New York City’s Taxi and Limousine Commission approved a pilot program on Thursday that will look into removing television screens from some taxis and replacing them with more modern technology.
First discussed in 2003, televisions were installed in all New York City cabs – roughly 13,500 of them – by 2008, part of the city’s Taxi Passenger Enhancement Program (TPEP), which also let passengers pay their fare with a credit card. The televisions screen daily news broadcasts, short Jeopardy segments, movie reviews and ads for Broadway shows.
Tuesday’s vote to pass the pilot program was unanimous, according to Greg Gordon, public affairs officer for the TLC.
In the past, passengers and drivers have complained about the TVs, according to the TLC, raising issue with the responsiveness of the screens, the noise, the repetitive content the screens play, and the frequency that the “mute” and “off” buttons do not work.
“It is definitely something that over time could probably, and does, get irritating for our frequent taxi riders, and most certainly for our drivers,” Meera Joshi, the current taxi commissioner, told the New York Times. “I think it feels somewhat dated today when you’re in the taxi.”
The pilot program will see to the removal of TVs from up to 1,000 cabs and replace them with what the TLC said was “less invasive technology”. One potential replacement would be smartphones or tablets with credit card readers that drivers can give to passengers.
The pilot program will allow four technology providers to apply for their systems to be implemented in a maximum of 250 vehicles. The new technology will be slowly incorporated, starting with 10 vehicles, before moving to 90 and finally 250, according to Gordon. The TLC said they could not provide an exact timeline for the program, but said they will be carrying out the changes slowly and carefully.
“With so many advances in for-hire service tracking and payment, and years of feedback from passengers and drivers about what works and what needs improvement, it’s timely to give both existing and new technology providers an opportunity to test more streamlined systems offering all of TPEP’s benefits, but taking them to the next level of service,” Meera Joshi, the current taxi commissioner, wrote in a statement.
