anoninnyc
05-09-2007, 08:02 PM
Taxi Worker Strike Is On
September 05, 2007
See below for a summary of the contingency plan fare changes.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg said this afternoon that despite the fact that the strike by taxi cab workers has had a limited impact, the city will continue with its contingency plan.
The city had implemented a plan that encourages group ridership and increases cab fares to help passengers affected by the New York Taxi Workers Alliance’s decision to go on strike at 5 a.m. this morning.
Bloomberg said that estimates suggest that the majority of cabs are running normally.
He said that 75 percent of fleet cabs are on the road today, compared to the 93 percent last Wednesday. Fleet cabs account for 30 to 40 percent of the cabs on the road.
The mayor said that cab service is down 14 percent at JFK Airport.
“The strike won’t achieve anything and are only hurting themselves,” said the mayor.
However, according to Bhairavi Desai, the executive director of the TWA, since 4:30 a.m., less than 10 percent of the taxis have been on the road.
“If you can’t see the difference then either you’re blind or you’re a tourist,” said Ed Ott, executive director of the NYC Central Labor Council.
Members of the TWA are planning on striking for 48 hours against the Taxi and Limousine Commission's plan to place GPS tracking systems and credit card machines in their 13,000 cabs.
The city and the TLC say the technology, which costs about $1,300 each, will help passengers figure out where they are and make it easier for credit card payments, but drivers are worried it will be used to monitor their whereabouts.
“I’ve decided to stay home because I basically don’t support the whole GPS system. I mean, it invades our privacy rights,” said taxi driver Elizabeth Grullon. “You know, it's big brother watching us, and also, for the passengers in a sense. If you use a credit card, their transaction is a record as to where they were picked up and where they were dropped off. So it infringes on everybody’s privacy rights.”
“I work for a big company. I have a steady car, and [my boss] threatened to take away my steady car if I didn’t work today,” said another. “But I agree with the people that are on strike.”
City Councilman David Weprin, chairman of the city's finance committee, said today that he backs the TWA's strike. He said that the GPS machines have shown to be defective, and that if the machine shuts down, the entire meter shuts down – causing drivers to lose fares.
Weprin also spoke out against the 5-percent surcharge drivers will have to pick up when passengers use the credit card service.
Not all drivers NY1 spoke with support the strike.
"The strike comes too late," said a cab driver. "They should have done it three months ago. It doesn't make sense. We did already sign some contracts, and by regulation we had to sign these contracts August 1st. It doesn't make sense."
Some passengers NY1 spoke with at the Port Authority bus terminal this morning said they had some difficulty hailing cabs.
“From what I’ve experienced it’s a little slower than normal,” said one.
“It’s important for me to get up to the hospital because my wife just got surgery yesterday,” said another. “It’s a mode of transportation in this city to quickly get by her side and it’s disappointing.”
As part of the contingency plan, the city is encouraging group rides to and from LaGuardia and JFK airports, where people may be most affected by the strike. The city has also implemented new flat fares to those locations.
The following taxi fare changes went into effect at 12:01 a.m.:
Rides from LaGuardia Airport to any destination in Manhattan will cost $20 per person. Zone charges apply to trips from LaGuardia to all other boroughs.
Rides from JFK Airport to any destination in Manhattan will cost $30 per person. Zone charges apply to trips from JFK to all other boroughs.
Throughout the five boroughs, drivers will be required to pick up any additional passengers who are hailing them. All passengers will be subjected to the same zone charges.
Passengers will be charged $10 per person to take a cab within one zone. Passengers will be charged an additional $5 per each zone traveled through.
The zones are as follows:
Zone A - Manhattan - South of 23rd Street
Zone B - Manhattan - 23rd Street to 60th Street
Zone C - Manhattan - 60th Street to 96th Street
Zone D - Manhattan - North of 96th Street
Zone E - Brooklyn
Zone F - Bronx
Zone G - Queens
Zone H - Staten Island
Flat rate and zone charges include bridge and tunnel tolls.
These modified fares only apply to adults. Children under 12 years old traveling with adults are free.
In addition to the above changes, the MTA is adding bus service to and from LaGuardia on two routes: The M60, which runs between LaGuardia and 125th Street in Manhattan, and the Q33, which runs between LaGuardia and 74th Street-Broadway Station in Jackson Heights, Queens.
The city is not allowing livery cabs to pick up street hails, but that is subject to change depending on the size of the strike.
If the city determines that the impact of the strike is not significant, the contingency plan will be cancelled and all normal fares will be put back into place.
It is currently unknown how many cab drivers are actually following the city's contingency plan.
The police department has also taken steps to protect drivers who decide not to strike.
The head of the State Federation of Taxi Drivers says threats have been made against drivers who don't want to walk off the job.
"Their strike is a failure so they are taking to the next level,” says NYS Federation of Taxi Drivers president Fernando Mateo. “That next level is threatening people, assaulting people, scaring people."
Commissioner Ray Kelly says the NYPD was planning on stationing extra officers, including some undercover officers, at transportation hubs and taxi garages to protect drivers from possible retaliation.
The Transport Workers Union is lending support to the TWA by allowing striking TWA workers to rally at the TWU’s headquarters on the Upper West Side.
http://www.ny1.com/ny1/content/index.jsp?stid=1&aid=73273
September 05, 2007
See below for a summary of the contingency plan fare changes.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg said this afternoon that despite the fact that the strike by taxi cab workers has had a limited impact, the city will continue with its contingency plan.
The city had implemented a plan that encourages group ridership and increases cab fares to help passengers affected by the New York Taxi Workers Alliance’s decision to go on strike at 5 a.m. this morning.
Bloomberg said that estimates suggest that the majority of cabs are running normally.
He said that 75 percent of fleet cabs are on the road today, compared to the 93 percent last Wednesday. Fleet cabs account for 30 to 40 percent of the cabs on the road.
The mayor said that cab service is down 14 percent at JFK Airport.
“The strike won’t achieve anything and are only hurting themselves,” said the mayor.
However, according to Bhairavi Desai, the executive director of the TWA, since 4:30 a.m., less than 10 percent of the taxis have been on the road.
“If you can’t see the difference then either you’re blind or you’re a tourist,” said Ed Ott, executive director of the NYC Central Labor Council.
Members of the TWA are planning on striking for 48 hours against the Taxi and Limousine Commission's plan to place GPS tracking systems and credit card machines in their 13,000 cabs.
The city and the TLC say the technology, which costs about $1,300 each, will help passengers figure out where they are and make it easier for credit card payments, but drivers are worried it will be used to monitor their whereabouts.
“I’ve decided to stay home because I basically don’t support the whole GPS system. I mean, it invades our privacy rights,” said taxi driver Elizabeth Grullon. “You know, it's big brother watching us, and also, for the passengers in a sense. If you use a credit card, their transaction is a record as to where they were picked up and where they were dropped off. So it infringes on everybody’s privacy rights.”
“I work for a big company. I have a steady car, and [my boss] threatened to take away my steady car if I didn’t work today,” said another. “But I agree with the people that are on strike.”
City Councilman David Weprin, chairman of the city's finance committee, said today that he backs the TWA's strike. He said that the GPS machines have shown to be defective, and that if the machine shuts down, the entire meter shuts down – causing drivers to lose fares.
Weprin also spoke out against the 5-percent surcharge drivers will have to pick up when passengers use the credit card service.
Not all drivers NY1 spoke with support the strike.
"The strike comes too late," said a cab driver. "They should have done it three months ago. It doesn't make sense. We did already sign some contracts, and by regulation we had to sign these contracts August 1st. It doesn't make sense."
Some passengers NY1 spoke with at the Port Authority bus terminal this morning said they had some difficulty hailing cabs.
“From what I’ve experienced it’s a little slower than normal,” said one.
“It’s important for me to get up to the hospital because my wife just got surgery yesterday,” said another. “It’s a mode of transportation in this city to quickly get by her side and it’s disappointing.”
As part of the contingency plan, the city is encouraging group rides to and from LaGuardia and JFK airports, where people may be most affected by the strike. The city has also implemented new flat fares to those locations.
The following taxi fare changes went into effect at 12:01 a.m.:
Rides from LaGuardia Airport to any destination in Manhattan will cost $20 per person. Zone charges apply to trips from LaGuardia to all other boroughs.
Rides from JFK Airport to any destination in Manhattan will cost $30 per person. Zone charges apply to trips from JFK to all other boroughs.
Throughout the five boroughs, drivers will be required to pick up any additional passengers who are hailing them. All passengers will be subjected to the same zone charges.
Passengers will be charged $10 per person to take a cab within one zone. Passengers will be charged an additional $5 per each zone traveled through.
The zones are as follows:
Zone A - Manhattan - South of 23rd Street
Zone B - Manhattan - 23rd Street to 60th Street
Zone C - Manhattan - 60th Street to 96th Street
Zone D - Manhattan - North of 96th Street
Zone E - Brooklyn
Zone F - Bronx
Zone G - Queens
Zone H - Staten Island
Flat rate and zone charges include bridge and tunnel tolls.
These modified fares only apply to adults. Children under 12 years old traveling with adults are free.
In addition to the above changes, the MTA is adding bus service to and from LaGuardia on two routes: The M60, which runs between LaGuardia and 125th Street in Manhattan, and the Q33, which runs between LaGuardia and 74th Street-Broadway Station in Jackson Heights, Queens.
The city is not allowing livery cabs to pick up street hails, but that is subject to change depending on the size of the strike.
If the city determines that the impact of the strike is not significant, the contingency plan will be cancelled and all normal fares will be put back into place.
It is currently unknown how many cab drivers are actually following the city's contingency plan.
The police department has also taken steps to protect drivers who decide not to strike.
The head of the State Federation of Taxi Drivers says threats have been made against drivers who don't want to walk off the job.
"Their strike is a failure so they are taking to the next level,” says NYS Federation of Taxi Drivers president Fernando Mateo. “That next level is threatening people, assaulting people, scaring people."
Commissioner Ray Kelly says the NYPD was planning on stationing extra officers, including some undercover officers, at transportation hubs and taxi garages to protect drivers from possible retaliation.
The Transport Workers Union is lending support to the TWA by allowing striking TWA workers to rally at the TWU’s headquarters on the Upper West Side.
http://www.ny1.com/ny1/content/index.jsp?stid=1&aid=73273