NYC cabbies, the majority of whom are probably desi, threatened to strike over rising gas prices and GPS tracking at a rally on Monday:
Both groups claim drivers are paying upwards of $20 more per day for fuel. Drivers at the rally, who called yesterday for the ouster of TLC chairman Matthew W. Daus, complain that the spike in gasoline prices have chipped at savings and forced delayed vacations… “We want to be prudent,” Daus said. “These guys just got a fare increase — the biggest ever… They’re still making a lot more money based upon our data than before the fare increase.”
In one positive sign for advocates of the surcharge, Daus said he has talked with representatives from several cities where fares are tied to gas prices. [Link]
You run into this problem regularly with government-mandated price caps — the price doesn’t keep pace with real-world costs, and you’re stuck waiting for slow bureaucrats to recognize the new cost structure. A dynamic fare component which tracks fuel prices is an obvious solution.
Drivers wanted
[GPS tracking] eliminated, charging it would be used to track MuslimsBut the more interesting complaint is about mandatory GPS tracking:
Drivers say they don’t want to be tracked and do not need the expense (estimates range from $3,000 to $5,000 per vehicle) of installation. They also claim the devices could be used to monitor speeding and other activities, violating their rights… The commission maintains that the tracking equipment would help drivers navigate traffic, provide efficient routes, and help passengers recover lost property. [Link]… representatives of the New York Taxi Workers’ Alliance, a union of more than 6,500 New York taxi drivers, decried the monitors as a tool for the state to spy on them… [Link]
… drivers also wanted the GPS plan eliminated, charging it would be used to track Muslims, [Bhairavi] Desai said. [Link – PDF]
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p>Bhairavi Desai of the taxi union said that Muslim drivers are worried about GPS devices being used to spy on them. At first glance that seems paranoid, but when you think about New York’s antiterrorism efforts, it seems obvious. AFAIK, city buses and other public transport are already trackable. I doubt location tracking would be restricted to Muslim drivers either.
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p>The civil rights question here isn’t clearly demarcated, since New York cabs are hybrid public/private infrastructure. They’re privately owned but heavily regulated, with a legally-enforced monopoly and shares doled out via medallion auctions costing hundreds of thousands of dollars.
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p>If traffic efficiency is the goal, one possible solution is to mandate GPS usage but leave the data with fleet owners rather than transmitting it to city government. Any legit law enforcement request would simpy require a search warrant unless superseded by the Patriot Fascist Act.
I’m not opposed in principle to the installation of the GPS monitors, but I can’t understand how the city can demand $3000-$5000 from the drivers to have them installed. If the city is going to require them to get these, it needs to either pay for them itself or subsidize them significantly. (Or make it optional and provide some kind of incentive…)
Another thought: has the TLC already signed up a company to provide the monitors? If so, I have to wonder what that company’s campaign contributions look like.
More generally, I agree with you about leaving the data collected with the fleet owners…
Oh, and I support the drivers’ demand for a gas-price surcharge. If they are driving around New York all day, they are probably spending considerably more than $20 a day on gas.
Typical ABCD bachcha longing to belong !
pls disregard – meant for another thread
I’m not opposed to the GPS devices as long as the City subsidizes as Amardeep mentioned. The ability to transport people for wages is regulable business activity just like any other…and it clearly affects the health and safety of the city’s residents. Its not a cliche, many NYC cabbies really do drive like they’re on crack. And it makes everyone around them drive in like manner. Therefore I’m all for issuing tickets to cab drivers for speeding based on GPS tracking….but vigorously opposed to it for everyone. Its part of the bargain. Yes you can say “driving is a privilege, not a right” but this type of “license” is not the same as for cabs, which are highly regulated.
I’m not sure how taxi cabs could dynamically adjust their fares according to gas prices. Sounds like it would be expensive (and require some kind of wireless interactivity). More than that though, static prices engender peace of mind and fairness. When you get into a cab, you know how much it will cost you based on where you’re going and traffic (which usually follows predictable cyclical patterns). I don’t know if I’d get into a cab if I had no idea what the price would be, or if I had to calculate the cost every time. When you stray away from fixed rates, the consumer (especially the tourist) gets screwed by unscrupulous cabbies. (Who knows if the machine works….etc). Lastly, the taxi industry is so huge, fixed prices put the onus on them to reduce their gas price exposure by using petroleum futures and options.
I agree that predictability is key to usage. I don’t mean in real time. It could be a 50c surcharge that’s adjusted quarterly and automatically pegged to a gas price index rather than having the same argument with the Taxi and Limousine Commission every few months.
Until you’re running late for a critical appointment 😉
The public radio show “The World” profiled Bhairavi Desai today : http://www.theworld.org/content/10059.wma
The show website is : http://www.theworld.org/latesteditions/10/20051005.shtml
I dont see governments reason for requiring tracking. And the issue is how the information will be used, and who will use it.
But thinking on the money$ issue… There are other issues that should be looked at. There may be a vendor lobbying the city gvernment to sell these tracking system.
GPS devices will be everywhere…sooner or later. If I were a cabbie, I would be opposed to the expense (which is said to be $3,000 to $5,000 per vehicle) to install one of these mandatory systems but not to having GPS system itself. Since I’ve been driven around in NYC by few cabbies thumbing through their maps while driving, I am for GPS systems which can eliminate their dependence on maps…thereby increasing their focus on driving which results in higher safety of everyone involved.