Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
biggest advantages are, of course, that cabs can be hailed on any
street (provided you find an empty one—often simple, yet at other
times nearly impossible) and will take you right to your destination.
I find they're best used at night when there's little traffic and when
the subway may seem a little daunting. In Midtown at midday, you
can usually walk to where you're going more quickly.
Official New York City taxis,
licensed by the Taxi and Limousine
Commission (TLC), are yellow, with the rates printed on the door
and a light with a medallion number on the roof. You can hail a taxi
on any street.
Never
accept a ride from any other car except an offi-
cial city yellow cab (livery cars are not allowed to pick up fares on the
street, despite what the driver tells you when he pulls over to see if
he can pick up a fare).
The base fare on entering the cab is $2.50. The cost is 40¢ for
every
1
⁄
5
mile or 40¢ per 60 seconds in stopped or slow-moving traf-
fic (or for waiting time). There's no extra charge for each passenger
or for luggage. However, you must pay bridge or tunnel tolls (some-
times the driver will front the toll and add it to your bill at the end;
most times, however, you pay the driver before the toll). You'll pay a
$1 surcharge between 4 and 8pm and a 50¢ surcharge after 8pm and
before 6am. A 15% to 20% tip is customary.
Most taxis are now equipped with a device that allows you to pay
by credit card, though some drivers will claim the machine is broken
(there is a transaction fee for credit cards that cuts into their income)
and ask you to pay in cash. You can choose to either add the tip to
the credit card, or tip the driver in cash.
The TLC has posted a
Taxi Rider's Bill of Rights
sticker in every
cab. Drivers are required to take you anywhere in the five boroughs,
to Nassau or Westchester counties, or to Newark Airport. They are
supposed to know how to get you to any address in Manhattan and
all major points in the outer boroughs. They are also required to pro-
vide air-conditioning and turn off the radio on demand, and they
cannot smoke while you're in the cab. They are required to be polite.
You are allowed to dictate the route. It's a good idea to look at a
map before you get in a taxi. Taxi drivers have been known to jack
up the fare on visitors who don't know better by taking a circuitous
route between points A and B.
On the other hand, listen to drivers who propose an alternate
route. These guys spend 8 or 10 hours a day on these streets, and
they know where the worst traffic is, or where Con Ed has dug up
