Plug May Be Pulled on Taxi TV in NYC Cabs

NEW YORK (AP) — New York's Taxi and Limousine Commission is set to vote on a pilot program that would remove the Taxi TV from city cabs and replace it with less intrusive technology.

The New York Times says the pilot program would eliminate the monitors from 4,000 vehicles out of approximately 13,500 yellow cabs. The commission meets Thursday.

But the monitors double as credit card payment consoles so it would have to be replaced with other technology. One possibility would have drivers hand a tablet or smartphone with a credit card reader to passengers for payment.

The commission has received complaints from both passengers and drivers regarding the Taxi TV's repetitive programming and often malfunctioning mute and power buttons.

It says the plan is to eventually replace all the Taxi TV screens.

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Information from: The New York Times, http://www.nytimes.com

(Story by: The New York Times, The Associated Press)