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TLC Approves Pilot Program To Eliminate Dread Taxi TVs
By
Lauren Evans
Published Oct 16, 2015
Modified Oct 16, 2015
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By
Lauren Evans
Published Oct 16, 2015
Modified Oct 16, 2015
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Taxi TVs are one step closer to being shot into the sun where they belong, following a vote by the Taxi and Limousine Commission on Thursday that approved a pilot program to replace the screens in some cabs.
The TVs are responsible for destroying the peace and solitude that passengers often seek from their cab rides, in addition to torturing drivers forced to listen to the relentless mechanized chatter day after day after day. The "mute" and "off" buttons are frequently broken, so the solution to silence the screens once and for all was arrived at without undue bickering.
“I thought I was the only one who didn’t like Taxi TV,” one TLC board member mused before the vote on Thursday. The group agreed to test the pilot's new, quieter payment technology on 1,000 vehicles across the city.
Various aspects of the trial will be closely monitored, including the effectiveness of GPS-based meter technology, as well as the practicability of the devices for the blind. Test drives using both traditional meters as well as the GPS system will seek out any fare discrepancies, and audio fare updates for the visually impaired will be made throughout the duration of the trip.
The pilot was initially intended to debut in 4,000 vehicles across the city, but was scaled back to 1,000 lucky cabs.
The TVs were phased in around 2006, with the goal of creating ad revenue for fleet owners and a modicum of backseat entertainment to passengers. Instead, a 2011 TLC survey found that the TVs were the second biggest criticism from cab riders, the first being the high price of fare. The two vendors acquiesced to lowering the TVs' initial volume, though it quickly became clear the volume buttons were purely decorative.
A few years ago, a reporter was swiftly ejected from a cab after kicking a Taxi TV for its inability to shut up. She regrets the incident but will not be sorry to see the TVs burn in hell.
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taxi and limousine commission
taxi tvs
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tlc
Lauren Evans
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