NY Taxi Strike Stretches Into Second Day

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/06/nyregion/07taxicnd.html?hp

Taxi Strike Stretches Into Second Day


By ANAHAD O’CONNOR and JAMES BARRON
Published: September 6, 2007

Yellow cabs were sparse but nonetheless on the road today as a strike called by a New York City taxi drivers’ group over city plans for a high-tech video-and-fare system stretched into day two, forcing more commuters to rely on mass transit and leaving slightly longer lines at airports and bus terminals.

City officials estimated that more than three quarters of taxis remained on the road, and Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg suggested that the strike was having virtually no impact. Much of the frustration today seemed to stem not from long waits for cabs, but from disputes over how much passengers should be paying under the zone-based fare structure put into effect during the strike.

“Yesterday a guy tried to charge me $20 for a trip that normally costs half that,” said Mike Robertson, 46, an accountant who was standing in a taxi line at the Port Authority Bus Terminal this morning. “I don’t mind waiting a few extra minutes for a cab, but I’m not paying double the price for the same service.”

According to the Taxi and Limousine Commission, more than 70 percent of the city’s yellow cabs remained on the road, and a spokesman for the Office of Emergency Management said there were no major disruptions. But Bhairavi Desai, the executive director of the taxi workers’ alliance, said that the strike had so far been a success. It is scheduled to end at 5 a.m. tomorrow.

“All of our signs indicate that today will be as strong as yesterday,” she said. “The waiting lines speak for themselves.”

Whether New Yorkers would be relieved by the end of the strike — or even notice it — was unclear.

FULL story at link.

[unsavedtrash]

1. ...

This is an interesting blog by a NY cab driver that I came across a few months ago.
She has some stuff on the strike.

http://newyorkhack.blogspot.com/