All New York Taxicabs To Accept Credit Cards By 2007

New York City taxi riders soon will be able to pay for their trips with credit or debit cards. This month, a limited number of cabs equipped with a brand-new card-reading system should be on road. According to the city's Taxi and Limousine Commission, the entire 12,760-unit fleet should be so furnished by the end of 2006 or early 2007.

TLC commissioner and chairman Matthew Daus stressed that the added payment option is just part of an overall upgrade that includes text messaging for drivers and advertising-supported information screens facing passenger seating. Daus noted that the first units on the road would carry devices supplied by a company that has yet to be chosen following an extended request for proposals process. Once selected, fleetwide rollout will follow beta-testing.

Daus said passenger benefits will include making taxi service a better option for those facing a long ride—like the $45 fare from John F. Kennedy International Airport to Manhattan—and might not be carrying, nor want to spend, that much cash. Since the Internal Revenue Service deems credit card statements as acceptable documentation in most cases, the ability to pay with a corporate card would relieve some corporate travelers of the responsibility of collecting taxi receipts.

Passenger-screen data will consist of everything from airline and airport traffic status alerts, to information about hotels, restaurants or Broadway shows. Daus said passengers would have the option of turning off the system.

Text messages would appear within a viewing area that will include alerts for cabbies to congregate at locations or events with large numbers of potential riders. Cabbies also will receive a notification if a passenger has reported such left-behind valuables as a diamond ring, laptop or briefcase.

"We get more phone calls about these types of losses than for any other reason," Daus said. "Quickly being able to alert a taxi—particularly if the passenger has a receipt or otherwise knows the number of the cab where the loss occurred—will greatly raise the chances of quickly recovering and locating the lost item or items."

TLC also said the new system, which will include GPS-tracking capabilities, can be used to gather data on precisely where taxis go on any given day. Over time, a database will evolve that should aid taxi deployment throughout the city.

Daus then added that the new system should not be confused with credit-card acceptance operations used in 2,200 cabs. "These units will ultimately be replaced by the standardized new system. Right now, cabs advertising their credit card capability appear to have somewhat of an advantage over those that do not. We don't feel that is fair, and expect the new system will make competition much more equal once each taxi is similarly equipped."



Newark AirTrain Boosts Fares

Meanwhile, the recent $2.75 increase on the New York Penn Station to Newark Airport AirTrain has not affected ridership to any significant extent, said Jim Redeker, NJ Transit's executive director of policy, technology and customer service.

"Our $14 fare is still very competitive with alternative public transit modes, and far cheaper than limousine alternatives. The three-times-hourly daytime service that takes less than 25 minutes remains a great deal."

Among its other assets, Redeker stressed, riders' avoidance of road congestion that, during peak times, can delay passengers for up to one hour. As for other Manhattan to Newark Airport fares, regularly scheduled buses—from the Port Authority, across the street from Grand Central Terminal, outside Penn Station, at Lafayette St. and Walker St. in Chinatown, and at Church St. and Barclay St.—all charge $13 one way and $22 roundtrip. Taxi rides from Manhattan to Newark can hit $60.

NJ Transit has started random bag inspection of anyone entering the system. Redeker noted that, in light of the July 7 London bombings, "NJ Transit police are free to look at backpacks or other luggage or containers. Inspections take just a few second and are fair less intrusive than those at airports."

NJ Transit also has initiated a major upgrade of its platform and facility surveillance system. While cameras long have been installed at critical points, their images now can be viewed by observers throughout the system, not just by an officer sitting at a bank of video screens.

This link should enhance the chance that anything perceived as a threat might be quickly spotted and flagged by any number of viewers. "By making it possible for someone in Trenton to see a left-behind package in a Newark station, means the chances of anything dangerous developing is considerably reduced," Redeker said.

Another line spokesman then added, "Some cameras have the capability not just to spot an unattended bag, but to mark it with a color alert. Another security capability lets the surveillance unit send a BlackBerry message to a nearby or onsite officer to look at that package. The same system can flag a car that's been idling too long outside a station. In some cases, the unit will generate a public address announcement that the car must be moved.