July 17th, 2008 by
Filed under: Transportation
While New York taxis are set to go hybrid by 2012, at least one company in the UK looks to be doing its part to take things one step further, with it now showing off an all-electric taxi that it says will be available as soon as October of this year. Dubbed the E7, this one packs a bundle of lithium ion batteries that promise to give it a range of 100 miles on a single charge and a decent enough top speed of 60 miles per hour, as well as a price tag of £39,450 (or just over $78,000). It seems that not everyone’s sold on the vehicle, however, as it recently got the thumbs down from London’s taxi licensing division, meaning that Londoners won’t be able to catch this particular near-silent ride anytime in the foreseeable future.
[Via AutoblogGreen]
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Posted in taxi, electric vehicle, ElectricVehicle, all-electric, e7, electric taxi, ElectricTaxi | No Comments »
May 27th, 2008 by
Filed under: Tablet PCs
No, that’s not a scene from The Fifth Element II. What you see here is the Avcen Limited Jetpod T-100 City Flying Taxi, a VQSTOL (Very Quiet Short Take-off and Landing) vehicle that the company says could be in the air by 2010. The idea is that these flying cars would volley people between city centers and outlying areas (like airports) in order to reduce highway traffic. Avcen says that 75 of these in London could relieve road traffic of 37,000 return car trips per day all the while keeping things quiet and requiring only short landing strips made of pavement or grass. For air geeks, specs include dual jet engines with a thrust of 2 x 13.3 kN, a cruising speed of 350 mph, a range of 920 miles, an operating payload of 1,543 lbs, and seating for 7 pax. Bruce Willis pilot not included.
[Via The Contaminated]
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Posted in taxi, london, taxis, avcen, flying car, flying taxi, FlyingCar, FlyingTaxi, jetpod | No Comments »
March 21st, 2008 by
Filed under: Cellphones, Transportation
About this time last year, the cab drivers of New York City were taking a stand against GPS installations. This year, they’ve taken to the streets of downtown Manhattan in order to rally for the right to use cellphones while on duty. For those unaware, NYC cabbies are currently disallowed from using hands-free apparatuses while on the clock, and those in the profession are arguing that having one would enable them to feel safer and more connected to the outside world. Unfortunately, the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission doesn’t seem ready to budge, as it reportedly replied to the lobbying by stating that “cellphone abuse has resulted in many instances of drivers leaving their passengers feeling improperly served and downright unsafe.” What’s a cab driver got to do to get his / her Snake on, huh?
[Via textually]
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Posted in New York, cellphone, nyc, taxi, cab, cellphone use, CellphoneUse, NewYork | No Comments »
December 21st, 2007 by
Filed under: Transportation
It’s always interesting when electronic billboards, kiosks, and other installations go haywire and show you the dark heart of Windows lurking underneath, but it’s even more fun when you can actually start poking around — and it looks like there’s a fair bit of poking to do in all those NYC taxis with backseat screens. According to Billy Chasen, dismissing the error message with allow you to get to the Start menu, from which it’s trivial to run the Windows Connection Wizard, set up the Sprint broadband card, and start surfing away. Billy could also browse the filesystem — which may or may not contain credit card data — and it looks like he even had enough access to install any software he could find online. Hmmm, looks like there’s 1000 experience points waiting here for the first person to send in a photo of Engadget on one of these screens — with a 5000 point bonus if it’s in Firefox.
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Posted in hack, hacking, taxi, nyc taxi, nyc taxis, NycTaxi, NycTaxis, taxis | No Comments »
October 22nd, 2007 by
Filed under: Gaming, Transportation
Right on cue, the New York Taxi Workers Alliance has now launched into its second strike in as many months, with its concerns over GPS units in its drivers’ cabs still unresolved. According to the AP, Taxi Workers Alliance executive director Bhairavi Desai says that 75% of all of its drivers (representing a fifth of the city’s total drivers) were on strike, although it’s apparently not entirely clear how many drivers are actually honoring the strike. As before, the main point of contention is the GPS units that drivers are being required to used, which the cabbies say represent an invasion of privacy and work “erratically at best.” From the looks of it, there’s no indication as to how long this latest strike might last, although the last one ran for 48 hours.
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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!
Posted in gps, nyc, taxi, nyc taxi strike, NycTaxiStrike, taxi strike, TaxiStrike | No Comments »
October 4th, 2007 by
Filed under: GPS, Transportation
The New York Taxi Workers Alliance is at it again! According to reports, the group that was responsible for the September 5th walkout of cab drivers in New York City is once again planning to call for a strike, slated for October 22nd, and this time around, the striking taxi drivers say they will “get in the face” of cabbies who choose to work. If you’ll recall, the initial strike was over the installation of GPS units which would monitor pickup and drop-off points of the drivers (as well as provide credit card services, entertainment, and news for passengers), but the Alliance seems to be changing its tune. The group is now lobbying for city-funded health care, a pension fund, and official recognition as a union. “They have pushed us further and further up against the wall so that it’s not just about the technology and economics,” Executive Director Bhairavi Desai said. “It’s about something even greater.” Meanwhile, NYC mayor Michael Bloomberg seemed undisturbed by the news, saying that the city is ready. Coming soon: Taxi Strike, a movie of the week.
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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!
Posted in gps, cabbie, cabs, new york city, new york taxi workers alliance, NewYorkCity, NewYorkTaxiWorkersAlliance, nyc, strike, taxi, walkout | No Comments »
