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New York cabbies stage more protests
Cab drivers protesting the new regulations Feud with mayor escalates
May 21, 1998
Web posted at: 1:15 p.m. EDT (1715 GMT)NEW YORK (CNN) -- New Yorkers could have a hard time getting a taxi on Thursday, as hundreds of the city's cab drivers began another day of protests to display their anger at City Hall for tightening restrictions on the drivers.
In the midst of morning rush hour, about 100 cabbies marched across the Queensboro bridge connecting the boroughs of Queens and Manhattan. The cabbies, whose plan for a bumper-to-bumper drive across the bridge was thwarted at the last minute by police, planned to march through midtown Manhattan to City Hall.
The League of Mutual Taxi Owners urged its 2,000 members to work on Thursday. But most of the roughly six organizations representing the city's 44,000 licensed cabbies planned some form of protest.
Some groups planned marches; others said their members would just stay home and keep their cabs off the streets.
Angry cab drivers marching "The New York Taxi Workers Alliance believes in peaceful protest ... a stay-at-home strike and not get involved with a mayor who is going to try to create trouble for poor drivers," said Biju Mathews, an alliance organizer.
The drivers are angry at Mayor Rudolph Guiliani for endorsing proposed regulation changes from the Taxi and Limousine Commission.
The new regulations include higher fines for driving violations and for being rude to customers. They also require drivers to carry more insurance and to take drug and alcohol tests.
The drivers staged a one-day strike last week to protest the restrictions. A day later, Guiliani issued an executive order allowing car services and limousines to pick up passengers from the streets, putting them in direct competition with the cabbies.
The cabbies won a court battle on Wednesday when a Manhattan judge blocked Guiliani's order, saying she believed the order may have been issued in retaliation to the strike.
During a Park Avenue luncheon on Wednesday, Guiliani made light of his escalating standoff with the city's drivers.
"I have to leave a little early because I won't be able to get a cab," he joked with the audience of bankers and business executives.
"I hail cabs and they give me this funny hand gesture," he said, while gesturing with an upraised fist.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Related stories:
- New York cabbies stage boycott over tougher rules - May 13, 1998
Related sites:
Note: Pages will open in a new browser window
- NYCLink - official site of New York City
- NYC Taxi and Limousine Commission
- TaxiNet: Global Taxi Links
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