• by Erik Sass , October 1, 2007

There will be no reprieve for New York City taxi drivers trying to delay or even stop the installation of new equipment with a GPS component. A federal judge refused Friday to block the city-mandated upgrades.

In addition to a GPS system, the equipment includes video screens that can display news, entertainment, advertising and a credit card payment device. All cabs must have the upgrades completed by the Taxi and Limousine Commission inspections scheduled for today.

The cabbies sought to block the installations on Sept. 19th, alleging the GPS component would allow the TLC to discover so-called trade secrets, including the special routes taken by individual drivers searching for fares. Although the TLC declined to comment on the lawsuit, a TLC spokesman had stated emphatically that none of the GPS systems considered for installation would allow the TLC to track the movement of taxis.

Cabbies are responsible for getting the equipment installed--in some cases, costing thousands of dollars. Several hundred upgraded cabs are already on the streets, and by Oct. 1, the entire 13,000-car fleet should have the equipment installed.

In addition to electronic maps that show passengers the taxi's route, the video screens can deliver news, entertainment, weather and sports scores, as well as local and national advertising. Several media companies have already wrangled contracts to supply content and advertising to the screens.

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.