Blog

A federal appeals court has ruled that New York City can track taxi drivers by using their installed GPS system and this tracking device does not violate the Fourth Amendment rights of unreasonable search and seizure.

In a 2-1 decision, the Second Circuit held that taxi drivers do not have a protected privacy interest in the vehicles they drive and that taxicabs are “not truly private vehicles.”

New York taxicabs were fitted for GPS back in 2004 and this collected data would later be used to keep track on whether taxi drivers were overcharging passengers for a higher suburban rate while they were still driving within city limits.  

Read more

Evgeny Friedman told to keep safe the Citigroup tower area in Queens where taxis were set to be abandoned

A man dubbed the “New York Taxi King” because of his huge fleet of yellow cabs was set to surrender 46 taxi cabs and their medallions after a court dispute over a $34 million unpaid loan with Citibank NA, court papers revealed.

A native of Russia, Evgeny Freidman took over his father’s modest taxi business in 1996 and expanded it into one of the New York City’s largest taxi fleets.

A bankruptcy judge blocked Freidman from his plan to abandon these 46 taxis outside the Citigroup tower in Queens after his very public dispute with the lender.

Read more

For nearly a decade, the Taxi TV has been a large part of the New York City taxi riders experience.  But those screens are on the way out, after the Taxi & Limousine Commission (TLC) approved a pilot program that will eventually eliminate the TV’s and replace them with sleeker tablets or smartphones for customers.

The newly proposed tablets would have a credit card reader to collect the fare and would also be filled with apps, which would allow the rider to do things such as listen to music, or search dining options.  Wi-Fi is also being looked into in order to allow riders to make calls on the tablet.

Read more

If you are hailing a cab on the streets of New York City, it is highly probable that your driver will be from another country.  According to the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC), a mere 4% of taxi drivers were born in the United States.  The city’s taxi drivers have been overwhelmingly foreign-born for decades.

Due in large part to this, New York City Counsel and Mayor Bill de Blasio signed into law that New York City taxi drivers will no longer have to pass an English test under new rules.  This would make it easier for immigrants to get behind the wheel of a taxi and be able to make a living as a driver.

Read more

We might think of the taxicab as a commonplace occurrence, however the iconic yellow cab hasn’t been around forever.

Over 109 years ago, businessman Harry N. Allen invented the metered fare idea after he was hit with a five dollar cost for a quarter mile ride in a horse-drawn carriage.

Read more