Mayor Bloomberg is right that hailing a cab in the outer boroughs is hit-or-miss – but savvy riders know where to snag them.
A Daily News test found that yellow taxis were an endangered species in parts of the Bronx and Brooklyn, but a section of Queens was flooded with them.
During his State of the City address yesterday, Bloomberg announced that he wants to help taxi-deprived New Yorkers by authorizing a new class of livery cars to pick up “street hails” in the boroughs.
During a one-hour search for a yellow cab on Arthur Ave. in the Bronx, The News spotted only a single cab – and the driver was off-duty, stopping to have a bite after visiting his mechanic.
Outside the Atlantic Ave. transit hub in downtown Brooklyn, only two yellow cabs stopped in an hour. One agreed to go to Penn Station but the other said it was too far.
Queens residents looking for cabs should head to Astoria, where nearly three dozen yellow cabs were spotted near the subway station at 31st St. and Broadway – and all but four were on duty.
A dozen of the taxis didn’t already have passengers and agreed to drive a reporter to Penn Station in Manhattan for an estimated metered fare of $25.
“You almost never have trouble finding a cab,” said Craig Inger, 24, a college student who lives in the area, which is close to a taxi garage and mechanic.
There was no shortage of livery cars in any area. The News flagged down nearly three dozen willing to drive to Manhattan for $30 to $40, even though they aren’t supposed to accept street hails.
“We work this area because no yellow cabs come here,” said livery driver Rosa Misajel. “You almost never see [one] … in the Bronx, especially the bad areas.”
Some livery drivers welcomed Bloomberg’s idea to put an official stamp on what already is a common practice.
“That’s good news,” said Richie Bala, 43. “That means I won’t get any more tickets.”
Under the mayor’s proposal, livery cars would be able to pick up street hails if they have meters to calculate the city-approved rate, just like yellow cabs. Now, livery bases set their prices.
Some owners of yellow taxi fleets and a leading drivers’ organization said the mayor’s proposal would embolden livery drivers to poach passengers.
