Raise your hand for new ‘Yellow cabs’

I vote for a new design of the vacancy indicator at the top of the cabs, so that we can tell from at least half a block away whether or not the cab is available, this way I stop whistling my brains off or I give my undulating arm a rest until the next one! What do you think?

Having been raised in New York and worked in Manhattan for several years, I know a little bit about yellow cabs, especially some of the tricks needed to succeed in getting one over taller and more commanding individuals, or good looking women, or imposing couples, or very loud whistles coming from bell boys from nearby hotels. But perhaps, in the very near future, all of these challenges and many more may soon fade into oblivion due to a workshop held in New York city a couple weeks ago called "Designing the Taxi".

Urban planners, architects, designers, citizens advocates, along with taxi drivers, owners and regulators convened to discuss some of the new design ideas for the familiar yellow cab; scratching their heads about the future, and not just the future of the taxi vehicle -- the future of the whole taxi system, the taxi economy, the taxi aesthetic and the city all those taxis serve, although imperfectly but hey, they discussed unique ideas like credit-card swipers in the back seat, sliding doors that won’t injure those loyal and crazy delivery dudes on bicycles, a separate dog compartment (now, there is an idea), baby seats that fit appropriately without jeopardizing the adult sitting area, a unique New York taxi silhouette, as recognizable around the world as London’s, which of course means dropping the infamous and dreary Crown Vic, or the ever-so-fading Caprice Classic, and last but not least, and this noble idea may be the hardest of all, smoothed out passenger “interface points.” Are you kidding? Telling New Yorkers where to stand to hail a cab or how to do “the cab thang”!

So should the taxi of the future be street-hailed or summoned by electronic text messaging? Should global-positioning satellites plot the best route to Tribeca or La Guardia, or the Chrysler building?

"GPS is a wonderful thing," taxi driver Erhan Tuncel declared at this workshop. "An expensive abomination," driver Bill Lindeaur shot back, warning of blurry video images, IRS tax snooping and assorted other potential hazards of the high-tech mapping technology.

What did you expect? Uniform agreement on the future of New York's most notoriously cantankerous industry? At least somebody is talking about this stuff.

Actually, big credit goes to the Design Trust for Public Space sponsoring such a far-ranging conversation and to the Parsons School of Design for hosting it.

The exercise could have been called "Re-designing the Taxi," only the current state of taxi affairs was never consciously designed in the first place. It just kinda got here by fits and starts, like a rush-hour cab inching its way into the Midtown Tunnel.

Matthew Daus, chairman of the city Taxi and Limousine Commission, had the best line of all. "Why change anything, they're not that horrible," he said. "They're selling them on 42nd Street as Matchbox cars." I vote for a new design of the vacancy indicator at the top of the cabs, so that we can tell from at least half a block away whether or not the cab is available, this way I stop whistling my brains off or I give my undulating arm a rest until the next one! What do you think? Enlarge PhotoHaving been raised in New York and worked in Manhattan for several years, I know a little bit about yellow cabs, especially some of the tricks needed to succeed in getting one over taller and more commanding individuals, or good looking women, or imposing couples, or very loud whistles coming from bell boys from nearby hotels. But perhaps, in the very near future, all of these challenges and many more may soon fade into oblivion due to a workshop held in New York city a couple weeks ago called "Designing the Taxi". Urban planners, architects, designers, citizens advocates, along with taxi drivers, owners and regulators convened to discuss some of the new design ideas for the familiar yellow cab; scratching their heads about the future, and not just the future of the taxi vehicle -- the future of the whole taxi system, the taxi economy, the taxi aesthetic and the city all those taxis serve, although imperfectly but hey, they discussed unique ideas like credit-card swipers in the back seat, sliding doors that won’t injure those loyal and crazy delivery dudes on bicycles, a separate dog compartment (now, there is an idea), baby seats that fit appropriately without jeopardizing the adult sitting area, a unique New York taxi silhouette, as recognizable around the world as London’s, which of course means dropping the infamous and dreary Crown Vic, or the ever-so-fading Caprice Classic, and last but not least, and this noble idea may be the hardest of all, smoothed out passenger “interface points.” Are you kidding? Telling New Yorkers where to stand to hail a cab or how to do “the cab thang”! Enlarge PhotoSo should the taxi of the future be street-hailed or summoned by electronic text messaging? Should global-positioning satellites plot the best route to Tribeca or La Guardia, or the Chrysler building? "GPS is a wonderful thing," taxi driver Erhan Tuncel declared at this workshop. "An expensive abomination," driver Bill Lindeaur shot back, warning of blurry video images, IRS tax snooping and assorted other potential hazards of the high-tech mapping technology. What did you expect? Uniform agreement on the future of New York's most notoriously cantankerous industry? At least somebody is talking about this stuff. Actually, big credit goes to the Design Trust for Public Space sponsoring such a far-ranging conversation and to the Parsons School of Design for hosting it. The exercise could have been called "Re-designing the Taxi," only the current state of taxi affairs was never consciously designed in the first place. It just kinda got here by fits and starts, like a rush-hour cab inching its way into the Midtown Tunnel. Matthew Daus, chairman of the city Taxi and Limousine Commission, had the best line of all. "Why change anything, they're not that horrible," he said. "They're selling them on 42nd Street as Matchbox cars."