Sep 4, 2007 6:24 pm US/Eastern
NYC Taxi Strike: Will They Or Won't They?
Chunk Of City Drivers May Walk Out At 5 a.m. Wednesday
by Hazel Sanchez
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
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New York City taxi drivers don't like the idea of GPS and electronic fare systems in their cabs. (File photo)
Gregg Geller/CBS
Six hours and counting. That's when the leaders of the 10,000-member Taxi Workers Alliance said they would strike.
It's all to protest new rules requiring New York City cabs to carry electronic equipment, including GPS.
The question is, will it happen? And if it does, how many will curb their cabs?
Lea Acey spends about 60 hours on the road every week as a taxi driver. She needs to support her 2-year-old son. But on Wednesday she will put the brakes on her job behind the wheel to step onto the picket line.
"We feel bad. We don't wish to strike. But I hope the mayor's listening to me," Acey said Tuesday. "I hope he comes with a better deal so that we don't have to strike tomorrow."
Acey already has the GPS and touch-screen monitor credit card system the city is requiring more than 13,000 cabs to have, but she says it's a high-tech headache that breaks down a lot and costs her nearly $100 a month in maintenance fees.
"I don't want to make an appointment to fix something that doesn't belong to me," Acey said. "I don't have profit from the GPS advertisement. I don't want to take my car to the shop, sitting there wasting my time. I don't get paid for that."
On Tuesday, Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced a contingency plan to help travel run smoother.
The plan allows working cab drivers to pick up multiple fares, including from the city's airports where passengers would pay a flat fare of $20 a person from LaGuardia and $30 from JFK.
Group rides within the city would be based on a zone system, starting at $10 for the first zone and $5 for each zone the passenger crosses.
The MTA is preparing to add additional service on routes to and from LaGuardia.
St. Louis businessman Jeffrey Newton is already nervous about a pending strike.
"I'm from out of town," Newton said. "I use the cabs to get around the city so I don't know what I'll do tomorrow. I guess I'll figure out the subway system."
Bloomberg is confident he won't have to.
"Our expectation is there will be very few if any taxi drivers striking tomorrow and the next day," the mayor said.
For the entire contingency plan,
click here.
(© MMVII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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