Yogi Berra once said … or didn’t say, according to him, “It’s dejavu all over again.”  I’ve posted a number of time sin the past about good ideas implemented stupidly in regards to city-wide GPS tracking schemes.  In particular I’ve covered the city of Philadelphia who seems to have gone out of their way to alienate drivers and make a good thing turn out bad.  Now, it seems it’s the city of New York’s turn:

The city’s fleet of 13,000 taxis is to be outfitted with global positioning systems, passenger television screens, and credit and debit card payment systems by January, after the Taxi & Limousine Commission yesterday approved the plan.

Many taxi drivers oppose the GPS technology, which they say is an invasion of privacy because officials could track where they drive. Taxi owners also do not want to pay for the equipment, which costs up to $7,400 and comes out of their pockets. The cost was factored into a 2004 fare increase, a TLC spokesman said.

“Since day one, we’ve been opposing it,” the executive director of the Taxi Workers Alliance, Bhairavi Desai, said yesterday. “The TLC didn’t listen to the drivers. This is shameful behavior by public officials.” (Courtesy New Yourk Sun)

Here’s the long and the short of this, as Dave sees it:

  • Tracking the cabs with GPS is a good idea.  In cities where this has been properly integrated it has been proven to make more money for the drivers, enhance safety and provide he regulatory oversight that the cities ought to provide.  Drivers do not have aright to privacy … they are operating a public conveyance under franchise from the city, and the idea that they should be able to pick-up passengers and charge them money for undisclosed trips is absolutely ludicrous.  Score: City 1, Driver 0 on this non-issue.
  • But to jam this down driver’s throats is dumb in the highest degree.  The taxi drivers and/or owners are independent businessmen.  They pay a fortune in franchise (Medallion) fees, insurance, taxes, fuel, tolls and who knows what else to operate their cabs.  A program of this magnitude should be phased in gradually … and incentified.  Why not allow fare increases for the drivers who get on-board the GPS-train and leave the others to live under a “frozen” fee scale?  Score: City 0 Drivers 1.
  • The quoted costs for this equipment is ridiculous.  I question the city’s bidding and selection process.  I sold this stuff for a living for years and the quoted prices are way, way out of line. Either someone is lining their pockets or they have been absolutely ignorant in the specification and selection process.  Among other issues, what on earth is television in the cabs supposed to do for safety and public convenience.  We have to be exposed to the “babble box” in airports, waiting rooms and hundreds of other places … now we have to pay $50 an hour to sit in a cab and be further bombarded with advertisements and political claptrap? Score City 0, Driver 1 heere as well.

About all I can say on this issue is, people count for something in this world, but you can for sure tell they count for zilch in the city of New York, neither taxi drivers nor their customers.  Sad.

Filed under: Uncategorized

Like this post? Subscribe to my RSS feed and get loads more!