New York taxi drivers stage strike over mandatory GPS tracking

James Orr
The Guardian
Sep. 06, 2007

New York taxi drivers today launched a two-day strike in protest at rules requiring new technology to be installed in their cabs.

All of the city's taxis will soon have to carry global positioning systems (GPS) and touch-screen monitors to let passengers pay by credit card.

A spokesman for the New York Taxi Workers Alliance today claimed that the GPS technology was "heavily priced, unnecessary and unproven".

But the New York state Federation of Taxi Drivers said the strike itself was unnecessary, and predicted that only 10% of drivers would take part.

The New York mayor, Michael Bloomberg, appealed to cab drivers to ignore the strike and said he would not tolerate drivers disrupting the city.

"We've provided taxi drivers with two significant fare increases in return for customer service improvements," he said. "Our administration has the utmost respect for drivers and we've treated them fairly. Now, we're asking for the same.

"We will not tolerate drivers who want to disrupt this city intimidating or threatening their fellow drivers who are interested in making a living and providing a service to New Yorkers."

Mr Bloomberg acknowledged reports of drivers planning to stay home because of intimidation.

"That's why there will be additional police officers on hand wherever drivers congregate, so we can be certain that no one who wants to earn a living is intimidated doing so," he said.

Under the new rules, New York cabs must have the high-tech equipment installed when they come up for inspection, starting on October 1.

Taxi officials believe that by eliminating the need for cash, drivers could increase their incomes. They also argue that the GPS devices could be used to give drivers traffic tips and to help passengers find lost items.

The executive director of the taxi workers alliance, Bhairavi Desai, said the majority of taxi drivers opposed the new regulations.

She said it was not immediately clear how many of the city's 13,000 taxis would be out of action during the strike.

"The overwhelming majority of drivers are against this system, and there are serious setbacks this system is causing drivers," she said.

Mr Bloomberg played down the likelihood of widespread disruption across the city due to the strike.

But New York officials still went ahead with an initiative to allow taxis to pick up multiple fares at once.

The plan was designed to ease any lack of taxis caused by the strike. Normally, drivers are allowed to pick up only one passenger or group of passengers at a time.

The last time New York's streets were missing their yellow cabs was in May 1998 when around 11,500 taxi drivers stayed at home.