New Yorkers skeptical over cab-sharing
TEXT OF STORY
Steve Chiotakis: People in the Northeast are waking up to some serious snow. Flights are delayed or cancelled in some places, with winter storm warnings up for parts of Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York. In Manhattan, the white stuff might lead some commuters to ditch the sidewalk or subway and take a cab. And if they do, they might just have to deal with company, thanks to a new cab-sharing policy that starts today. Marketplace’s Jeremy Hobson reports.
Jeremy Hobson: The taxi-sharing program will operate on three routes, all heading from various points uptown to Grand Central in Midtown. The taxis can pick up as many as four people. Each will pay a few dollars and can be let off anywhere along the route.
Javaid Tariq of the Taxi Workers Alliance says drivers won’t benefit, because one full cab might mean three empty cabs.
Javaid Tariq: We don’t make money like this way. We are there for 12 hours working hard to earn minimum wages.
New Yorkers Rich Georgi and Karen Kahn aren’t too hot about the idea either:
Rich Georgi: It’s more expensive than the bus and you still have to make like other stops that you don’t want to make.
Karen Kahn: It’s not attractive to me. I like having some privacy while I’m in the taxi and the money doesn’t make the difference.
This woman liked the idea. She said it’ll create a sense of community.
New Yorker: I think it’s a great idea. I think it would be a very nice experience as well as a cost-effective one.
She, uh . . . didn’t want us to use her name.
In New York, I’m Jeremy Hobson for Marketplace.
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