Jackson Heights Life

I didn't mean anything disparaging towards the drivers of the livery cabs - I think the problem is a failure of the system in place that makes them drive around in the first place.

It seems to me that DOT and TLC are caught in a catch 22 here. Yellow cabs don't serve the needs of local residents because they do not make enough money off the short trips to justify their expenses etc. By and large they serve Manhattan simply because volume is higher and the likely hood of a worth while trip is higher too. Yellow Cab owners pay a hefty price for their medallions which allow them to pick up and discharge passengers anywhere in the city they want legally. This is technically an exclusive right granted to them, keeping the competition down. Since the city grants this right to medallion holders, it can't create a space that legitimizes a practice this is technically illegal and cuts in to the right granted yellow cabs by virtue of the medallion they pay for.

Even making an official exception for areas like ours that are under-served by medallion cars sets a precedent for other areas all over the city that would cut sharply in to the medallion cab privilege.

So the currently "solution" is to simply not enforce the current laws allowing for gypsy cabs to pick people up in "outer - borough" (I HATE that term) areas like JH etc. But enforcing that law every now and then when the volume of gypsy cabs in a given area gets too high.

Once upon a time, there used to be a Taxi stand on the north east corner of Broadway and 75th St. where there is now a bus stop (I believe it's the Q53). If you look closely at the ground you can still see the yellow "Taxi Stand" words there. I recall getting a yellow cab there once a long time ago to take me to JFK.

Perhaps, a taxi stand could be re-created for yellow cabs, and the culture of non-enforcement could allow for gypsy cabs to line up there rather than cruise around. This might also make it easier for TLC to spot check drivers and make sure they are on the up and up.

Alternatively, an enterprising car company could open up in one of the empty MTA venues and provide radio car service, so one could walk in and request a car on the spot, which would avoid breaking the law all together.

A variant on this concept that I think has merit is to bring the community cars under the same regulatory framework as the yellow cabs -- same vehicles, same regulations, same payment options -- with just a few exceptions:
1. Rates would continue to be negotiated instead of metered
2. Vehicle types would be the same as taxis, but painted a different color (most likely black)
3. No street hails below 96th Street in Manhattan and no taxi-line pickups at the airports.

I would favor limiting the number of these second-tier medallions, but setting the cap much higher than the medallions for the yellow cabs. 

This would enable the city to transition the community cars away from gas guzzlers and toward cleaner (and more accessible) vehicles like the rest of the taxi fleet.  In exchange, by limiting supply somewhat, it would help reduce the overpopulation of community cars and help make them more profitable for each individual driver.

Hey FoxyWiles you left out insurance companies, politicans, lobbyist, media, oil companies, wall street........the list is endless.  Looking at the big picture those gypsy cabs pale in comparison.  Let's face it we're a society of intolerant whiners!   I'm just saying!

Pretty much. When I work on my feet for 60+ hours a week, I get very cranky at getting honked at every twenty yards when I'm just minding my own business. Sorry for expecting a little peace and quiet at one in the morning.

Just last week I took a yellow cab from work (Manhattan) to JH around 2 am. I love that yellow cabs haul butt when they are forced to go to Queens. He was cruising down a desolate 37th Ave when he got stuck behind an empty livery cab going 5 mph for no discernible reason. Despite honking and tail-gating, the gypsy cab would not pull over. My yellow cab manages to go around him and drops me off at a red light. The livery cab, feeling offended, floored it and went through the red light just to cut off my cab out of spite. Very stupid and dangerous.

Well - maybe it's time to revisit the idea of a taxi stand by the Roosevelt station - now that the Mayor's planning to make a new type of "outer borough" taxi service.

From today's State of the City:

“And why shouldn’t someone in the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, or Staten Island be able to hail a legal cab on the street? 97 percent of yellow cab pick-ups happen in Manhattan or at the airports – even though 80 percent of New Yorkers live outside of Manhattan.

“This year, we’ll establish a new category of livery cars that can make on-street pickups outside of Manhattan. It will give New Yorkers in all five boroughs another safe, reliable and convenient option for getting around. Because whether you’re standing on 42nd Street in Manhattan or 42nd Street in Sunset Park, Brooklyn or 42nd Street in Sunnyside, Queens, you ought to be able to hail a cab.

It was technically illegal - I suppose it's a way of legalizing what people do anyway. 

When I hail a 'yellow', it is (a) in Manhattan because I never see them in our Outer Boroughs and (b) with a wide, sweeping arm gesture - probably some Tai Chi motion.

When I want a 'black', it is with something close to a wink and a nod. Not so much 'hailing' as an instant mutual understanding.