NYC cab drivers say "no thanks" to GPS installation

As the Bloomberg administration sets out to install a high-tech GPS video monitor in every NYC taxi cab, many drivers are prepping to strike. Philadelphia cab drivers faced the same challenges last year and decided to strike, however, units were installed anyway -- indicative of what we might see later on this year. The monitors would be mandatorily installed in the backs of all 13,000 NYC cabs, providing entertainment with commercials and allowing credit card transactions -- great for the customer, but what do drivers get? Well, they'll pretty much get the shaft. The meter activates GPS tracking of each trip's beginning and end destination, which many drivers claim is an invasion of privacy. Also, drivers who are buying their vehicles will be forced to shell out $2,900 to $7,200 for use of the units over a three-year period. The real kicker is that they totally dropped the ball on any sort of navigational support. Hello? Spending major cash on new taxi-gadgets with GPS technology should, first and foremost, mean we no longer have to tell clueless drivers how to get around the city. At least we'll have the "entertainment with commercials" to distract us while taking the scenic route.

[Via Gearlog]

[Jackson @ Mar 9th 2007 9:44PM]

I was in one of these things and it was really awesome. It had stuff to watch, showed our route on a map, and you could pay with your credit card. I can't wait until they all have them.

[mcspacebar @ Mar 9th 2007 10:14PM]

so GPS units in the cabs, but no way to use the gPS for navigation, traffic info , etc???
that is so dumb.
In barcelona all the taxi's have gps with trafic reports etc. it rocks.

[remf @ Mar 9th 2007 9:55PM]

In other words, what they're worried about is getting busted for taking the non-english speaking foreigners on a 17 mile trip to a destination that is actually only 2 miles from the site of pickup.

[James Smith @ Mar 9th 2007 10:49PM]

I agree that this will definitely thwart the taxi drivers who like to take the long route or just modify the meter so it inflates the fare beyond what it should be. However I do also agree that it should give on board navigation to the drivers. Live traffic reports would be a plus too.

[Taylor @ Mar 9th 2007 9:55PM]

Uh... no navigation...? What is it with people running companies that have no idea what features to include in their product? I swear... GPS, computer, and NO navigation? ridiculous...
-Taylor

[mmenchu @ Mar 7th 2009 7:45PM]

boy, couldn't you saturate that image just a tiny bit more?

[James Smith @ Mar 9th 2007 10:51PM]

Boy, could you talk about something relevant to the article rather than the image quality?

[wayan @ Mar 9th 2007 9:57PM]

Ugh, I hate commercial TV in cabs. Taiwan cabs already have them:
http://www.bellybuttonwindow.com/2006/taiwan/

But I can live with it if this means cab fares will be GPS-verified. Too many times I've had the exact same trip cost wildly different amounts because a cabbie has hacked the meter to his advantage.

[John @ Mar 9th 2007 10:26PM]

Uhhh... there's a word for cab drivers in NYC who don't know where they're going: Unemployed.

[Raia @ Mar 9th 2007 10:34PM]

John, how long have you lived in NYC? I've had quite a few cabbies 'claim' they didnt know where they were going. then again, they very well may have, but wanted to plead ignorance so they can jack up the meter.

[Ben @ Mar 9th 2007 11:32PM]

NYC has to be one of the easiest places to get around. If a cab driver needs a gps I'm hailing another cab.

[mlucas2006 @ Mar 9th 2007 11:45PM]

You would be surprised at how often a cabbie asks me the best route to take.

[spec @ Mar 12th 2007 2:17PM]

Easy to get around Ben? Are you kidding me? Easy if you STAY in Manhattan above Houston perhaps. The vast majority of cab drives I run into don't know where anything is in Brooklyn!

[Alex @ Mar 9th 2007 11:58PM]

That's actually terrible. I wouldn't care if the GPS had driving directions, but this is just stupid and unnecessary.

[rob @ Mar 10th 2007 1:05AM]

In Philly, the gps screen is only in the front, and no driver ever uses it. Also, they are pretty much the biggest a**holes ever if you attempt to use your credit card. They will drop you off a block from an atm and make you go get money out before they'll bother to use a credit card. But hey, who needs customer service when you have lazyass unions?

[Alan @ Mar 10th 2007 1:30AM]

All these cabbies are worried about is having to pay taxes. With credit cards and GPS they can no longer cheat the system. I read another article about this http://markets.flettexchange.com/medallions/2007/02/07/taxicab-technology-a-curse-or-a-blessing-in-disguise%e2%80%a6/ that I think clears the whole thing up.

[ShortFuse @ Mar 10th 2007 2:58AM]

I work in the Taxi Limousine Commission (TLC) industry and forcing GPS is a big no no. You don't realize that the taxi drivers are the ones paying for all the hardware. TLC makes a mandate and taxi drivers have to pay out of their own pocket for the equipment. There's so mcuh tension between TLC and drivers, it's ridiculous.

[Othello @ Mar 10th 2007 4:56AM]

There's no reason to force taxi drivers to buy yet another useless gadget. And no, as a customer I'm not willing to pay for it either. I've never been taken for a ride, and I've never seen a hacked meter (I have been chased into my house by a cabbie though).

[Paul @ Mar 10th 2007 4:59AM]

This is basically 3 bad things for taxi drivers
1) They can no longer cheat people by taking the long way
2) They can no longer cheat the IRS if people pay by credit card
3) Those who own their own taxi vehicle will be forced to pay for the equipment

No wonder taxi drivers don't want this to happen...

[patchmonkey @ Mar 10th 2007 7:39AM]

I was talking to a driver in Philly in the cab the other night. Basically, they really don't like them. His reasoning was pretty much "we get tracked everywhere."

I asked him if anyone had paid by credit card, and he said that it only happened once or twice so far. However, what's really odd is that I've seen (a few times now) people pull the "Oh crap, I don't have enough money" and then the cab driver just says "go to the damn ATM" rather than use the credit card thing - it's like they don't even know it is there.

Another cabbie said that he had started using the GPS - but only when he went to the suburbs, because the streets out there are all fucked up.

heh.

[Philly @ Mar 10th 2007 12:30PM]

The issue with the credit card machines in Philly cabs is two-fold:
1.) The drivers gets charged a fee of 5% from the philly taxi commission.
2.) The taxi commission holds their money for 30 days before a check is sent to them.

It's the city implementation of this technology that puts the drivers in a bad position. If I had those kind of terms... I'd drop someone off at an ATM as well.

Philly

[solar @ Mar 10th 2007 11:20AM]

Something like this can happen.. http://cabspotting.org/client.html CABSPOTTING!!!

lol..

[ariel @ Mar 10th 2007 12:14PM]

My family is in the NYC Taxi Bussiness for over 25 years.
the cab driver will not be the ones that be paying the up front
unit cost. The fleet owners will be paying the cost.
Then they will be passing the cost on to the drivers
that will be paying incearce the weekly rentel cost.
and the owners of each taxi will see then profite
of this plan.

[ariel @ Mar 10th 2007 12:15PM]

My family is in the NYC Taxi Bussiness for over 25 years.
the cab driver will not be the ones that be paying the up front
unit cost. The fleet owners will be paying the cost.
Then they will be passing the cost on to the drivers
that will be paying incearce the weekly rentel cost.
and the owners of each taxi will see then profite
of this plan.

[James @ Mar 10th 2007 10:44PM]

Wow, an unfunded mandate in New York? Stop the presses!

Seriously, I can see where these might be beneficial, and if enough people take cabs with card machines (being aware that they may pay slightly more), those without the machines will lose business and have an incentive to buy a machine. If people aren't willing to pay an increased fare for the privilege of using a credit card, those who buy the machines will lose business. Of course, *letting the market sort it out* would never fly in NY...

[spec @ Mar 12th 2007 2:18PM]

James, are you COMPLETELY clueless? These devices aren't optional, they're MANDATORY. Second, the rider doesn't get stuck with the credicard fees, the DRIVER does. With reading comprehension like that, how do you get through life?

[Bernie @ Mar 12th 2007 2:56PM]

Well that's pretty much retarded. I've been keeping up on privacy issues and this is just one more example of how we're having more and more tracking devices all around. I've been reading this privacy blog http://www.globalpov.com, all about this kind of stuff. I also read "Privacy Lost" by the guy who writes the blog, same sort of stuff. keep your eye on this stuff. I think it's

[spec @ Mar 12th 2007 2:18PM]

Bernie, you might like the book "Nowhere to Hide". Scary stuff indeed.

[Xzavier @ Mar 12th 2007 11:19AM]

Maybe those cab drivers should go on strike? They SHOULD have a choice to have GPS installed in their cabs. It's not like GPS is mandatory for cab drivers like a drivers license is mandatory just to drive!

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