cordelli

Not sure why, the first one was a total flop, but they have set another date

Oct. 3 (Bloomberg) -- The New York Taxi Workers Alliance, a union representing city cabbies, urged drivers to strike for a second time on Oct. 22 over a requirement to install new technology with credit-card readers and global-positioning systems.


They are hinting they will be a bit disruptive this time, which I hope gets their butts behind bars if they start blocking traffic:

"We're asking all the drivers to leave all taxis parked but to come to the demonstration," she said. "There will be picket lines, starting in the early morning, at different garages and at transportation hubs," including Penn Station and Grand Central Terminal.

sbm12

Well, after the ridiculously minimal impact of the last strike (other than to earn more money for the drivers who kept working), I can't imagine this one being all that bad either.

If they do decide to block traffic then it'll be a little bit worse, but I would imagine that they'll be arrested pretty quickly.

Plus, I'll be on the subways anyway, so I don't see much impact from the cabbies one way or the other.

Analise

A total flop? Are you kidding? Thanks to the billionare mayor we have, they made a KILLING on taxi fares those two days they were on strike in September. Of course they want another one!

Funny how the alliance accepted the requirement thanks to the mayor promising and delivering 2 rate increases. Union types seem to want to forget things like that. As per usual, they have no sense of professionalism.

More disruptive? Sure, they'll demand 4 times the regular metered rate instead of last month's 200-300% increase.

Dream on. The mayor will reward them handsomely during the strike. What else does a man dressed from the racks of the Bloomingdales' boys department do?

Landing Gear

Agreed. And I favor medallion and license revocations as well.


You can criticize Mike Bloomberg for a lot of things. But criticizing his dressing is just plain silly. The man wears bespoke Saville Row tailored suits.

Analise

Yea, the boys' departments of those Saville Row stores. Why is he exempt? Because he's male? No way.

bk3day

do any of you like those seat back video screens? What is this the 3rd incarnation?

They grate on me something awful and am annoyed that now when I enter a cab, first thing I have to do is shut the damn thing off before settling in.

Am I alone in preferring a video free ride to my destination?

Also, does anyone here pay for rides by credit card?

Just like many of those freestanding 3rd party ATMs are shady, I just don't trust 'em. Plus, i think the added overhead will lead to increased fares that would offset any possible convenience (and ff miles )

If ya do pay w/ a cc, have you ever needed to dispute a charge? Who's the actual vendor (the TLC, cab/fleet owner or ?) and was the dispute easily resolved?

bk the former boston hack

Landing Gear

I honestly cannot figure out what you have against the mayor. Are you criticizing his looks?

MisterNice

I prefer cc if possible and more and more companies require employees to use cc for all possible purchases. I never disputed a taxi cc charge but often dispute 5+ cc charges every year for one reason or another and win most of them. I would suspect the cabbies will soon realize cc mean less chance of a robbery and soon realize the overall advantages of cc.

MisterNice

cordelli

Whenever we do an event someplace in the city if I'm at the entrance when people are leaving, they are forever asking if I know where the closest ATM is because they need cash for a cab. I've also seen people passing up cabs that didn't take cards, waiting for one that does.

So I don't know how many people will use them, but I'm sure many many will.

sbm12

I think that the systems are terrible and hate that they are forced in to on position with each flag drop and it takes ~15 seconds for the intro to run before it can be disabled.

I don't pay with a CC often, but it is a nice option to have, especially when you need to expense the ride. It does stink for the drivers since they are going to lose a couple points on the conversion (in AUS they lose 5% off the top), and it isn't going to increase their business so much like CC acceptance does for retail, so it isn't all that great for the drivers.

I'm not sure that it is worth all the hoopla they're putting up - I actually think that they're more worried about the GPS tracking bit than the 3-5% for the CC transactions - but that's just my opinion.

GUWonder

I too am curious what in the world the mayor's shopping habits for suits have to do with his approach to taxi strikes.

erik123

The video screen is a profit center for the TLC and not something I want as a customer. The GPS is not my problem but as operators with some of the lowest fares in the western world (including most of the US) resident in one of the most expesnive cities - I understand drivers want to keep some of their revenue of the books.

JeremyZ

Eh - there's lots of stuff that we allow because it's better for the tourists. I'd prefer that they kill the double-decker bus stops on Broadway. But, we all deal with marginally-inconvenient stuff that's intended as a benefit to others, and we move on . . . . .

That said, why do you think the screens benefit the TLC? The medallion owner gets the ad revenue.

(BTW - if the cabbies ever got off their phones, I'd have a little more sympathy.)

Analise

His billionare boy looks, his voice (ever hear him give a speech?), and his actions -- they are all subject to criticism (not necessarily in that order ).

JeremyZ

At the risk of keeping this thread on topic, I'm happy to report that I used a credit card in a touchscreen cab for the first time tonight. The UI is actually really good, and the process is pretty easy.

I dropped a bigger tip than if I was paying cash. $9.70 fare - would have tipped $1.30 cash, but $2.00 was just easier on the touchscreen.