Sunday, August 26, 2007

Why do NY Taxi Drivers Hate GPS?

The New York Taxi Drivers Alliance announced yesterday that they will strike for 48 hours, beginning September 5th at 5am.

The reason? The Taxi and Limousine Commission passed a rule stating that all New York City cabs must have touch-screen display panels, credit card readers, and GPS beginning this year. Many taxis already are equipped with the technologies, which allow passengers to get news, route data, and other information.

The striking drivers claim the GPS infringes on their privacy. I just think they'd rather the passenger doesn't know where he is, so they can drive him once more around the block. Read more in this article.

I like the idea of GPS in a taxi. It would both convince me that I'm not being taken for a "ride" and assist the cabbie himself in finding his way (last week in LA I had to use my own Blackberry GPS because the driver DIDN'T KNOW how to get to where I needed. He said he "heard of GPS" and it's probably "a good idea to have one", but it's "too expensive").

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Where are their heads? Instead of striking they could just pay a hacker to write them a "driver's cheater kit" for the GPS.