The TLC is going after taxi drivers like Wasim Khalid Cheema (inset), who overcharged passenger (AP/TLC)
The New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission today said that nearly half of all taxi drivers have overcharged passengers and while some of those drivers will get off with a stiff fine, others will have their licences revoked.
Later this week drivers who overcharged more the about 30 ofwill begin "settlement meetings," where they will be given the opportunity to forfeit their licenses and pay a fine of $850. Drivers who decline the offer will move forward with formal hearings.
But the TLC says that the problem is more widespread than that. The agency says that 21,819 taxicab drivers overcharged passengers a total of 286,000 times.
“The TLC has completed its review of the data, as we had committed to do,” said TLC Chairman David Yassky. “The data suggests that only a fraction of a percent of rides were overcharged and the majority of our taxi drivers do a great job, exhibiting the integrity that we expect and demand of our licensees. It also revealed, however, evidence that we believe will show that a significant number of drivers used Rate Code 4 as a means of surreptitiously padding their pockets and taking advantage of a trusting public, and we will be taking appropriate actions to see that these drivers do not again have the opportunity to betray their passengers and their fellow drivers.”
Rate Code 4 is a code used by taxi meters to indicate that the driver is operating in Westchester or Nassau County, at which point in the trip the fare doubles. Some drivers have admitted to using Rate Code 4 for trips entirely within New York City for the sole purpose of padding their pockets, with 88 drivers doing so more than 500 times.
Yassky told a City Council committee that the worst offender overcharged passengers 4,683 time, one of 45 with more than 1,000 Rate Code 4 overcharges.
While drivers who routinely overcharged passengers will face loss of their licenses, drivers who did so less than 50 times may get a break. The majority of drivers will be given the opportunity to pay a fine - $100 for each trip in which a passenger was overcharged.
"It's a very expensive reminder of the rules," said Yassky, adding that drivers who choose not to pay the will be asked to surrender their licenses.
So why are these drivers getting off easier?
"We don't want to have a serious deficit in cab drivers," said TLC spokesman Allan Fromberg. "We're pursuing a settlement - an expensive settlement."
The city's Department of Investigation, as well as district attorneys' offices are also investigating and more than one driver are already facing criminal charges.
If you believe that you have been a victim of overcharging call 3-1-1.
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