Holiday Gift Guide »

NYC looking to jam cellphones in taxis

Categories: Announcements, Travel
By: , IntoMobile
Thursday, April 16th, 2009 at 2:58 PM
One tech-savvy cabby!

One tech-savvy cabby!

The New York City taxi-experience has improved quite a bit over the years. Most taxis are now outfitted with touchscreen monitors and credit card terminals to better serve the customer. But, when it comes to a talkative cab driver yapping away on a cellphone, things haven’t really changed too much. The Taxi and Limousine Commission may soon change all that.

The NYC Taxi and Limousine Commission has reached out to the cab-riding public for suggestions on how to better improve taxi services in The Big Apple, and is considering putting an end to cab drivers paying more attention to their cellphone conversation than the road. The TLC wants to put a cellphone jammer in every cab, preventing cabbies from using their cellphones for casual conversations. The system would apparently still allow for emergency calls to be connected, but some are concerned that “family emergencies” are being overlooked.

More interesting is the idea that a cellphone jammer could be used to block cellular signals in just the front seats of the taxi cab. We’re not sure how the TLC would jam drivers’ mobile phones without cutting off rear-seat passengers or any passengers in cars to either side of the cab. But, for the sake of argument, should the TLC enact such a regulation? Is it a boon for taxi riders, or an unfair limitation on drivers?
Submit you suggestion on improving the NYC cab experience here.

[Via: wcbstv]

About The Author

Will Park

Will hails from The City of Angels - Los Angeles, California. He spends his time playing with his numerous gadgets and looking forward to seeing what future holds for mobile technology. An avid promoter of a fully "digital" life, he promotes the widespread adoption of truly mobile, paper-less living. He dreams of the day when he can go completely digital. No more snail mail, paper receipts, bound books, notepads/spiral notebooks, credit cards, hard currency. He's a digital warrior - fighting for the converged life. He is an idealist and a realist - he has a perfect view of what the world should be but knows that the world is not perfect. Can we ever hope to see Will's dream become reality? We'll see...