The New York Taxi Workers Alliance is at it again! According to reports, the group that was responsible for the September 5th walkout of cab drivers in New York City is once again planning to call for a strike, slated for October 22nd, and this time around, the striking taxi drivers say they will "get in the face" of cabbies who choose to work. If you'll recall, the initial strike was over the installation of GPS units which would monitor pickup and drop-off points of the drivers (as well as provide credit card services, entertainment, and news for passengers), but the Alliance seems to be changing its tune. The group is now lobbying for city-funded health care, a pension fund, and official recognition as a union. "They have pushed us further and further up against the wall so that it's not just about the technology and economics," Executive Director Bhairavi Desai said. "It's about something even greater." Meanwhile, NYC mayor Michael Bloomberg seemed undisturbed by the news, saying that the city is ready. Coming soon: Taxi Strike, a movie of the week.

The Dynasty-esque drama of the New York City taxi / GPS saga doesn't seem to be petering out. Two weeks ago, thousands of New York City cabbies went on strike (albeit not very successfully) to protest the city's insistence on adding elaborate GPS / entertainment systems to driver's cars which are capable of tracking pick-up and drop-off points. Now it appears that a group of cabbies are taking the fight to court, filing a lawsuit against the city claiming that the mandate to include the GPS units was unconstitutional, and that the devices will give away "trade secrets" by revealing their driving patterns. "Each taxi driver regards his or her own pattern as proprietary," the suit states. The New York Taxi Workers Alliance -- the group that organized the strike -- is also behind this latest move, though not all drivers are united against the GPS units, which will also add credit card services, text messaging, and television to the cars.

As we reported back in July, and then in August, a large number of taxi drivers in New York City have been planning a strike over GPS systems which the city wants installed in yellow cabs. Well, the strike is officially on, with the New York Times reporting that nearly 90-percent of cabs are off the road today (at least according to a cabbie representative). If you'll recall, the New York Taxi Workers Alliance, a quasi-union, has been threatening the strike over GPS / entertainment units the city demands be put into taxis. The new units have a number of functions -- not the least of which is tracking the cab's pickup and drop-off points -- and the drivers aren't having it. Currently, reports have come in concerning extended waits on airport pickups, and a new pricing scheme for cabs that are working, though from what we can tell, the strike hasn't put the hurt on commuters too badly. Of course, the litmus-test of a New York evening rush hour has yet to happen, so don't get too excited.

As we told you in March, the technology-bucking drivers of New York City have put their collective foot down and said "no" to GPS systems in city taxis. The New York Taxi Workers Alliance, a non-unionized group with more than 8,400 members, claims it will call for its drivers to strike if city leaders don't retract plans to install GPS units in 13,000 cabs. No new information there, but recently the NYTWA announced that September would be its target month for the walkouts, putting a very real timetable on what would be a crippling move for the city. If you'll recall, the touchscreen devices would allow passengers to pay by credit card, check the news, and map their taxi's location. The systems would also track pickup and drop-off points (information taxi drivers already report), but cabbies fear their employers will use the information to keep tabs on their whereabouts. The NYTWA plans to specify the date and length of the strike next month, so you'll know more when we do.

Despite cries of privacy invasion from the city's many drivers, interactive entertainment / advertising / navigation platforms are still being rolled out in New York's 13,000+ cabs, with major player TaxiTech's eTaxi solution the latest to receive approval from the NYC Taxi and Limousine Commission. One of four companies certified by the TLC to fill a mandate requiring these rigs in all cabs by October, TaxiTech has teamed up with hardware partners Apriva, Ingenico, and Grey Island Systems to offer a very polished looking setup centered around a 15-inch touchscreen capable of delivering a whole slew of valuable infoswag. (Click here to check out a video of the eTaxi interface). Like Digital Dispatch's SmartCab system before it, eTaxi gives passengers the ability to track their route in real time (no more pricey "shortcuts" for unsuspecting tourists), kick back to some ad-supported video or music content, bone up on historical info about the city, and even pay their fare with a credit card, tacking on a pre-calculated tip with the push of a finger. Sounds pretty convenient to us; let's just hope we don't have to start eating part of the multi-thousand dollar per car annual fee it's costing cab companies to install these luxuries.

Cabs are to New York as freeways are to Los Angeles; that is to say, they're an integral part of the landscape and no matter how hard you try, you're going to have to engage with them at some point. As such, most New Yorkers have a love-hate relationship with taxis. But New York's Taxi & Limousine Commission is trying to ease that relationship a little bit -- on Thursday, it gave a preview of the next generation of the city's yellow fleet, where new cabs will have a touch-screen that lets you watch TV (or turn it off), pay by credit card, follow your progress on a map, and best of all, make it easier to retrieve that umbrella that you forgot in the backseat when you got dropped of that one drunken night in the East Village. The commission said that the new system will let you call a hotline and tell them where you were dropped off and what was lost to use as clues to retrieve your forgotten property. We're assuming that then they'll retrace various cabs' driving histories (via GPS) over the period of the last several hours. But just keep in mind that you probably weren't the only person getting out at Port Authority around noon last Wednesday. The TLC says the new cabs should start hitting Manhattan by the end of the year.