—to be bulletproof, had proven by October 1970 to be a considerable occupant interior impact hazard, in addition to failing to adequately protect cab drivers from assailants willing to use guns. In the first nine months of 1970, seven cab drivers were killed and 3,000 were robbed in NYC. The response from NYC and Boston taxi regulators was to contend that "continued violent crime against cab drivers" (despite partition mandates) merited a new and innovative "lock-box" requirement. The lock-box requirement was abandoned, quietly, after it was realized that now cab robbers were taking the whole cab. This proved to be too costly so the lock-box requirement was dropped.
In response to complaints about head injuries from impact with the partition, the TLC instituted a requirement for a "Talking Taxi Box". This was also abandoned after an eight year trial. It annoyed almost everybody who heard it and it certainly annoyed all drivers who had to hear the static announcements 30 - 50 times a day.
1980s - Demographic change in drivers
By the mid-1980s and into the 1990s the demographic changes among cabbies began to accelerate as new waves of immigrants arrived in New York. Today, according to the 2000 U.S. Census, of the 62,000 cabbies in New York 82 percent are foreign born: 23 percent are from the Caribbean (the Dominican RepublicDominican Republic
The Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of La Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries...
and Haiti
Haiti
Haiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island...
), and 30 percent from South Asia (India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, and Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
).
The production of the famous Checker Cab had stopped and although there were still many in operation, the Chevrolet Caprice and Ford Crown Victoria became the industry top choices. Large frame, rear-wheel drive, former police cruisers, available at auctions provide a steady supply of used, well-maintained cars for cab fleets nationwide.
The working conditions of cabbies have changed as crime in New York has plummeted, while the cost of medallions has increased. Fewer cabbies own their taxicabs than in previous times. The TLC bureaucracy involved makes single-cab and small-fleet operations less attractive.
1990s - Changes in types of vehicles and Operation Refusal
In 1996, when ChevroletChevrolet
Chevrolet , also known as Chevy , is a brand of vehicle produced by General Motors Company . Founded by Louis Chevrolet and ousted GM founder William C. Durant on November 3, 1911, General Motors acquired Chevrolet in 1918...
stopped making the Caprice
Chevrolet Caprice
The Chevrolet Caprice is a full-sized automobile produced by the Chevrolet Division of General Motors in North America for the 1965 through 1996 model years. Full-size Chevrolet sales peaked in 1965 with over a million sold. It was the most popular American car in the sixties and early seventies....
, the Ford Crown Victoria became the most widely used sedan for yellow cabs in New York. In addition, yellow cab operators also use the Honda Odyssey
Honda Odyssey (North America)
The Honda Odyssey is a minivan manufactured by Japanese automaker Honda since 1994.The Odyssey had originally been conceived and engineered in Japan, in the wake of country's economic crisis of the 1990s – which in turn imposed severe constraints on the vehicle's size and overall concept,...
, Isuzu Oasis
Isuzu Oasis
The Isuzu Oasis was a minivan produced as result of an agreement between Isuzu and Honda from 1996 to 1999. It was the only minivan sold by Isuzu....
, Chevrolet Venture
Chevrolet Venture
The Chevrolet Venture is a minivan produced by General Motors from the 1997 to 2005 model years. It replaced the Chevrolet Lumina APV. Identical minivans were also sold in Europe as the Opel Sintra, and in the UK, they were badged as a Vauxhall. Opel assisted in the development of the minivan as well...
, Ford Freestar
Ford Freestar
The Ford Freestar is a minivan that was manufactured by the Ford Motor Company from 2004 until November 2006. It replaced the Ford Windstar for the 2004 model year. The name change accommodated Ford's strategy to rename all their cars to words beginning in F...
, and Toyota Sienna
Toyota Sienna
The Toyota Sienna is a family minivan currently manufactured by Toyota at Toyota Motor Manufacturing Indiana in Princeton, Indiana, United States for the North American market. It replaced the first-generation Previa van in 1997 with a more conventional front wheel drive layout and shares a heavily...
minivans which offer increased passenger room. The distinctive Checker cabs
Checker Taxi
Checker Taxi was an American taxi company. It used the Checker Taxi Cab produced by the Checker Motors Corporation of Kalamazoo, Michigan. Both Checker Taxi and its parent company Checker Motors Corporation were owned by Morris Markin....
were, due to their durable construction, phased out slowly, the last one being retired in July 1999, being over 20 years in service and nearly one million miles on its odometer. Laws since 1996 require taxis be replaced every 6 years regardless of condition.
In 1996 the TLC began Operation Refusal, an undercover sting operation
Sting operation
In law enforcement, a sting operation is a deceptive operation designed to catch a person committing a crime. A typical sting will have a law-enforcement officer or cooperative member of the public play a role as criminal partner or potential victim and go along with a suspect's actions to gather...
created to address the alleged phenomenon of the service refusal. In 1998, the TLC enacted a package, inspired by Mayor Rudy Giuliani
Rudy Giuliani
Rudolph William Louis "Rudy" Giuliani KBE is an American lawyer, businessman, and politician from New York. He served as Mayor of New York City from 1994 to 2001....
, of regulatory reforms that included a structured framework of enhanced driver standards. In 1999, actor Danny Glover
Danny Glover
Danny Lebern Glover is an American actor, film director, and political activist. Glover is perhaps best known for his role as Detective Roger Murtaugh in the Lethal Weapon film franchise.-Early life:...
filed a complaint with the TLC after he was allegedly refused service by New York cab drivers. This resulted in a highly publicized Operation Refusal crackdown on drivers who were allegedly discriminating against certain passengers, sometimes for race, but far more often because of the passenger's destination.
However, Giuliani's crackdowns led to a series of successful lawsuits against the city and the TLC. In 2000, a federal judge ruled that the NYPD had violated taxi drivers' First Amendment rights by refusing to let the drivers engage in a peaceful protest of new rules. The TLC also lost a series of cases in state courts for implementing rules without allowing for notice and comment. In 2000, another federal judge ruled that the Operation Refusal sting violated the cabbies' due process rights. In 2004, TLC inspectors were embarrassed when they handcuffed and arrested 60 Minutes reporter Mike Wallace
Mike Wallace (journalist)
Myron Leon "Mike" Wallace is an American journalist, former game show host, actor and media personality. During his 60+ year career, he has interviewed a wide range of prominent newsmakers....
, charging him with disorderly conduct for simply questioning the treatment of his driver. In 2006, the city was forced to settle the remaining aspects of the Operation Refusal case. Under the settlement, the TLC agreed to pay a group of 500 taxi drivers $7 million.
Many cabdrivers protested the new regulations sought by the Giuliani administration and in 1998 their activity formed the basis of a new taxidrivers' union
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
, the New York Taxi Workers Alliance. Under the leadership of Bhairavi Desai
Bhairavi Desai
Bhairavi Desai is the founding member of the New York Taxi Workers Alliance, a union representing approximately 15,000 taxi drivers in New York City.-Early life:...
, the union has grown to fifteen thousand members (2011 estimate), representing almost a third of all licensed cabdrivers in the city.
2000s - New computer technologies, hybrid vehicles, and diesel vehicles
In 2005, New York introduced incentives to replace its current yellow cabs with electric hybrid vehicles such as the Toyota PriusToyota Prius
The Toyota Prius is a full hybrid electric mid-size hatchback, formerly a compact sedan developed and manufactured by the Toyota Motor Corporation...
and Ford Escape Hybrid. In May 2007, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg
Michael Bloomberg
Michael Rubens Bloomberg is the current Mayor of New York City. With a net worth of $19.5 billion in 2011, he is also the 12th-richest person in the United States...
proposed a five-year plan to switch New York City's taxicabs to more fuel-efficient hybrid vehicles as part of an agenda for New York City to reduce greenhouse gas
Greenhouse gas
A greenhouse gas is a gas in an atmosphere that absorbs and emits radiation within the thermal infrared range. This process is the fundamental cause of the greenhouse effect. The primary greenhouse gases in the Earth's atmosphere are water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and ozone...
emissions. However, the plan was dropped after Cab companies complained that the cost of maintaining the new hybrid vehicles vastly outweighed the tiny amount of fuel savings they got from going smaller. A bumpier ride and a more cramped cabin were also noted as negatives by passengers. Not only that, but passenger safety also became an issue with the newer vehicles, and 6 months after the program took effect, it was dropped. Still, the proportion of the taxi fleet made up of Ford Crown Victoria
Ford Crown Victoria
-1992–1994:Released in March 1991 as an early 1992 model, the Crown Victoria sedan was completely redesigned with a rounder, eight-window roofline . The redesign reduced the coefficient of drag from 0.42 to 0.34; the suspension setup was also heavily revised...
s has dropped over time. It now stands at approximately 60%.
From September to December 2007, many of the taxis participated in a voluntary public art
Public art
The term public art properly refers to works of art in any media that have been planned and executed with the specific intention of being sited or staged in the physical public domain, usually outside and accessible to all...
project called Garden in Transit
Garden in Transit
Garden in Transit is a public art exhibit displayed on New York City taxicabs between September 2007 and December 2007. Adhesive, weatherproof paintings of flowers painted by children in schools and hospitals are applied to the exterior of New York City taxicabs...
in which flower decals painted by children were affixed to the hoods of taxis.
The TLC has mandated that by the end of January 2008 all taxis should be equipped with a Passenger Information Monitor (PIM) that is a screen in the backseat that can provide entertainment, a live GPS map of location, and be used to pay for rides by swiping a credit card
Credit card
A credit card is a small plastic card issued to users as a system of payment. It allows its holder to buy goods and services based on the holder's promise to pay for these goods and services...
. The drivers will have an electronic Driver Information Monitor (DIM) in which messages can be sent to them informing them of traffic conditions and facilitating retrieving lost objects.
Several taxicab drivers objecting to the cost of the devices (estimated at between $3,000 and $5,000 each) staged voluntary strikes on September 5 and 6 and October 22 in 2007. The city implemented a “zone pricing” structure during the days and the strikes had minimal impact on the city according to officials.
Originally, before October 2007, NYC Yellow cabs displayed the fare stickers in the front doors and the Words "NYC Taxi" and the medallion number on the back doors. On September 30, 2007, all of the yellow cab decals were redesigned. Now, the cabs are easily identified with the medallion number followed with a checker pattern on the left and right rear fenders, a futuristic fare panel on the rear doors, and a retro "NYC Taxi" logo on the front doors.
As of February 2011 New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
had around 4,300 hybrid
Hybrid electric vehicle
A hybrid electric vehicle is a type of hybrid vehicle and electric vehicle which combines a conventional internal combustion engine propulsion system with an electric propulsion system. The presence of the electric powertrain is intended to achieve either better fuel economy than a conventional...
taxis, representing almost 33 percent of New York's 13,237 taxis in service, the most in any city in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
. By mid 2009 owners began retiring its original hybrid fleet after 300,000 and 350,00 miles per vehicle. Two attempts by the Bloomberg Administration to implement policies to force the replacement of all New York's 13,000 taxis for hybrids by 2012 were blocked by court rulings, and on February 28, 2011, the United States Supreme Court declined to consider an appeal by the city.
The value of a medallion reached $760,000 in September 2009, an increase of 179% over the previous decade. As of 2011 the price of a New York City Taxi medallion has reached a million dollars.
2010s - Taxi of Tomorrow
In 2007, city officials outlined the goals of a project to replace existing Ford Crown VictoriaFord Crown Victoria
-1992–1994:Released in March 1991 as an early 1992 model, the Crown Victoria sedan was completely redesigned with a rounder, eight-window roofline . The redesign reduced the coefficient of drag from 0.42 to 0.34; the suspension setup was also heavily revised...
and other taxis by 2014, as that nameplate is slated to be discontinued in 2011. In mid 2011 the TLC was to award an exclusive contract to sell and service taxicabs in New York City for 10 years. Karsan
Karsan
Karsan is a Turkish commercial vehicles manufacturer, based in Akçalar, Nilüfer, Bursa Province.-History:Karsan was founded in 1966 in Bursa, Turkey, to produce light commercial vehicles. Koç Group assumed management control of the company between 1979-1998...
, Nissan, and Ford's bids were the three finalists, and all of their designs were based on small vans rather than sedans. The Karsan design was later rejected due to doubts whether the company could "execute the project". In the end, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced the Nissan design as the winner to replace the city's 13,000 yellow cabs, to be phased in over five years starting in 2013.
In 2011 New York City was sued by United Spinal Association for choosing an inacessible "taxi of tomorrow". The justice department issued a "Statement of Interest", which was sent to the NY Federal District court stating that if the city did not mandate a wheelchair accessible taxi as the "taxi of tomorrow" it would be in violation of the Americans With Disabilites Act. On November 3-5, 2011, at the TLC's public design expo inviting the public to try out parked prototypes, the Taxis For All Campaign mounted a "Roll-In" protest. Under the eye of news media outside the Flatiron Building on Broadway at Fifth Avenue, wheelchair users tried in vain to use the future cabs.
A fully electric version of the Nissan NV2000 may be available by 2017. However to test the concept, Nissan will first sponsor a pilot program with six Nissan Leaf
Nissan Leaf
Nissan introduced its first battery electric vehicle, the Nissan Altra at the Los Angeles International Auto Show on 29 December 1997. The Altra EV was produced between 1998 and 2002, only about 200 vehicles were ever produced, and it was mainly used as a fleet vehicle for companies such as...
electric car
Electric car
An electric car is an automobile which is propelled by electric motor, using electrical energy stored in batteries or another energy storage device. Electric cars were popular in the late-19th century and early 20th century, until advances in internal combustion engine technology and mass...
s and their charging station
Charging station
An electric vehicle charging station, also called EV charging station, electric recharging point, charging point and EVSE , is an element in an infrastructure that supplies electric energy for the recharging of electric vehicles, plug-in hybrid electric-gasoline vehicles) or semi-static and mobile...
s, that will be deployed to study the use of zero-emission
Zero-emissions vehicle
A zero-emissions vehicle, or ZEV, is a vehicle that emits no tailpipe pollutants from the onboard source of power. Harmful pollutants to the health and the environment include particulates , hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide, ozone, lead, and various oxides of nitrogen. Although not considered emission...
electric vehicles as taxis. The Leafs will be deployed in 2012, one year before the Nissan NV200
Nissan NV200
The Nissan NV200 is a light commercial vehicle produced by Nissan. It was first shown as the NV200 Concept at the 2007 Tokyo Motor Show. Though it is an alternative to the Vanette, it is only available as a van model...
s taxis are introduced.
Approved taxi models
, approved models for use as New York City taxis are:- 2011-Ford Crown Victoria Stretch
- 2011-Ford Fusion
- 2011- Ford Escape
- 2011- Audi Q7 3L TDI
- 2011- Lincoln MKZ
- 2011- Hyundai Sonata
- 2011- Toyota Camry
- 2011- Toyota Prius
- 2011- Toyota Highlander
- 2011- Nissan Altima
- 2011- Volkswagen Jetta S &TDI Sedan
- 2011- Volkswagen Touareg 3.0L TDI
- 2011- Volkswagen Golf 2.5L TDI Sedan
- 2011- Mercedes-Benz E350 Bluetec
- 2011- Mercedes-Benz ML350 Bluetec
- 2011- Toyota Sienna (Wheel Chair Accessible)
- 2011- MV-1 made by VPG (Wheel Chair Accessible)
Medallion taxicabs and livery taxicabs
Sedan service
A sedan service is a transportation service that offers taxi-like rides in vehicles. Sedan services exist in many places, though the exact definition, along with regulations, may vary in different places. In some places, the term refers to a more luxurious service than taxicabs, while in other...
, known as “car services” or “livery cabs,” which are prohibited from picking up street hails (although this rule is less often enforced in the boroughs outside Manhattan) and are supposed to pick up only those customers who have called the car service's dispatcher and requested a car.
While medallion taxicabs in New York are always yellow, car service vehicles may be any color but yellow, and are usually black. For this reason, these taxi operators are sometimes called “black car” services. Despite the de jure prohibition on picking up passengers who hail on the street, some livery cabs nevertheless do so anyway, often to make extra money. When a livery cab engages in street pick-ups, it becomes known as a "gypsy cab." They are often found in areas not routinely visited by medallion cabs, and authorities tend to turn a blind eye to the practice rather than leave sections of the city without cab service. The use of gypsy cabs is strictly at the rider’s risk, and it is recommended that passengers negotiate a fare with the driver before entering, as the cabs are not equipped with meters, and fares are not regulated by the TLC. The driver also is taking a risk that the passenger will leave without paying.
Medallion taxicabs are named for the official medallion issued by the TLC and attached to a taxi’s hood. The medallion may be purchased from the City at infrequent auctions, or from another medallion owner. Because of their high prices (often over $700,000) medallions (and most cabs) are owned by investment companies and are leased to drivers ("hacks"). An auction was held in 2006 where 308 new medallions were sold. In the 2006 auction, all medallions were designated as either hybrids (254) or handicap accessible (54) taxis. In October 2011, due to the longtime trend in the medallions' supply and demand, auction prices first topped $1 million.
Hailing a medallion taxicab
Yellow cabs are concentrated in the borough of Manhattan, but patrol throughout the five boroughs of New York City and may be hailed with a raised hand or by standing at a taxi stand. A cab's availability is indicated by the lights on the top of the car. When no lights are lit, the cab is occupied by passengers. When just the center light showing the medallion number is lit, the cab is empty and available. When the OFF and DUTY inscriptions to either side of the medallion number are lit, (with the medallion number lit or off) the cab is off duty and not accepting passengers. In Fall 2011, the TLC announced a plan to replace the three-light system with a simple indicator as to whether the taxi is available.As with livery cabs, there is an additional round amber light mounted on the left side of the trunk, as well as an amber light at the front of the cab, usually hidden from view behind the grille. When activated by the driver, these "trouble lights" blink to summon the police.
A maximum of four passengers may be carried in most cabs, although larger minivans may accommodate five passengers, and one child under seven can sit on an adult’s lap in the back seat if the maximum has been reached. Drivers are required to pick up the first or closest passenger they see, and may not refuse a trip to a destination anywhere within the five boroughs, neighboring Westchester
Westchester County, New York
Westchester County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. Westchester covers an area of and has a population of 949,113 according to the 2010 Census, residing in 45 municipalities...
, Nassau
Nassau County, New York
Nassau County is a suburban county on Long Island, east of New York City in the U.S. state of New York, within the New York Metropolitan Area. As of the 2010 census, the population was 1,339,532...
, or to Newark Liberty International Airport
Newark Liberty International Airport
Newark Liberty International Airport , first named Newark Metropolitan Airport and later Newark International Airport, is an international airport within the city limits of both Newark and Elizabeth, New Jersey, United States...
. The TLC operates undercover anti-discrimination stings to ensure cabbies do not engage in racial profiling or otherwise discriminate against passengers hailing cabs from the street.
Smartphone applications for taxis
There are several smartphone applications designed to help people find, hail, and share cabs in New York City. On March 31, 2010, Sense Networks, Inc. released CabSense. The iPhone/Android phone app uses location data collected from the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission to predict which corners in New York City are best for finding and hailing a cab at any given hour of any given day of the week. Report A Taxi, launched by Y INTERACT and Elyxor in 2011, allows passengers to comment on their cab ride experiences and to report drivers to the Taxi and Limousine Commission if necessary. Other NYC cab apps include Cash Cab by Capcom Interactive, Inc. and Weels.Fares
, fares begin at $2.50 ($3.00 after 8:00 p.m., and $3.50 during the peak weekday hours of 4:00–8:00 p.m.) and increase based on the distance traveled and time spent in slow traffic (40 cents for each one-fifth of a mile or 60 seconds of no motion or motion under 12 miles an hour). The passenger also has to pay the fare whenever a cab is driven through a toll. The taxi must have an E-ZPassE-ZPass
E-ZPass is an electronic toll-collection system used on most tolled roads, bridges, and tunnels in the northeastern US, south to Virginia and West Virginia, and west to Illinois. Currently, there are 25 agencies spread across 14 states that make up the . All member agencies use the same technology,...
tag, and passengers pay the discounted E-ZPass toll rates. According to an April 2011 study by the Chicago Dispatcher
Chicago Dispatcher
Chicago Dispatcher is a monthly newspaper in Chicago, Illinois that focuses on news and features that affect taxi drivers and the taxi industry as a whole. Chicago Dispatcher was founded in February 2002 and is published by Chicago entrepreneur George Lutfallah.The publication is produced by...
, New York City taxis have a relatively low standard fare, charging an estimated $14.10 for a distance of five miles and five minutes wait time (compared to an estimated $18.48 in West Hollywood, CA and $12.87 in Houston, TX). Taxi drivers are not permitted to use cell phones while transporting passengers, even if they use a hands-free headset, although this is widely ignored by drivers.
In 1999, 241 million passengers rode in New York taxis. The average cab fare in 2000 was $6; passengers paid a total of over $1 billion in fares that year.
External links
- NYCTaxifinder a resource for taxi information
- Yellow Cab NYC
- New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission
- Article on hossli.com about the designer of the new Taxi logo
- New York City Taxi Driver Oral History Project
- Rear Entry Taxicab Provider
- iTaxiNYC - Taxi information - Lost & Found - Live Traffic - Taxi Reserve - Fare Finder