New York City - Hailing a yellow cab from Steinway St / Ditmars Blvd, Astoria late night

Hello!

I'm not going to be in Astoria tonight near the last stop on the n/q ditmars blvd, I was wondering if it's easy/hard to hail a cab around 1 am in that area? I will be there late tonight but I have to catch a train at grand central in Manhattan before 2 am. I don't want to risk taking the subway and missing a train.

Thanks in advance for your help.

You can't hail a taxi in Astoria. You'll have to call for a livery cab.

You can't hail a taxi in Astoria. You'll have to call for a livery cab.

Thanks!
any recommended ones?

I also made a mistake in the op . I will be in astoria tonight.....

Thanks!
any recommended ones?

I also made a mistake in the op . I will be in astoria tonight.....I have no idea. Where are you going? If to a friend's apt, ask the friend. If to a bar or restaurant, ask the bartender.

Hopefully, others here might have recommendations.

Definitely ask the friend or bartender. But if you can't come up with something, I'm not 100% sure, but I think that New Enrico's (www.newenricos.com) was the car service that my friends used all the time when they lived in Astoria.

You can't hail a taxi in Astoria. You'll have to call for a livery cab.

You might be able to if they're dropping someone off in Astoria. I would expect to call a livery cab but you might be surprised and see a yellow cab heading back towards Manhattan.
Cheers
Howie

You can't hail a taxi in Astoria. You'll have to call for a livery cab.

Of course you can. The issue is there may not be many around.

It's really ridiculous that there is some gov't regulation that prohibits taxis from picking up fares in the outerboroughs as they can in Manhattan. It hurts EVERYBODY. Look at the OP.

Last weekend, my husband and I went to El Pote (located on 2nd b/w 38th and 39th) with my inlaws. After dinner we tried to hail a taxi for them to go to Penn Station. EVERY SINGLE taxi that did not have a fare had its "off duty" lights on. At 8:30pm? Finally after about 20 minutes, a taxi stopped in front of El Pote to let off a fare. So they grabbed that one.

Wasn't the whole point of adding additional evening fare to make sure that not every cab is off duty at once?

Well, I found out from another taxi driver that the reason is that on 2nd Ave near the midtown tunnel (as well as on 1st and 3rd Aves near the 59th Street Bridge) taxis PURPOSELY put on the off-duty lights to avoid having to take a fare to an outerborough. They can't pick up fares so they don't want to go. The cabbie said that "a good 80% will take us to the land of no money."

So beware....if you need a taxi in the evening hours of weekend nights near a bridge or tunnel to another borough, you now know why you see so many "off duty" signs.

What genius moron made THAT decision?

It's really ridiculous that there is some gov't regulation that prohibits taxis from picking up fares in the outerboroughs as they can in Manhattan. It hurts EVERYBODY.


You're confusing taxis with livery cabs. Yellow taxis are very much allowed to pick up fares in any borough. It is the black livery cabs that are not allowed to do so. They are only supposed to respond to dispatch calls, in any borough.

A politician that knows best of course.

What genius moron made THAT decision?

Cabs in the city are a funny game. I live in the East Village and cabs love me. They drop me off at my apartment and have a new fare within a block or two at most any time of day. When I lived in Brooklyn my brother, who also lives in Brooklyn but another part, would have a big problem getting a yellow cab to take him home late at night but when I'd tell them where I lived in Brooklyn they'd take me as they knew a fare into the city wasn't far away (no I didn't live in Williamburg. I look bad in skinny jeans and black rimmed glasses).

Not any longer/for much longer. That has been voted on and signed into law by our Governor. I also think he was talking about Yellow Cabs and not livery. Cabs quite often do just what he was talking about, putting on the off duty sign, to avoid fares to the outer boroughs as they're right next to the tunnels/bridges and won't have return fares as easily as driving around Manhattan taking me and my friends to dinner and then home from the bar later.

You're confusing taxis with livery cabs. Yellow taxis are very much allowed to pick up fares in any borough. It is the black livery cabs that are not allowed to do so. They are only supposed to respond to dispatch calls, in any borough.

You're confusing taxis with livery cabs. Yellow taxis are very much allowed to pick up fares in any borough. It is the black livery cabs that are not allowed to do so. They are only supposed to respond to dispatch calls, in any borough.I wasn't confusing them; the driver apparently was. I was just telling you what he told me. Or maybe he didn't want to tell me that they won't go to the outer boroughs because not enough people hail taxis there?

Not any longer/for much longer.

Yeah, it'll be great when it goes into effect. And the addition of thousands of more medallions should ease the yellow taxi shortage during peak hours a bit.

Once again in concept it sounds great but really it's about money. Medallions are worth a lot and will be sold once again to companies instead of an individual operator. I'm tempted to get my TLC license and working only at peak times.

Yeah, it'll be great when it goes into effect. And the addition of thousands of more medallions should ease the yellow taxi shortage during peak hours a bit.

last medallion was sold for a cool million. crazy.

While the additional medallions might help a bit, the way the system is structured is a massive wealth transfer from the taxpayers to taxi owners.

In a sane system, the value of a scarcity of taxi medallions would be captured by the city, rather than lucky taxi owners:

1. Medallions would be auctioned off, not just issued out in a lottery.
2. The medallions would be time limited, say 5 years, and then they can be reauctioned.

Or, we could go the other route, designed to increase the number of taxis, and say that, if you have a certified vehicle that passes the criteria as a taxi, you get a taxi medallion. No limit on how many issued. Maybe charge $200 a year for the inspection, but that's it.

I wasn't confusing them; the driver apparently was. I was just telling you what he told me. Or maybe he didn't want to tell me that they won't go to the outer boroughs because not enough people hail taxis there?

Either he was lying, he's nuts, or you misunderstood. Yellow cabs can respond to street hails anywhere in the five boroughs. Cabs don't like going to the outer boroughs because they don't think they'll be able to get a fare there.

Hello!

I'm not going to be in Astoria tonight near the last stop on the n/q ditmars blvd, I was wondering if it's easy/hard to hail a cab around 1 am in that area? I will be there late tonight but I have to catch a train at grand central in Manhattan before 2 am. I don't want to risk taking the subway and missing a train.

Thanks in advance for your help.So what did you do last night?

It's really ridiculous that there is some gov't regulation that prohibits taxis from picking up fares in the outerboroughs as they can in Manhattan. It hurts EVERYBODY. Look at the OP.

Last weekend, my husband and I went to El Pote (located on 2nd b/w 38th and 39th) with my inlaws. After dinner we tried to hail a taxi for them to go to Penn Station. EVERY SINGLE taxi that did not have a fare had its "off duty" lights on. At 8:30pm? Finally after about 20 minutes, a taxi stopped in front of El Pote to let off a fare. So they grabbed that one.

Wasn't the whole point of adding additional evening fare to make sure that not every cab is off duty at once?

Well, I found out from another taxi driver that the reason is that on 2nd Ave near the midtown tunnel (as well as on 1st and 3rd Aves near the 59th Street Bridge) taxis PURPOSELY put on the off-duty lights to avoid having to take a fare to an outerborough. They can't pick up fares so they don't want to go. The cabbie said that "a good 80% will take us to the land of no money."

So beware....if you need a taxi in the evening hours of weekend nights near a bridge or tunnel to another borough, you now know why you see so many "off duty" signs.

What genius moron made THAT decision?

I'm not sure what the heck your talking about as cabs can pick up anywhere within the borders of NYC. The issue is that cabbies don't like going deep into the outerboroughs since they don't think they'll get a fare going back. I've seen cabbies do some pretty extreme things to avoid Brooklyn trips including a few years ago a driver physically throwing out a passenger. Of course the woman got hurt and the driver ended up getting arrested as the truck in front of him boxed him in and couldn't get away.
Cheers
Howie

IMHO, this is the new "trick" to keep from getting a fare for a location they don't want to go.

The last 3 or 4 cabs I've hailed actually had their off-duty lights on. They stopped, asked where I was going, and told me to get in after I told them. This is during the day. The latest was at about 5pm, but the others were mid-afternoon.

I mentioned it to my husband last week after it suddenly struck me that it seems that almost all the cabs are now off-duty, no matter the time of day.

I'm not sure what the heck your talking about as cabs can pick up anywhere within the borders of NYC. The issue is that cabbies don't like going deep into the outerboroughs since they don't think they'll get a fare going back. I've seen cabbies do some pretty extreme things to avoid Brooklyn trips including a few years ago a driver physically throwing out a passenger. Of course the woman got hurt and the driver ended up getting arrested as the truck in front of him boxed him in and couldn't get away.


To which I say, too damn bad! When you got the TLC license, you agreed to follow a set of rules. If you don't like those rules, don't drive a taxi.

I encourage everyone to use the camera portions of their phones to document taxi abuse.

IMHO, this is the new "trick" to keep from getting a fare for a location they don't want to go.

The last 3 or 4 cabs I've hailed actually had their off-duty lights on. They stopped, asked where I was going, and told me to get in after I told them. This is during the day. The latest was at about 5pm, but the others were mid-afternoon.

I believe there's a shift change around 4-5pm so they may genuinely have been off duty but willing to pick up pax going to a destination on their way back to their garage. Or they might be abusing the off duty light.

It seems like it would be fairly simple for the TLC to track/restrict off duty light usage (cabs should only be able to use it once or twice during the course of a shift).

Back on the topic of Astoria... I lived in the neighborhood in the 80s, and usually had good luck hailing cabs on 21st St, anywhere between the Queensboro and the Triboro. I think many cabbies used it as a quick non-toll route between LGA and Midtown, for example, if the LGA queue was long and they didn't want to sit and wait their turn there.

Getting a cab there wasn't quite Manhattan-reliable, but usually 5-10 minutes was enough, which is better than most spots in the outer boroughs,

To which I say, too damn bad! When you got the TLC license, you agreed to follow a set of rules. If you don't like those rules, don't drive a taxi.

I encourage everyone to use the camera portions of their phones to document taxi abuse.

I agree with this and with the TLC now allowing hearings against taxi drivers via phone I urge everyone to call 311 about drivers who do this sort of crap.
Cheers
Howie

Back on the topic of Astoria... I lived in the neighborhood in the 80s, and usually had good luck hailing cabs on 21st St, anywhere between the Queensboro and the Triboro. I think many cabbies used it as a quick non-toll route between LGA and Midtown, for example, if the LGA queue was long and they didn't want to sit and wait their turn there.

Getting a cab there wasn't quite Manhattan-reliable, but usually 5-10 minutes was enough, which is better than most spots in the outer boroughs,

21st street is still good as I've used that coming back from the Costco in LIC. Also in Brooklyn 4th avenue tends to be quite good especially at night.
Cheers
Howie

I have hung out in that area quite a bit. I have never found a yellow cab, but there are quite a few shady livery cabs hanging out right there who will take you where you are going. Just make sure to negotiate a price before getting in.

IMHO, this is the new "trick" to keep from getting a fare for a location they don't want to go.
It's not a new trick, and it's also not used just to avoid certain destinations. It's also been used to avoid certain types of customers.

Except I'm no where near the type if customer they're trying to avoid. Nor am I in a location they don't want to go. White middle aged female in midtown in the middle if the afternoon.

Except I'm no where near the type if customer they're trying to avoid. Nor am I in a location they don't want to go. White middle aged female in midtown in the middle if the afternoon.Maybe it's the time of day but your being white has nothing to do with it. My inlaws were blown off by "Off Duty" lights at night on E 39th.

Wirelessly posted (Verizon BlackBerry 9630: Mozilla/5.0 (BlackBerry; U; BlackBerry 9650; en-US) AppleWebKit/534.8+ (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/6.0.0.524 Mobile Safari/534.8+)

Once again in concept it sounds great but really it's about money. Medallions are worth a lot and will be sold once again to companies instead of an individual operator. I'm tempted to get my TLC license and working only at peak times.

Yeah, it'll be great when it goes into effect. And the addition of thousands of more medallions should ease the yellow taxi shortage during peak hours a bit.

The only reason they are worth so much is becuase of artificial supply restrictions.

Except I'm no where near the type if customer they're trying to avoid. Nor am I in a location they don't want to go. White middle aged female in midtown in the middle if the afternoon.Maybe it's the time of day but your being white has nothing to do with it. My inlaws were blown off by "Off Duty" lights at night on E 39th.I'm not being blown off. They show off duty, ask where I'm going, and after I tell them, say get in. Each and every time. Mid day.

I'm not being blown off. They show off duty, ask where I'm going, and after I tell them, say get in. Each and every time. Mid day.How does that work for you on a Friday or Saturday night? Not one of them stopped for my inlaws. :(

I work from home on Friday so I wouldn't know. Plus on the few that I have worked in the office, I bail at 4:30pm. I'm out of there so fast they don't know what hit them. I drive in.

And you'd have to pull my nails out to get me back into the city on a Sat night unless it was really special. Even so, I would drive in and not take a cab.

How does that work for you on a Friday or Saturday night? Not one of them stopped for my inlaws. :(

That's odd on a Friday or Saturday night as I'm always getting "off duty" cabs when I'm heading home and that's usually after midnight.
Cheers
Howie

You can't hail a taxi in Astoria. You'll have to call for a livery cab.

Not true.

Definitely ask the friend or bartender. But if you can't come up with something, I'm not 100% sure, but I think that New Enrico's (www.newenricos.com) was the car service that my friends used all the time when they lived in Astoria.

We use New Enricos all the time. They're eerily accurate with their pickup ETAs as well. If they say "6 minute" they mean 6 minutes. ^ Ecuador-to-door (http://www.yelp.com/biz/ecuador-corp-car-service-astoria) is good also.

While the additional medallions might help a bit, the way the system is structured is a massive wealth transfer from the taxpayers to taxi owners.

In a sane system, the value of a scarcity of taxi medallions would be captured by the city, rather than lucky taxi owners:

1. Medallions would be auctioned off, not just issued out in a lottery.
2. The medallions would be time limited, say 5 years, and then they can be reauctioned.

New Medallions are auctioned. If they expired in 5 years, they wouldn't sell at auction for anywhere near as much as they do

Back on the topic of Astoria... I lived in the neighborhood in the 80s, and usually had good luck hailing cabs on 21st St, anywhere between the Queensboro and the Triboro. I think many cabbies used it as a quick non-toll route between LGA and Midtown, for example, if the LGA queue was long and they didn't want to sit and wait their turn there.

Getting a cab there wasn't quite Manhattan-reliable, but usually 5-10 minutes was enough, which is better than most spots in the outer boroughs,

33rd Street is the way to go if you're east of the elevated tracks. It's the fastest way in between Queensboro Plaza and the Triborough and taxis use it all the time.

New Medallions are auctioned. If they expired in 5 years, they wouldn't sell at auction for anywhere near as much as they do.

New medallions are a good start. Next step would be to take all medallions that weren't originally auctioned, and auction _them_ off. If we're going to create artificial scarcity for taxis in NYC by limiting the # of medallions, we should at least be ensuring that the value of that scarcity accrues to taxpayers.

New medallions are a good start. Next step would be to take all medallions that weren't originally auctioned, and auction _them_ off. If we're going to create artificial scarcity for taxis in NYC by limiting the # of medallions, we should at least be ensuring that the value of that scarcity accrues to taxpayers.

I don't know the history of taxi medallion sales/auctions, but my guess would be that whatever money NYC made off of them in the first place was a function of their stated duration at the time. You can't exactly expropriate medallions that were purchased years ago. Most of them, presumably, changed hands one or more times since their issuance so that the current holders are not the original buyers.

I don't know the history of taxi medallion sales/auctions, but my guess would be that whatever money NYC made off of them in the first place was a function of their stated duration at the time. You can't exactly expropriate medallions that were purchased years ago. Most of them, presumably, changed hands one or more times since their issuance so that the current holders are not the original buyers.

According to Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taxicabs_of_New_York_City), 11,787 of the 13,237 medallions that are out there today were issued in 1937 for $10 each (actually 16,900 were initially issued, but over 5,000 expired over the next couple years because drivers didn't pay the $10 renewal fee).

The city does recoup some costs through the medallions, though, as renewing now costs $1,650 every two years (http://www.nyc.gov/html/tlc/downloads/pdf/medallion_renewal_information.pdf) (PDF).

I wonder how that fee is set. It seems like it could probably be increased considerably.

According to Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taxicabs_of_New_York_City), 11,787 of the 13,237 medallions that are out there today were issued in 1937 for $10 each (actually 16,900 were initially issued, but over 5,000 expired over the next couple years because drivers didn't pay the $10 renewal fee).

The city does recoup some costs through the medallions, though, as renewing now costs $1,650 every two years (http://www.nyc.gov/html/tlc/downloads/pdf/medallion_renewal_information.pdf) (PDF).

I wonder how that fee is set. It seems like it could probably be increased considerably.

Very interesting. I was under the impression many more medallions had been issued since their introduction. In any case, the $10 fee is irrelevant now, as newly-issued medallions are always auctioned.

(I didn't know about the renewal fees, but they do add up: 13,237 @ $1,650 every two years is over $10 million a year.)

Very interesting. I was under the impression many more medallions had been issued since their introduction. In any case, the $10 fee is irrelevant now, as newly-issued medallions are always auctioned.

(I didn't know about the renewal fees, but they do add up: 13,237 @ $1,650 every two years is over $10 million a year.)

Given what they're selling for, and assuming a 7% cost of capital, $35k/year would seem a reasonable renewal fee.