taxi

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Cabbie Foils Woman's Plot to Kill Her Husband

Driver tricks woman into hiring undercover 'hit man'

(Newser) - A woman has been arrested and charged with attempted murder after her seemingly loyal cab driver tricked her into trying to hire an undercover police officer to kill her husband. It all started when Veronica Escalona hailed Rachid Rakhis’ cab earlier this month. She told him to follow her estranged...

Would-Be Robber-'Vampire' Bites Cabbie

New York robbery ends with strange assault

(Newser) - A taxicab robbery turned terrifying when the would-be thief decided to try out his Dracula act. An unlucky NY cabbie picked up a man in Harlem who asked to go further uptown. At their destination, the man pulled a handgun and demanded cash. A struggle ensued, and the thief bit...

Cabbies Ask for Vomit Penalty
 Cabbies Ask for Vomit Penalty 

Cabbies Ask for Vomit Penalty

Chicago drivers want messy drunks to pay $50

(Newser) - Chicago cab drivers want drunk passengers who vomit in their cars to pay a $50 fine. Drivers today asked the city for the penalty along with an overall rate increase of 22%. Chicago cabbies are among the lowest paid in the country, with wages averaging $4.38 an hour over...

GPS Rescues $600K Violin Left in NYC Cab

Technology 'cut the driver out of the picture,' says taxi boss

(Newser) - GPS technology reunited a violinist with the $600,000 instrument he left in a New York cab yesterday, the Times reports. After Korean musician Hanh-Bin left a vehicle without his 18th-century instrument, the Taxi and Limousine Commission was able to find it in less than an hour, using the cab’...

Pattinson Grazed by Cab While Fleeing Fans

(Newser) - Dangerous work, this teenage heartthrob business. Twilight star Robert Pattinson got clipped by a cab outside a New York City bookstore while fleeing a horde of fans, reports People. Pattinson is fine: He walked away from the mishap, in which the cabbie reportedly grazed his hip before slamming on the...

It's Bad: NYC Cabbie With MBA Posts Résumé in Taxi

La Salle grad drives taxi while awaiting dream job

(Newser) - A recent MBA grad who can’t find a job does have a captive audience: his taxi passengers. After four months of job hunting, James Williamson got his taxi license and posted his résumé in his New York City cab. There aren’t any offers yet, but the 25-year-old...

Cabbies Among First to See Ripples of Wall Street's Pain

Crashing markets mean fewer fares, smaller tips

(Newser) - New York cabbies will tell you that their jobs are indicative of overall health of the economy—so they’re getting hammered right now. New York looks at one driver’s experience with the bubble-and-bust of recent years, with the halcyon days of bankers tossing him $40 for a $2....

Boston Cabbies Torqued Ovah Hybrid Cah Mandate

Pricey hybrids a problem in Beantown

(Newser) - Boston’s cab drivers are furious over a new rule requiring all taxis to be hybrids by 2015, Wired reports. With rising gas prices already pressing the industry, cabbies are loathe to trade their $6,000 used Crown Vics for new $24,000 Priuses. Many also argue that the hybrids...

London's Stodgy Cabs Get Overhaul

Classic black taxis could be phased out for minivans

(Newser) - London's black cabs, with their jump seats and garrulous drivers, are one of the emblems of the city. But they're also gas-guzzling polluters, reports the New York Times, so this month the eco-conscious British capital is introducing a new taxi to its streets: a minivan designed by Mercedes that bears...

NYC's Taxi Fleets in Race for Hybrids

Fall mandate means a rush to replace 3,000 taxis a year.

(Newser) - The Big Apple's unprecedented plan to turn its famous yellow cabs green could run into an old-fashioned supply-and-demand problem this fall, USA Today reports. Starting in October, the city is requiring that any new replacement cabs be hybrids. But the transition may be difficult because gas prices have triggered a...

'Cupid's Cabbie' Rings Up First Engagement

Matchmaking New York taxi driver takes singles a lot further than from A to B

(Newser) - A New York City couple will soon be walking down the aisle thanks to a taxi driver who moonlights as a matchmaker, the Wall Street Journal reports. Ahmed Ibrahim, who offers his services for free, has been trying to match up the singles who jump in his cab ever since...

Is Cell Chatter Killing the Cab Ride?

Constant gab has drivers, riders at odds

(Newser) - Where cabbies and riders once chatted, they now gab on cellphones—and it's getting under people's skin. "Sometimes passengers, they don't even stop talking to tell me where to go," one cabbie said. But one rider blames the drivers, who often speak in other tongues: "I always...

Alaska Town Is Home to Hail of Fame

Residents of tiny Bethel never have trouble finding a cab

(Newser) - What American municipality has the most cab drivers per capita? No, not New York. It’s Bethel, Alaska, a town of 5,800 that has 93 cabbies, or one for every 62 residents, the Los Angeles Times reports. With only 10 miles of paved road at their disposal, the cabbies...

NYC Cabbies Begin Strike
NYC Cabbies Begin Strike

NYC Cabbies Begin Strike

Level of participation unclear; new technology at issue in labor dispute

(Newser) - A 2-day strike by New York taxi drivers protesting an order to install new technology began today, with the union claiming up to 95% participation by the city's estimated 20,000 cabbies, to the mayor's prestrike estimate of 30%. The city instituted an emergency fare structure to encourage cab sharing...

Female Cabbie Takes Readers for Ride in New Blog Book

Life's a gas for hack hooked on NYC streets

(Newser) - A meager 1% of New York City cabbies are women, and now one of them is publishing a book about her strange adventures prowling the streets atop a cushion behind the wheel of her taxi. Melissa Plaut, 32, started hacking three years ago and began tracking the miles in a...

Cabs Go Green in New York
Cabs Go Green in New York

Cabs Go Green in New York

Bloomberg plans for all taxis to be hybrids by 2012

(Newser) - Every New York City taxi cab will be an eco-friendly hybrid in five years, Mike Bloomberg declared today. And by next year all new taxis will have to meet mileage and emissions standards. Cabs will turn green as part of the mayor's wider sustainability plan for the city, which is...

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