• by Erik Sass , September 6, 2007

New York City taxi drivers began a strike Wednesday to protest the upcoming installation of digital video screens with a GPS component in their cabs. The cabbies are concerned that the GPS component would allow the Taxi and Limousine Commission to track their movements--a rumor that the TLC has repeatedly denied.

As of Wednesday afternoon, it wasn't clear how many cabbies were striking; strike organizers claimed that 80% of drivers were participating, while Mayor Michael Bloomberg said most were working. The strike, timed for the middle of NYC's busy Fashion Week and the U.S. Open, is scheduled to last through Thursday.

The digital screens--already installed in about 500 cabs during an experimental phase--display a variety of video content, including news and entertainment, as well as national and local advertising. Ads for local businesses can be targeted geographically, based on data from the system's GPS component. The GPS system also allows passengers to watch a map charting the cab's progress to their destination.

Owners of taxi medallions are responsible for having the video systems installed by the TLC's annual fleet inspection Oct. 1. A number of media companies have already wrangled contracts to provide content and advertising once the screens are installed. Clear Channel Taxi Media has partnered with NBC to create NY10, a channel playing news, weather, entertainment programming, public service announcements and advertising.

New York's WABC has partnered with VeriFone to produce Taxi TV, featuring content from WABC's Eyewitness News, AccuWeather and ESPN, as well as restaurant, nightlife, retail and hotel listings and ratings from the Zagat Survey.

According to a TLC spokesman, none of the GPS systems considered for installation would give the commission the ability to track individual cars' movements. He added that the GPS systems could help alert drivers to traffic conditions and business opportunities--for example, the end of a game or concert at Madison Square Garden. He also emphasized that the most important feature of the new touch-screen systems is their credit-card payment option, which could help boost drivers' business.