An inquiry into the scandal involving taxi drivers overcharging passengers left City Council Members frustrated and yielded more questions than answers.
The Taxi and Limousine Commission said last month that it had stumbled upon what appeared to be one of the largest taxi scams ever, in which some 35,558 drivers overcharged passengers within city limits by using a higher rate code designated for trips to the suburbs. The city said it examined global positioning data from devices in taxis and found the higher rate code activated in 1.8 million trips within city limits over the past two years. The average rider was overcharged $4 to $5, the city said, but just two weeks later the agency said that they really couldn't tell for certain how many riders had been victimized.
At an oversight hearing today TLC Chairman David Yassky said that remained the case.
"We are investigating, but have made no determinations as to how many people may have been victimized," said Yassky. "I'm not going to provide a timetable for when we might have a determination. There is an ongoing investigation."
That drew outrage from Council Member G. Oliver Koppell (D - Bronx), who called Yassky's testimony evasive.
"You're a career politician," said Koppell. "You know about polling and sampling."
Koppell acknowledged that it might take the TLC a while to analyze every incident, but said that there was no reason why the agency couldn't produce a preliminary report using sampling.
"If 50 out of 100 trips were incorrectly coded, that would show widespread criminality," he said.
The TLC has set up audible and visual alerts in the back of cabs to let riders know when the higher fare used in Newark, Westchester and Nassau County is engaged, but that may not be of much help because once the higher fare is engaged it can't be reversed. Officials said that their goal was to catch it at the beginning of each trip, when the meter can be reset.
The City Council's Transportation Committee Chairman James Vacca (D - Bronx) told examiner.com that he was very disappointed in Yassky's testimony.
"I came here hoping for answers and I didn't hear any," said Vacca. "A simple question like when can we expect additional information drew no answers."
A room full of angry taxi drivers packed the room holding up signs saying "We demand an apology."
Vacca said that he empathized with the drivers and that he regarded them as "not guilty until proven guilty."
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