New York City has launched a shared taxi experiment that allows strangers to share a taxi.
“Up to 1,000 “share cabs” outfitted with LED screens and special meters will display the destinations of passengers so they can be hailed by others heading in the same direction. As long as there is more than one passenger, everyone will get a 50 percent discount, and new smart meters will cleanly break up and display each rider’s fare on screens facing in the back seat.”
It will be interesting to hear how it works. I read a short piece in the NYT saying that initially it was not getting much ridership, and another news piece confirms this, though some of the problems may be addressble via better design and PR: http://www.ny1.com/5-manhattan-news-content/top_stories/114734/new-yorkers-slow-to-catch-on-to-taxi-sharing-program
Allan Fromberg 11:35 am on March 8, 2010 Permalink
Actually, Tom, the program you describe above is not yet in service, but rather is slated for later in this year. This project ionvolves three specific group ride locations on the east and west sides from which passengers can share a taxicab to Grand Central Station, or hop off anywhere along the Park Avenue corridor for a significantly discounted fare, saving passengers money, allowing drivers to earn more, and putting less stress on the environment. For more information, visit http://www.nyc.gov/taxi!