Big Brother and Cabbies

NYC taxi drivers are threatening to strike if tracking technology is installed in their cabs. A new plan calls to equip all cabs with a system that will provide television service, credit card processing and GPS tracking. The New York Taxi Workers Alliance is calling on drivers to protest the plan, which many deem an invasion of privacy, by rallying outside the Taxi and Limousine Commission headquarters today. The alliance has also taken issue with the cost of the new systems, for which medallion owners would be responsible, and the credit card transaction fees that would come out of their profits. But the Taxi and Limousine Commission claims that tracking devices will make it easier for passengers to retrieve lost items, and that more people will take cabs if they accept credit cards.