Yellow cabs became the most used yellow cab in New York City in the 1990s
New York City's taxicabs, with their distinctive yellow paint, are a widely recognized icon of the city. There are more than 13,000 taxis operating in the city, as well as more than 40,000 other for-hire vehicles. Taxicabs are operated by private companies and licensed by the Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC), a
New York City government agency. Historically, only "medallion taxis," those painted in distinctive yellow paint and regulated by the TLC, are permitted to pick up passengers in response to a street hail. The TLC also regulates and licenses for-hire vehicles, known as "
car service", which are prohibited from picking up street hails (although this is less often enforced in the boroughs outside Manhattan) and are supposed to pick up only customers who have called the car service's dispatcher and requested a car. In 2011, New York enacted a law allowing the city to issue "
boro taxi" permits, which are cabs restricted to picking up passengers from streets in the outer boroughs and the northern part of Manhattan, though passengers' destinations may be anywhere in the city. Medallion taxis are named for the official medallion issued by the TLC and attached to a taxi's hood. The medallion may be purchased from the City at infrequent auctions, or from another medallion owner. Because of their high prices, medallions (and most cabs) are owned by investment companies and are leased to drivers ("hacks"). An auction was held in 2006, where 308 new medallions were sold. In the 2006 auction, all medallions were designated as either hybrids (254) or handicap accessible (54) taxis. Yellow cabs are often concentrated in the borough of Manhattan, but patrol throughout the five boroughs of New York City and may be hailed with a raised hand or by standing at a taxi stand. A cab's availability is indicated by the lights on the top of the car. When just the center light showing the medallion number is lit, the cab is empty and available. When the OFF DUTY inscriptions to either side of the medallion number are lit, the cab is off duty and not accepting passengers. As of June 2006, fares begin at $2.50 ($3.00 after 8:00 p.m., and $3.50 during the peak weekday hours of 4:00–8:00 p.m.) and increase based on the distance traveled and time spent in slow traffic (40 cents for each one-fifth of a mile or 60 seconds of no motion or motion under 12 miles an hour). The passenger also has to pay the toll whenever a cab is driven through a toll booth. The taxi must have an
E-ZPass tag, and passengers pay the discounted E-ZPass toll rates. According to an April 2011 study by the
Chicago Dispatcher, New York City taxis have a relatively low standard fare, charging an estimated $14.10 for a distance of five miles and five minutes wait time (compared to an estimated $18.48 in
West Hollywood, CA and $12.87 in
Houston, TX). New York City Mayor Bloomberg declared that the city would select its type of taxi for the next ten years. The
Nissan NV200 won the competition for the
Taxi of Tomorrow. From 2013 on, approximately 13,000 new taxis of this type will be delivered to New York City.
Car service A car service, also known as a livery vehicle, is used to refer to a type of vehicle for hire transportation. It differs from yellow cab service in that the term "taxi" is used exclusively to refer to medallion taxis, which may be flagged down on the street on demand. By contrast, car service refers to services which are hired only by appointment over the telephone and dispatched by radio to the driver (taxicabs may also be hired in this way). Car service differs from the more upscale
limousine services which are usually reserved for special occasions or business purposes. Car services are especially popular in the parts of New York City, such as
Staten Island and parts of
Queens and
Brooklyn, which do not have frequent circulating taxi service. Car service vehicles do not resemble taxicabs but normal sedans of various colors, usually marked by a company logo on the door. Car service also differs from taxicab service in that taxicab fares are determined by meters, whereas car service fares are determined by distance and are typically told to the driver over the intercom radio. In local terminology, one is said to "take a car service" when using such a vehicle.
Boro taxis Boro taxis (or
boro cabs) are a special type of livery vehicles that are allowed to pick up passengers from a street hail in the outer boroughs (
the Bronx,
Brooklyn,
Queens, and
Staten Island) and north of East 96th and West 110th streets of Manhattan except at the airports, but can drop them off anywhere. The boro taxis have standard markings and decals similar to the yellow cabs but they are in "apple green" color to distinguish them from the yellow cabs. The vehicles are equipped with GPS, debit/credit card reader, a meter, a roof light and a camera or a partition in the same way as in the yellow cabs. The meter fares for street hailed trips are the same rate as in the yellow cabs. Boro taxis are still considered a car service, therefore customers can call their bases for pre-arranged trips in the same way that they normally do with other car services. The pre-arranged trips can pick up passengers in the outer boroughs including the airports and northern Manhattan, but are still prohibited from picking up any passengers below East 96th and West 110th streets. == Pennsylvania ==