Starting this Friday your taxi ride in New York City might get a little cheaper. The NYC Taxi & Limousine Commission just announced that they are launching a taxi share program where riders will be able to pay a flat fare to be picked up and dropped off at designated taxi share stops. The city used GPS data from cabs to determine heavily trafficked routes and is hoping the share will reduce congestion and emissions by lowering the number of vehicles driving during rush hour.
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The share program will start as a trial with just three routes uptown. The Taxi and Livery Commission hopes to expand the program — if all goes well — by having specially marked “ride share” yellow cabs driving around town. It’s expected that taxi drivers will cover the routes to make more money than if they had just one person on the meter, and riders will be swayed to share their commute by the flat 3 to 4 dollar fare.
Taxi routes will start as follows; W. 57th St. and Eighth Ave. with drop-offs allowed on Park Ave. between 57th St. until 42nd St.; W.72nd St. and Columbus Ave. with drop-offs on Park Ave. from 72nd St. to 42nd St.; E. 72nd St. and Third Ave. with drop-offs on Park Avenue from 72nd St. to 42nd St. To start, all stops will be active during morning rush hour only and pick-up sites will be marked with signs. So scoot over, meet a friend and cut your emissions by sharing them with a stranger!
+Via New York Post
+ YellowCabNYC
