The Great NYC Taxi Strike of 2007?

New York City’s taxi drivers are scheduled to strike for two days next week, after the Labor Day long weekend. A call to the Taxi Workers Alliance netted only an answering machine message that directed unequivocally there were to be no cabs on the streets, “Wednesday and Thursday, both shifts.” At issue are GPS tracking devices scheduled to be installed by the Taxi and Limousine Commission by October 1st.

You may have noticed already the new video terminals and credit card swipe machines in a handful of taxis. The GPS system would be wired into the meter. Some drivers have expressed concern that, if the new system crashes, it would shut down the meters, and the drivers would lose money. Additionally, drivers would lose 5% of their receipts if a customer pays via credit card. But a perceived loss of liberty is the greatest issue for drivers. NYTWA union chief Bhairavi Desai claims the “GPS will be used to violate drivers’ privacy.”

The question really is, why do cabs need to have GPS? The TLC’s reasoning is that it would help locate passengers’ lost items. The GPS units would not be used to help taxis locate passengers, or, say, the airport, as the systems do not have navigational abilities. One would hope there are better reasons for the installation than helping a rider find a prized umbrella.

New Yorkers love taxis as much as we hate them. We love them when it’s raining, if we can actually get one to stop for us, we hate them when they don’t know where they’re going, when they drive right past us as we have our arms up to signal we want a ride, and we hate them when they operate as if they were driving bumper cars at Coney Island.

Today’s New York Sun’s Editorial, “Make Our Day,” eggs them on:

“If the 10,000 taxi drivers don’t want to work next Wednesday and Thursday, plenty of other drivers are available to pick up the slack. Livery cabs could be authorized to accept street hails, as they were during the August 8 rainstorm that flooded the subway system to a halt. Out of city and out of state cabs could be welcomed to the city to accept fares. Enterprising New Yorkers with automobiles of their own could be allowed to put signs on their car roofs and accept passengers. Would-be taxi riders who are able to walk might be encouraged to do so; it’s fine exercise.”

I say, let them strike. I know they have a tough job, work long hours, and by many accounts, don’t net a lot of money, and have no healthcare or pension plan. (Taxi drivers did win a fare increase ten months ago.) This is not a civil rights, human rights, or loss of liberty issue. Most drivers do not own their own taxi cabs, nor do most drivers own the required medallion (which can go for up to $600,000.) So if the medallion and/or cab owner wants to know where their cab is, they should have the right to find out. The GPS actually helps the riders as it is connected to a map on the new video terminals. Drivers are not paid by the hour. They are paid by riders, and the more passengers they pick up, the more they make. The average driver stands to lose $400 over the two-day strike. The strike will not make any statement, and the installation will go through.
But here’s my (unrelated to the GPS issue) two cents for them:

Take your foot off the gas. With the price of gas today, why do you insist on going full throttle when you’re half a block away from a red light?

From my apartment window, I can see a gas station a few blocks away. Every day, starting at 4 or 5 o’clock, there are tons, tons of cabs parking, getting gas, using the restrooms, and hanging out. Every day, starting at 4 or 5 o’clock, there are tons, tons of people getting off work, wanting to get in a cab to go home. Every knows this, no one takes any initiative to change it. If anything, the gas stations should have congestion pricing.

You may also be interested in:
Taxis Strike In Paris, Too. In NYC, More Cabs, Soon. (09.27.07)

Strike? No. Lawsuit? Yes: NYC Taxi Cab Drivers Sue NYC Taxi And Limousine Commission Over GPS. (09.19.07)

“Credit Or Debit?” Why Your Supermarket Wants You To Pay With A Debit Card. (09.04.07)

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Tags: Gas, GPS, Manhattan, NYC, Taxi, Transit, Transportation, TV