taxi
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NYC rolls out six Nissan Leafs in EV taxi pilot, good luck catching one
New York City's full-on EV taxi blitz may not come until late this year, but the metropolis is taking its first tentative steps into that electric world as of today: it's deploying the six Nissan Leaf cabs promised as part of a pilot program. The half-dozen sedans will spend a year on the road, with officials able to gauge the effectiveness of EVs as taxis when they have access to both regular chargers at their home bases as well as fast chargers in Manhattan's far West Side, Lower East Side and Union Square. Don't expect to hail an eco-friendly cab very often, though -- along with the daunting numerical odds, the Leaf drivers have more liberty than usual to turn down passengers and protect their remaining power supply. If you do happen to find yourself in the back seat, however, you'll likely get a glimpse at New York's cleaner and quieter future.
Uber vows to roll out service where it has 'tacit approval,' with precautions
If you hadn't gathered, Uber's app-based taxi service isn't always welcome wherever it goes. The company is tired of that fighting just to maintain its business, so it's defining its expansion policies through a new white paper. Deployments will occur in regions where Uber sees "tacit approval" from regulators -- in other words, areas where there hasn't been direct legal action against competing services for at least 30 days. Just in case authorities change their minds, the company plans to go "above and beyond" commercial licensing requirements, including a $2 million insurance policy on trips and more stringent background tests. While Uber would much rather have explicit permission to operate as it sees fit, the strategy could have the firm venturing into territories where competitors with unlicensed drivers have (seemingly) free rein.
EE launches free 4G WiFi service in (some) London black cabs
So, previous taxi WiFi solutions were too slow, or you weren't underground. What's a smartphone-tethered Londoner on the hunt for WiFi supposed to do? The current answer is to flag down one of London's 40 4GEE taxis, all of which will be loaded with WiFi router connected to EE, the UK's only LTE network. If you're not dahhn sahhf, you'll still be able to pick up the signal in ten cabs that'll be circling Birmingham. Ironically, these 4G-ready black cabs will no longer be black. Nope, they'll be coated in the turquoise hues of the EE network, which should make them easier to spot. Anyone living in either metropolis should have no troubles keeping up with new Doctor Who, Downton Abbey or Peep Show ever again. At least for the next three months, which is how long the service is set to last.
Uber recruiting San Franciscan drivers, no (official taxi) license needed
Taxi-hailing apps like Uber and its competitors have been hitting stop sign after speed bump in their journey to actually, you know, being able to operate. Uber even had to shut down a beta in the Big Apple before the authorities gave such services the green light (with various caveats), and earlier this month, a similar win was scored in California when officials lifted local restrictions. As a result of the Golden State's leniency, Uber has started its UBERx program in San Francisco to recruit drivers who don't possess a specific taxi or limo license. That means everyone and your neighbor Bob can potentially start exchanging rides for cash, and are being promised decent compensation, completely flexible working hours, and access to a large number of clients. Luckily for fare-payers, those that wish to repurpose their whip will have to pass several tests before ferrying passengers, including a "city knowledge exam," so hopefully you won't end up on Alcatraz when you just asked Bob for a lift to Chinatown. [Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons]
NYC taxis may have to wait longer for app hails
Fans of taxi-finder apps like Uber, Hailo and FlyWheel may have to wait a bit longer before they can raise their iThumbs to flag down yellow cabs in the US' busiest urban area. Per the WSJ, a lawsuit by livery cab drivers may block a rule change that would allow app-based hailing in NYC. While iPhone apps to summon a taxi or "black car" ride are popular in other cities, New York's slightly Byzantine rules governing for-hire cars have made it challenging for these apps to make inroads in the Big Apple. The city's iconic yellow cabs can respond to street hails, but for many years have not been allowed to take phone reservations or centralized dispatch. The lawsuit contends that an e-hail is equivalent to dispatching, and that these apps will encroach upon the for-hire car market. The chairman of the city's Taxi and Limousine Commission, former city council member David Yassky, didn't mince words in his statement responding to the legal maneuverings. "This suit seeks to keep the taxi industry and New Yorkers in the dark ages... Next thing, they'll be suing restaurants to go back to wood-burning stoves. Our rules allow for e-hail now, and the only question is, do we embrace these new services and ensure that consumer protections are in place, or listen to obstructionists and watch e-hail apps proliferate without any regulatory input." Back in December, the TLC approved a year-long pilot test of app-based hailing for yellow taxis. The earliest possible start date for that test was February 15, but now it's possible it may take even longer for the service to kick off. An earlier test by Uber had to be canceled due to too few participating cabs and too much demand, not to mention that the TLC hadn't yet figured out how e-hailing was going to work in the city. Meanwhile, livery cabs, car services and corporate cars can indeed be dispatched by phone and by app -- Uber's app already covers most of NYC's business district -- but they aren't allowed to pick up arbitrary passengers on the street (although many flout the rules). On recent trips to Chicago and San Francisco, I was pleasantly surprised by how effective Uber's cab service was, with a ride showing up promptly in almost all cases (one attempt at rush hour in SF's downtown financial district didn't pan out). I would certainly take advantage of an e-hail tool in NYC, assuming the interested parties ever sort out their disputes. [via Transportation Nation and Crain's New York]
TomTom intros iPhone app for its taxi trial service, helps Dutch get home quickly
There's been a perpetual catch with TomTom's taxi hailing service in Amsterdam (and now Rotterdam): passengers have to hail from a specific terminal, which isn't much help when they just need a ride home from the club at 2AM. The Dutch don't have to necessarily forgo one convenience for another now that there's an iPhone app. Edging closer to services like Uber, the TomTomTaxi app lets travelers order a cab from their own devices, learn about drivers and choose favorite drivers if they have good experiences. The software may keep rude surprises to a minimum, as well, when both the driver and travelers can see the fastest route for themselves. Expansion outside of the Netherlands is still a mystery, although there's an Android app on the way that should cover a larger swath of taxi seekers.
New York City board votes to approve taxi app pilot test (Updated)
Update: Per The Verge, the pilot program has been approved by a vote of the TLC. When savvy travelers want to hail a taxi or limo in many metropolitan areas, they grab an app like TaxiMagic (free) or Uber (free), tap a few buttons to "e-hail" a nearby driver, and they're on their way. New York City, however, has several decades-old idiosyncratic rules about which specific types of cars are able to respond to street hails (yellow taxis) and which are summoned by pre-arrangement or reservation (limos, livery and car service). The notion of apps helping with e-hailing doesn't sit well with everyone. Car service and livery operators are not happy with the idea of apps being used to summon yellow cabs, and they have written to the city's Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC) to call for the use of the apps to be rejected. Today, the commission will vote on allowing a one-year pilot program where the apps will be evaluated in a "measured way." In some cities like San Francisco, the apps are widely used and very popular with smartphone-toting passengers. Australia's taxi authority has warned about rogue apps that funnel passengers to drivers without taxi licenses. In London, valid apps that require drivers to provide taxi license info before being allowed to use the services are very popular -- both with consumers and with drivers. The chairman of the TLC, David Yassky, told the Wall Street Journal that "[taxi]-hailing apps will be useful to customers," but noted that "[there's] a lot we don't know about how they will work in practice and what impact there will be on other parts of industry." At least one cabbie is on the pro-app side of the argument; author and taxi driver Melissa Plaut's op-ed in the New York Times lays out the economic case for having taxis (which often sit underutilized for much of their shifts) expand their view of would-be riders using mobile technology.
NYC's taxi commission votes 'yes' to one-year trial of cab-hailing apps
Despite copious quantities of bickering between the New York City taxi commission and Uber (amongst others), it looks as if said entity is going to give this whole "21st century" thing a whirl. Skift is reporting that the commission voted just moments ago to allow a one-year trial of taxi-hailing apps, with seven members voting "yes" and two abstaining. It's a huge, huge victory for apps like Lyft, Hailo and Uber, and it could very well set the stage for the first major leap in how the cab-hailing process works in a very long while. We're learning now that passengers using any e-hail app below 59th Street will "only be able to hail taxis within a half-mile radius of their location," while cabs will be allowed to pick up e-hail passengers "within a mile and half radius everywhere else in the city." Moreover, drivers must be able to accept trips with a single touch, and all payments have to be processed through a T-PEP provider. Not surprisingly, each app will be required to report to the TLC each quarter. Commissioner Yasky was quoted as saying the following: "Like all pilot programs, this will provide a wealth of information and allow us to make a better decision down the road. We should not ignore technology that is out there. Uber, Hailo, and GetTaxi are out in other cities of the world."
Taxi service apps could be hit by a proposed ban on GPS metering
Taxi and car-sharing apps which quote for journeys based on GPS data could find themselves outlawed by regulators. Transport authorities across fifteen US and Canadian cities are looking at a set of rules that would prohibit anything except physical metering to calculate the cost of a trip. The proposals would also put the kibosh on demand pricing, whereby quotes automatically rise when more people are making bookings, and also on the use of drivers who don't have proper taxi licenses. Some of these practices are already banned in a number of states, and in fact three online transport services -- Zimride, SideCar and our old friend Uber -- were fined in California this week precisely for allowing unqualified hands to take the wheel. If the current proposals are adopted, the role of smartphones would likely be restricted to hailing regular taxis or putting electric money into traditional cabbies' pockets.
Uber shuts down New York City taxi beta, may see light at the end of the (Lincoln) tunnel in February (update: TLC responds)
Uber has been having a tough time getting a foothold in New York City, and it's temporarily withdrawing the UberTaxi service it had in beta. The withdrawal isn't entirely for the reasons you'd expect, however. While Uber claims to have been getting grief from the city's Taxi and Limousine Commission for offering a competing (if technically legal) service through its smartphone apps, the program's end was due to demand rather than any kind of outright ban -- the Commission's pressure reportedly kept Uber from matching interest with enough yellow cabs. Black car service is still on for those who don't mind the classic ride. Should that uncomfortable balance not be quite good enough, Mayor Bloomberg is promising a truce come February, when a shift in contracts will let New York change the rules and hopefully improve the market for taxi alternatives. Update: TLC Commissioner David Yassky has weighed in with both an elaboration and claims that the Commission has been in favor of newer technology for awhile. He notes that the contracts expiring in February relate to exclusive payment arrangements with Creative Mobile Technologies and VeriFone, and that apps of all kinds (Uber's included) can compete for attention at that point. His full statement: "In recent months, as e-hail apps have emerged, TLC has undertaken serious diligence and is moving toward rule changes that will open the market to app developers and other innovators. Those changes cannot legally take place until our existing exclusive contracts expire in February. We are committed to making it as easy as possible to get a safe, legal ride in a New York City taxi, and are excited to see how emerging technology can improve that process. Our taxis have always been on the cutting edge of technological innovation, from GPS systems to credit card readers."
Sound Taxi composes music from London city buzz, doesn't even take a fare
What you see above isn't just another shameless car stereo project, but a black cab that turns the hustle and bustle of city noise into music. The Sound Taxi toured London last week collecting ambient sound pollution with a roof-mounted mic, recycling it through production software and then pumping out real-time mixes on its army of speakers and horns. The mobile disco was a collaboration between headphone company AiAiAi and Yuri Suzuki, with Mark McKeague providing the back-end wizardry which turned clamor into samples into tracks. If you'd like to hear the fruits of their labor, then head over to the Make The City Sound Better website (sourced below) for some uploaded examples of London street beats.
New York City, meet your new official taxi: the Nissan NV200
Back in May, Nissan unveiled its NV200 van as New York City's "Taxi of Tomorrow" in a joint press conference with Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Today, NYC's Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC) made the pact official, signing regulations that will replace the city's iconic line of Crown Victorias (and myriad other cabs) with the NV200 beginning in October 2013. As Nissan puts it, today's signing, "officially makes the NV200 the taxicab of New York City." The NV200 van beat out competition from the likes of Ford to take New York City's coveted "Taxi of Tomorrow" award months ago. When Engadget EIC (and gearhead) Tim Stevens explored the NV200 at the New York Auto Show, he called it "a huge advance" over existing taxi stock. And hey, with all those amenities, we can't disagree. Most exciting for commuters: Nissan's NV200 taxi features separate climate controls for passengers, as well as USB slots for mobile charging. "Taxi of Tomorrow" indeed!
Visualized: Samsung's human, Galaxy Note-powered taxi
That's the last time we take a taxi in Berlin. After a fairly harrowing journey across the city to tonight's Samsung IFA event, we reached our destination and spotted a clearly superior mode of transportation: a fleet of pedal-powered cabs sporting Galaxy Note 10.1s in the back. Of course, we probably would have spent more time admiring the glory that is Berlin, rather than the 10-inch screen, but it's nice to have the option there when we need it.%Gallery-163795%
Samsung files for patent on safe taxi service, we hope we never fully test it
Anyone who often relies on taxi service to get around, as good as it can be, has likely had a driver who was less than courteous -- and in the worst cases, outright scary. Samsung wants to keep passengers safe, and drivers honest, through a just-published patent application for an end-to-end taxi service. On a basic level, it's a taxi finder with a rating system: the mobile app in the patent can hail a nearby cab based on the driver's "kindness" rating and verify that it's the right vehicle with a short-range wireless link, not unlike an even more genteel version of Uber. It's when passengers hop inside that Samsung's implementation takes on a more distinct shape. If the driver puts customers or the whole cab in danger, a passenger-activated SOS mode flags the car's location to get the police on the scene before it's too late. We don't know how likely Samsung is to implement such a system, although it has been actively developing more advanced backseat technology and filed the US patent in February, a year after its Korean equivalent. We do know this is one of the few patents we'd rather not completely experience first-hand -- the only crazy taxis we're comfortable with sit inside game consoles.
London minicab firm equips cars with free WiFi, says you don't need no stinking LTE
London may be late to the LTE party, but it's more than making up for its laggard mobile ways by bulking up its citizens' access to WiFi. The Tube's been acquiring hotspots in preparation for the crush of Olympic fans expected to use public transport, and now it's time for taxis to do the same. The Inquirer reports that Greentomatocars, a London minicab service, is now equipping every car in its fleet with free WiFi. Each cab has its own SIM that affords passengers up to 7.2Mbps downloads and 2Mbps uploads, and gaining access merely requires you profess your affection for gratis internet -- the password is ilovefreewifi.
NYC may let iPhones hail taxis
Soon, New Yorkers may be puling out their smartphones instead of waving their hands when they need to hail a cab. According to an ABC News report, the Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC) of NYC is looking for developers to help bring access to its taxi fleet to mobile phones. The Commission put out a call for developers who can implement a system that would let customers schedule a cab and pay for the ride using their smartphone. One such solution, Taxi Magic, is being used in 45 US cities to schedule over 30,000 taxicabs. Other companies like Hailo, which has a cab solution up and running in London, have set up shop in NYC and are hoping to break into what potentially could be a very lucrative market.
Uber tackles Taxis in Chicago with Uber Garage experiment
Uber has been making quite a name for itself with its fleet of private Town Cars you can order straight from your smartphone. But, high-end luxury shuttles only account for a tiny fraction of the car service market. A much larger piece of the pie is owned by the humble taxicab. Uber Garage is the company's new workshop for experimental new features and services, and the first product of the labs is a taxi service for UberChicago customers. With more cabs per-capita than anywhere else in the US and the second lowest rates in the nation, it was the logical choice for a launch location. Taxi drivers who take part in the program will get alerts when an Uber user wants a cab. Rather than wave and whistle and wait on a busy corner, a user simply fires up the Uber app and demands a ride. There's no cash to exchange or credit card to swipe -- drivers a paid by Uber direct, and the fare includes a 20-percent tip. Though, that doesn't mean you're not free to tip some cash on top of the default gratuity. If you're in the Chicago area and have taken advantage of an Uber Taxi, let us know how it went in the comments.
Nissan NV200 Taxi of Tomorrow hands-on (video)
It is, admittedly, difficult to get too excited about a ride in a taxi. Taxis tend to smell, their drivers tend to be rather abrupt in their piloting style and there's a good chance you won't be able to find one when you really need it. Nissan's "Taxi of Tomorrow," then, is hardly the most alluring concept car on display at the New York International Auto Show, but it is, however, the one you're most likely to actually get to take a ride in. It's also a huge advance compared to the rather tired 'ol Crown Vic. Join us after the break for an exploration of why.
Square takes on New York taxis with new iPad-based payment system
Anyone who finds themselves in a New York taxi over the next few weeks stands a slim chance of getting their hands on Square's latest experiment. As The New York Times reports, the company will soon begin rolling out the first phase of its new mobile payment system for taxis, which will see 30 cabs equipped with an iPad encased in a metal housing that also includes a credit card reader. That will let folks swipe their card, sign their name on the screen with their finger, and then receive a receipt on their phone either by text or email; taxi drivers are also able to interact with the system, dubbed "Checker," using their own iPhone app. Unfortunately, details beyond that initial roll out remain a bit light, although Square is happy to point out that the system is completely silent and offers no other distractions.
Daily Update for March 2, 2012
It's the TUAW Daily Update, your source for Apple news in a convenient audio format. You'll get all the top Apple stories of the day in three to five minutes for a quick review of what's happening in the Apple world. You can listen to today's Apple stories by clicking the inline player (requires Flash) or the non-Flash link below. To subscribe to the podcast for daily listening through iTunes, click here. No Flash? Click here to listen. Subscribe via RSS
